2/27/26, 3:28 PM Mail - Lindsay Lara - Outlook
Outlook
Save Starkweather Path, please
From MARGARET HODEL <
Date Fri 2/27/2026 10:20 AM
To Mayor Kate < [email protected]>; Maika Llorens Gulati < [email protected]>; Eli Hill <[email protected]>; Maribeth Bushey <[email protected]>; Rachel Kertz <[email protected]>; Distrib City Clerk < [email protected]>; Paul Navazio <[email protected]>; April Miller <[email protected]>; Craig Veramay <[email protected]>; Greg Minor <[email protected]>; Grey Melgard <[email protected]>
Dear San Rafael City Officials,
My name is Margaret (Peggy) Hodel, a resident of Baypoint Lagoons. I treasure the Starkweather Path as one of the last few places in San Rafael where I can enjoy nature and the beauty and tranquility of our local environment. Please don't junk it up with signs and lights! As well intentioned as the Peoples of the Canal project is, Starkweather Path is not the right location for it.
Please preserve the Starkweather Path as a peaceful location to appreciate the natural beauty of the bay. (Although re-paving it would be appreciated, as there are many areas that present trip and fall "opportunities".)
Please reject Starkweather Path as the location for this project.
Sincerely,
Peggy Hodel
San Rafael, CA 94901
https://outlook.office365.com/mail/inbox/id/AAkALgAAAAAAHYQDEapmEc2byACqAC%2FEWg0AOJ8v9gzPFE6wSNu2pNW1awAJqVluAQAA 1/1 Good Evening Mayor and Councilmembers.
I've been a homeowner in Baypoint Lagoons for 28 years. My home backs directly onto the Starkweather Path, and I'm here to oppose the proposed lighting due to legal conflicts, environmental risk, safety concerns, and disproportionate impacts on nearby residents.
The Starkweather Path is governed by San Rafael Municipal Code, which restricts park use after dusk. Installing permanent lighting contradicts that code and implies nighttime use that has never been permitted. This is a shoreline conservation park, not a 24-hour corridor, and lighting would encourage after-dark activity that creates enforcement and liability issues for the City.
Lighting in this creek-adjacent, wildlife-supporting area also requires CEQA review. Impacts include light spill into homes, disruption to wildlife, increased nighttime activity, and added fire risk.
This path has suffered from decades of deferred maintenance — uneven pavement, aging concrete, overgrown brush, and recurring fire incidents.
Lighting extends hours of use without fixing these underlying safety issues, and by itself does not improve safety.
I've heard the rationale is to allow families to walk in the evening. But this path has never been intended for nighttime use, and in my lived experience, after-dark activity here has not been family-oriented or safe.
The impacts also fall almost entirely on one neighborhood. Homes in Baypoint Lagoons directly face the path.
I also want to briefly address the proposed art installation. This path is narrow and constrained, with no room for gathering or art, and the surrounding area already struggles with parking and access and the area simply can't absorb them. There are far better waterfront locations nearby - such as the waterfront near Target or Pickleweed Park that have space and parking.
For these reasons, I respectfully ask the Council to reject the lighting proposal, require full CEQA review, and reconsider the art installation location.