Over the past several meetings, the City Council has discussed and approved several employee labor agreements with various bargaining groups. At Monday night’s meeting, the City Council will consider approving a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the San Rafael Fire Chief Officers’ Association and the San Rafael Police Mid-Managers’ Association. Additional information regarding labor relations...
The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District (Golden Gate Transit) has started a multi-year process to develop a new transit center for San Rafael. The current transit center will be affected by the extension of Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) system to Larkspur. Several government agencies, including the City of San Rafael, are partnering to identify a new...
In preparation for the upcoming storm season, Department of Public Works staff dropped off sand and burlap sack bags ready to fill at Fire Station #5, located at 955 Point San Pedro Road, San Rafael. If your property can be protected by sandbags, consider getting sand and bags before the rainy season and stockpile as...
Just when you thought you had memorized the entire Municipal Code, we go and propose changes! Our Community Development Department has gone through and prepared updates to selected titles and chapters of the San Rafael Municipal Code including: clarifications and corrections to code provisions and zoning map changes, new provisions and standards addressing topics such...
It’s that time of year when our Department of Public Works staff come out to clean the City’s storm drains and headwalls before the rainy season begins. This is the second year that our staff members are using a smartphone app to keep track of inspections completed and and drains cleaned. The app combines a...
TAKE THE SURVEY (survey closed) Caltrans San Rafael 101 NB Off-ramp Presentation Caltrans intends to rebuild the bridge that makes up the northbound 101 Central San Rafael highway off ramp. The reason for this work is that the existing structure is inadequate so the entire bridge will be replaced over a large part of...
The City of San Rafael undertook construction improvements at one of the City's oldest intersections, Second Street and Grand Avenue. Improvements included: Excavation and removal of existing concrete sidewalk, curb, gutter and landscaping; Installation of new sidewalk, curb ramps, curb and gutter; and Traffic signal modification. The work began in summer 2017 and was completed in spring of 2018. For...
"Fire Battalion Jeff Rowan has served San Rafael with distinction since 1984. Chief Rowan has lead our fire department and protected our community as a Battalion Chief, since 2010. Chief Rowan is upbeat and portrays a positive attitude that is contagious. He looks for the good in people and situations which improves outcomes. Jeff exhibits...
The Marin Housing Authority is conducting a Below-Market-Rate lottery drawing for a low income 3 bedroom/2 bathroom Below-Market-Rate Townhome in the Marin City Townhomes. The lottery drawing will be held on Thursday, October 25, 2018. The deadline to submit your application is 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 25, 2018. There is a drop slot in the...
As of 10/18/2018, Van Midde Concrete has sent out 170 proposals to participating property owners. That means all but 30 property owners in the program have now received their final proposals. Of those 170 proposals sent out, the City has received now 125 back signed from property owners. We are almost there! Once the signed...
The Grand Ave Pathway Connector project contractor, Valentine Corp., began work by performing exploratory field work on the former Marin Motors site at 750 Grand Ave. To our surprise, we located existing concrete and steel sheet piles buried under the asphalt in the location of the new bridge abutment. The design team is working hand...
Work is moving quickly at 70 Irwin; this week the City’s contractor Valentine Corporation started installing MSE block walls at the bottom of the hillside that was also the scene of a landslide during the winter of 2017. Installation of these two block walls marks the beginning of the long-awaited hillside restoration.
This week the City’s contractor Maggiora and Ghilotti finished installing a CIDH retaining wall and repaving the roadway at 80 Upper Toyon. This project was designed to support the roadway after a mudslide happened downhill of the road in the winter of 2017. FEMA and Cal-OES will reimburse the City the majority of the cost...
Fall has arrived and the North Bay had its first rainfall of the year earlier this month - with over a 1” of rain. Crews from the Street Division performed an emergency repair to the grates that protect large items from entering the storm water pump station located at 400 Canal Street. Within a four-hour...
On Saturday October 6th, the City of San Rafael Public Works participated in Star Academy’s Touch-A-Truck Day. Street Supervisors Chris Dowds and John Shindelus brought over two of the Street Divisions newest and biggest pieces of equipment. This event is a hands-on family event where children see and touch the trucks and meet the people...
The Department of Public Works will be installing new decorative “Tivoli” string lights on 4th St. between Shaver and F St. This project represents a collaboration with Economic Development, Public Works and the local business community, in a broader effort to promote Downtown and the West End, in time for the winter holidays! Please join...
San Rafael’s current Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) was adopted in 2009 and contains 48 actions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 25 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. 40 of those measures have either been completed, are in progress, or have become ongoing in nature. In 2016, the State of California adopted new targets...
The County of Marin’s Department of Cultural Services, in partnership with the Marin Cultural Association, the Marin Coalition for the Arts, and arts leaders from all over Marin County, is developing an Arts and Culture Master Plan for Marin. The purpose of an Arts and Culture Master Plan is to create a common vision for...
Over the past several meetings, the City Council has discussed and approved several employee labor agreements with various bargaining groups. At Monday night’s meeting, the City Council will consider approving a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the unrepresented Executive Management employees, as well as discuss proposed MOUs with the San Rafael Fire Chief Officers’ Association...
As of 10/4/2018, a total of 99 property owners in San Rafael have sent in signed agreements for sidewalk construction in the City’s 2018 Sidewalk Repair Program. We expect at least 50-80 more will be sent in by the end of October. The 99 agreements so far represent the following in new sidewalk construction visible...
San Rafael Public Works is proud to announce that we've launched buildingeye, an interactive, user-friendly online map that allows constituents to easily look up roadway construction happening in San Rafael and allows those doing the construction to view the status of their permit online. The map is now live on the Public Works homepage at...
As part of a larger effort to reduce the City’s carbon footprint, the City recently completed converting 2,700 high pressure sodium (HPS) street lights citywide with more efficient light-emitting diode (LED). The LED lights, use dramatically less energy than the standard older, HPS lights, and are estimated to save the City $130,000 in energy costs...
PG&E Gas Transmission Line Several very large utility projects were initiated by PG&E within the City throughout the summer. The most visible PG&E project is located on Second Street, Lindaro Street, Andersen Drive, Irwin Street, Woodland Ave, Du Bois Street. PG&E is replacing a gas main from around A Street through the Bret Harte neighborhood....
The SMART Larkspur Extension construction work on the Francisco Blvd. West realignment and Phase-1 of the Multi-Use Path (from Rice Street to Andersen Drive) continues to move forward rapidly. The Contractor has nearly completed the curb & gutter and sidewalk installation and will be paving the new Francisco Blvd West within a few weeks. And,...
**We are currently not accepting applications to paint utility boxes but will re-evaluate as budgeting and policy changes. Please check back here for any future updates.** Public Works has been working in collaboration with Economic Development to pilot the City’s first ever Utility Box Art Program. The program will have a dual purpose of 1)...
In partnership with the Marin Builders Association and the Marin Economic Forum, the City of San Rafael recently participated in a pilot program to gather and analyze feedback from the City’s permit applicants. The Customer Satisfaction Assessment Program is a new pilot program managed by the Marin Builders Association aimed at helping improve the permit...
Effective as of Wednesday, November 7, 2018, Counter Hours for Massage Inspection Program will be changed to Wednesdays from 8:30am to 12:30pm. The following day/hours will be the only times when staff will be available to address massage ordinance related questions or accept applications. You can also contact the massage inspection staff at (415) 485-3487 or massage@cityofsanrafael.org
Less than one percent of the world’s water supply is readily available for human use. The rest is salty, frozen at the poles, or trapped underground. Yet, we collectively waste gross amounts of water in several ways: poorly maintained water infrastructure (such as leaking water pipes), industrial water waste, water use for agriculture in arid...