Everyone on the
Steering Committee deserves commendations.
Now, however, the heavy lifting you have already done gets heavier as
you approach land use, housing, traffic and neighborhood needs. With that in mind, I’d like to give you some
factual background and insights on one of the more significant sites (#58)
included on the Potential Housing Opportunity Sites handouts given to you at
the 11-08-01 meeting. In discussing
site #58 (Canalways), you have heard
that the site has “significant issues… wetlands… lots of potential but…” It is important that you and other public
members know in more detail some of the Canalways issues.
Issues:
Wetlands: Canalways, like all of
East San Rafael (and most of San Rafael to around the 4th Street bus
depot) was once wetlands. In 1973 the
100 acres Canalways parcel had a 15 acre City flood control pond
designed on it with what was supposed to be “automatic pumps” in the pond’s
pump house.. Connected to the pump
house is a 60” pipe that was designed to empty the pond into the Bay during all
but periods when Bay tides were too high to allow the pumps to work
effectively. Since its initial design
the automatic pumps have not worked “automatically.” In reality, a city worker had to visit the
site and manually switch the pump on in order to begin pumping water from the
pond. In 2001 these automatic pumps
were finally technically enabled so that they would not need a manual visit to
be turned on.
For many years
(perhaps a dozen or more) the section of the 60” pipe connected to the pump
house has been broken from its pump house connection. This broken connection
has allowed the Bay at high tides to flow back into the pond and flood the
site. This site flooding has
understandably upset the property owners who over the years have contributed
over $700,000 to the East San Rafael Drainage District to insure that such
flooding would not happen. A last-resort lawsuit by Canalways property owners
finally caused the City to hire Ghilotti Construction Company to replace the broken
section of pipe. The broken section was replaced around 1999.
There is wetlands at
Canalways. Poor maintenance of the
pond, pump house and a section of the connecting 60” pipe may have caused the
wetlands that existed there in 1973 to expand.
With proper maintenance, the wetland that may have been enhanced by many
years of poor maintenance should shrink.
This proper maintenance will allow more usable Canalways land to address
community needs.
Endangered
species: The little story repeated often enough makes
reality much bigger than life. In April
1982, after 300 trapping days and nights at Canalways, the Department of
Fish and Game wrote:
"The trapping
effort totaled 300 trap nights and yielded no
endangered salt marsh harvest nice…
The habitat does
not appear to provide adequate cover and competition from the western harvest
mice probably reduces the attractiveness of the area to salt marsh harvest
mice."
Some were dissatisfied with this report and had Dr.
Shellhammer hired In September of 1982 to trap for another 525 days and
nights. In this trapping, one mouse was
found with “unmistakable” Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse (SMHM) characteristics. The other had different “tail traits” but
had the “gestalt” of a
SMHM.
Perhaps a few SMHM
may live at the Canalways degraded wetlands site – but this was not a
thriving SMHM site prior to the continuous flooding the site has endured over
the years..
Incidentally, the best way, according to wetlands scientists, to
enhance the degraded Canalways wetlands would be to take dredge
spoils from the San Rafael Canal and use it to build small hills and
valleys in the pickle weeded wetlands area.
These spread, dredged materials would allow the SMHM to hide from birds
and rise above flood waters when and if they occur. Such a program would benefit the environment, property owners
concerned about regularly and economically dredging the Canal and Across the
Flats channels, the City and taxpayers budgets, and the Army Corps desire to
beneficially reuse dredge materials on uplands sites. Beneficial reuse is less harmful to the environment and
everyone’s budget than wastefully dumping dredge spoils in the Bay.
Traffic: Kerner
Boulevard dead ends at one end of the Canalways parcel and resumes at the side
entrance to Home Depot. Development
of Canalways will allow the connection of Kerner and give Traffic
Planner Nadar Mansourian another through road with which to find traffic
reducing solutions.
Cal Trans has researched four potential
overpass solutions for 580 and 101 to ease traffic in East San Rafael. In addition to these Cal Trans studied
proposals, a Grange Overpass proposal that settles on undeveloped
publicly owned land adjacent to the sewage district on the south side of 580
and on an undeveloped portion of Canalways has yet to have a full hearing. This Grange Overpass proposal has received
support from contractors Mario Ghilotti and Bob Valentine, who have
indicated that this overpass is doable at a much cheaper price than those
examined by Cal Trans.
Furthermore, the Canalways owners own the
water parcel abutting the site allowing for possible future ferry or other future technical innovations that
may allow water oriented transit solutions to address traffic issues.
Past Developmental History: San Rafael’s Urban Design and Development
Policy Statement of the mid 1980’s suggested
the Canalways site should have 25 acre maximum two story
office/industrial development and 55 acre enhanced tidal wetland. The last developer’s
City certified Environmental Impact Report done in 1984 called for:
Certainly, an argument can be
made that the need is greater today than it was in 1984 for providing more
housing in Marin’s $600,000+ average home price market; as well as for tax
generating development to assist the City’s budgetary needs. Therefore, the Canalways parcel in this
General Plan process should be considered for much higher land usage and human
benefits than those suggested in the 1980’s.
Canalways is a site that can make significant contributions to pressing community’s needs. The “issues” listed here can be overcome when the public understands enough about the site and a spirit of creativity and cooperation is developed to address these issues. This paper is shared with you to help nudge that process of understanding, so that Canalways can help address pressing community issues – and not be overlooked in the discussion for solutions.
The Home Depot, which
abuts the Canalways property, was once a land-fill and dump site. Today it generates significant income that
allows the City to address a myriad of people related needs.
Spinnaker on the Bay Homes, which touches the
other end of Canalways, served as a beneficial reuse uplands dredge disposal
site for Canal and Across the Flats dredge spoils. Today those spoils are creatively re-used in Spinnaker on the
Bay’s enhanced wetlands and its man-made ponding areas as well as for the fill
on which its lovely homes were built.
Canalways has the potential to provide similar environmental, social and
economic benefits. A better
understanding of Canalways’ potential and cooperative and creative approach to
overcoming its “issues” would greatly benefit the community.
Canalways looking toward San
Rafael Creek. Large foreground site is
present home of Home Depot. Upper
portion of site with man-made ponds is Spinnaker on Bay Homes.
More information
regarding Canalways can be gleaned from its under-construction web site: //canalways.tripod.com/
Presentations on
Canalways are also available upon request.