Politics & Government

Housing Group Recommends 8 Sites for Possible Rezoning

After a year of public debate, the city has a tentative list of sites that could accommodate 276 units at a density of 22 units per acre. Now it's the City Council's move.

Eight of the nine properties around Novato that have been on a list of potential sites for new housing received recommendation for Novato City Council approval Wednesday night.

At a meeting that was occasionally animated and confusing as all get-out, even to its participants, the City Manager’s Housing Ad Hoc Working Group yanked one chunk of land near the Trader Joe’s grocery store on North Redwood Boulevard from its hitlist before approving eight others during a meeting at the Hamilton Community Center.

The working group, comprised of volunteers who spent 7 ½ months debating the topic every Wednesday night plus countless more hours, broke into a subdued round of applause after the final meeting ended at 10:53 p.m.

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The group’s recommendation is now in the hands of city staff members and a report will be made to the City Council on June 23, according to city Community Development Director Dave Wallace.

Eight properties have been recommended for rezoning to accommodate housing in one form or another, all with a maximum density of 22 units per acre. They are:

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* 1787 Grant Ave. (1.5 acres at Virginia Ave., site of Bridge Point Academy preschool)

* Wood Hollow Drive at Redwood Boulevard (1.8 vacant acres just north of Fireman’s Fund Insurance

* 495 San Marin Drive (1.25 vacant acres next to the Seventh-Day Adventist Church)

* 1461 Novato Blvd. (1.5 vacant acres on the west side of The Quest church)

* 1901 Novato Blvd. (1.1 vacant acres at the junction of McClay Road)

* North Redwood Blvd. (3.6 vacant acres on vacant lot between Pineiro Circle and Ranch Drive)

* Landing Court (1.5 acres on RV and boat storage lot, just off Redwood Boulevard)

* 102 Hill Road (1.3 acres just off Redwood Boulevard, behind Journey Ford)

At 22 units per acre, the combined properties would potentially accommodate 276 units of housing. The group’s minimum target calculated to meet state mandates was 213 units. The additional units were agreed upon to increase the likelihood that the California Department of Housing and Community Development would approve the housing element of Novato’s general plan and not send the city back to the drawing board.

The public will have many more chance to sound off on the housing list in the coming days and months. No developments would be approved on the properties before going through review by the city Design Review Commission, the city Planning Commission and the City Council.

The working group elected not to recommend 7506 and 7530 N. Redwood Boulevard, vacant lots just north and east of the Trader Joe’s. The northern site on the property is wedged between the shopping center and an old shut-down mill, and the group acknowledged the commercial value of that property as Novato contemplates its economic future. The eastern site on the property is along Olive Avenue and borders the train tracks.

Several members of the group said they would like to urge city staff and the Novato City Council to have that area of the city hashed out by the property owners and discussed for development that might bring commerce to the North Redwood Boulevard corridor.

The meeting came two weeks after a packed-house meeting of the Novato Planning Commission at City Hall. Neighbors of the nine properties on the whittled-down list sounded off about the effects — mostly the drawbacks — of having potential low-income, high-density housing in their areas.

But the working group, appointed by City Manager Michael Frank, was schooled on the need for Novato to create more zoned space for housing as its population grows. The volunteers met regularly with a moderator to discuss the philosophy and ethics of obligations to provide housing and to narrow down the list of prospective sites around the city. The result will be a housing element of Novato’s general plan for the year’s 2007-2014 (the plan is several years overdue).

When it came down to approving each site Wednesday night, straw votes were taken first, followed by more discussion and then a final vote. The voting results for each property were as follows:

* 1787 Grant Ave. (Bridge Point preschool) — 14 yea, 3 nay, 2 abstain

* Wood Hollow Drive (near Fireman’s Fund) — 10 yea, 9 nay

* 495 San Marin Drive (7th Day Adventist Church) — 11 yea, 8 nay

* 1461 Novato Blvd. (Quest) — 14 yea, 4 nay, 1 abstain

* 1901 Novato Blvd. (McClay) — 13 yea, 4 nay, 2 abstain

* North Redwood Blvd. (Ranch Drive) — 18 yea, 0 nay, 1 abstain

* North Redwood Blvd. (near Trader Joe’s) — 8 yea, 10 nay, 1 abstain

* Landing Court (RV storage) — 12 yea, 7 nay

* 102 Hill Road (near Ford dealership) — 11 yea, 7 nay, 1 abstain

Working group member Dietrich Stroeh walked out of the meeting at 9:30 p.m. before the final votes were taken because of an early-morning commitment Thursday.

The volunteers on the working group were (in alphabetical order): Alan Berson, Marie Chan, Katie Crecelius, Shannon Doherty, Don Dole, Pam Drew, Marla Fields, Jeanie Gallagher, Harry Lehmann, Virginia Menzel, Lloyd Pitman, Carolyn Placente, Fred Reece, Kathy Rus, Toni Shroyer, Nikki Stevenson, Susan Stompe, Jay Strauss, Dietrich Stroeh, Stacey Tachis and Susan Wernick.


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