Passionate Council Meeting Ends With Approval Of Interim Housing Project In San Rafael

SAN RAFAEL, CA — In the last hour of Monday night, following nearly three hours of passionate public comments, the San Rafael City Council approved a series of resolutions that will pave the way to buy land for an interim housing project. On Tuesday, Marin County approved a grant to the city that will complete the deal.

The planned tiny homes project at 350 Merrydale Rd. will provide shelter, security and social services to an unhoused community living in a secured encampment along the Mahon Creek Path downtown.

The actions come a month after an Oct. 15 press conference was held in the site's parking lot, with self-congratulatory speeches by state, county and local elected leaders who appeared to be celebrating the conclusion of the deal. Neighbors, drawn to the event by a television news helicopter, responded with dismay that they were hearing about the project for the first time.

"I understand it was received as blindsided, and I own that," said San Rafael Mayor Kate Colin at Monday's meeting.

At the time of last month's press event, the city had distributed bilingual flyers to residents in the vicinity but had not yet arranged for public engagement and input on the project. Since then, there has been a public meeting Oct. 28 and a public information session Nov. 6. The city is currently working on program design and site management policies, which will be drafted with public input at meetings on Dec. 9 and Jan. 14.

"In my exuberance and my belief that this vision could be transformative for San Rafael and for the state of California, I was insensitive. I own that, and I apologized, and I have learned. You don't have a perfect mayor, and you knew that beforehand, and you definitely know it now," Colin said.

The plan will include 65 private, lockable cabins for up to 70 people in the lot of a former school on Merrydale Road in San Rafael. The cabins will have electricity, heating and personal storage, with shared facilities including a kitchen, laundry, bathrooms and showers.

There will be perimeter fencing with 24/7 security, as well as health and social services, case management and help in finding permanent housing. If additional funds are raised, the interim site could run for another year, but it must permanently close by June 30, 2029.

According to San Rafael community services division director Daniel Cooperman, the total price tag for the interim housing project is about $12.5 million. Under a multi-jurisdictional agreement, Marin County will provide $8 million from the county's Affordable Housing Trust for the city to purchase the land from a private owner and help set up the program to operate for two years.

Those funds were approved Tuesday by the Marin County Board of Supervisors.

In exchange, the city has agreed to zone and permit the site for permanent affordable housing with at least 80 units for those making less than 80% of area median income by June 30, 2028. If less than 80 permanent affordable housing units are not permitted by that date, the county will charge a $100,000 per unit penalty fee.

On Monday, the city unanimously passed a declaration of a housing crisis, which will allow the streamlining of permits and an exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act, as well as the resolution for the approval of the Merrydale acquisition through the collaborative agreement with Marin County.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD PROTESTS

The deal comes after years of negotiations by the city with real estate agents in meetings behind closed doors. This procedure was the focal point of a legal complaint by immediate neighbors.

According to California's Brown Act, which sets rules for public meetings, real estate negotiations are permitted to occur in closed door meetings if they do not result in decisions being made without public input and a description of the business being discussed appears on a public agenda.

On Nov. 3, a group of residents who live near the Merrydale site sent a cease-and-desist letter to the city from their lawyer alleging violations of the Brown Act. The letter said that affirmative comments made by the mayor and supervisors at the Oct. 15 press conference were proof that the property deal had been made behind closed doors.

"No city agenda item informed the public that the city council would discuss and possibly approve the property's purchase, and no one associated with the city agreed to explain why the city wanted to purchase the property," the letter said. "All city and county officials said it could not be discussed because of 'closed session confidentiality.'"

City Attorney Rob Epstein acknowledged that the Oct. 15 press conference might have given residents the impression that a contract had been signed in secret.

"The plaintiffs in the 350 Merrydale lawsuit are 100% correct in alleging that the city conducted a number of closed sessions regarding the real estate negotiations prior to tonight's public meeting," said Epstein. "They are wrong, however, in their claim that the city council made a decision in any closed session."

Epstein said the citizens' legal action resulted in a pending temporary injunction, but the City Council was allowed to approve the property deal at Monday's meeting and defer a final contract signature until Nov. 24.

The city moved ahead with the vote, which occurred after hours of emotional public comments from residents fearful of the interim housing project and others who pleaded for its acceptance.

One speaker, Alex Stricker, runs a business downtown near Mahon Creek and a home near the proposed site.

"I have called the emergency hotline hundreds of times, and I have stood in front of my businesses in downtown San Rafael and waited and waited and waited for no one to come. There are people who may or may not be unhoused, who are menacing our neighbors, who are causing disturbances," Stricker said.

He called last month's press conference a public relations disaster.

"One of you has to own that. You misplayed this," he said, pointing to the council. "For you to high five and handshake and then begin community outreach. I am not diametrically opposed to this, but there has to be more time given to the real safety concerns of my neighbors. People feel unsafe. I have three children. I have an elderly mother that all live in the neighborhood, and they are scared."

Edward Metz, 67, said he has been homeless for some time, although he prefers to be called houseless. He was excited to hear of the tiny homes project.

"Once you get to know us, you can trust that we will be a community of people that will add to your community," said Metz. "We are a community within the community. We will police our own people, and if there's any problems we will certainly talk. I want to thank everybody and let them know that they can trust us and our community."

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