REV I SED
SRCC AGENDA ITEM #7
(5/7/01)
RESOLUTION NO. _______
A RESOLUTION OF THE SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL
EXPRESSING CONCERNS RELATED TO PROPOSED BOUNDARIES FOR THE
MARIN BAYLANDS WILDLIFE REFUGE
WHEREAS, the City of San Rafael has a long history of support for private and
public efforts to acquire and protect open space and important habitat areas;
and
WHEREAS, the health of the San Francisco Bay is of great concern to the City,
including the historic loss of critical marshlands, and
WHEREAS, the City’s General Plan attempts to balance the needs of environmental
quality, economic vitality and workforce housing needs; and
WHEREAS, the City of San Rafael and
Mann County jointly sponsored a twenty month community planning process for the
St. Vincent’s and Silveira properties where the balancing of environmental and
development objectives was addressed by a Citizen’s Advisory Committee composed
of members of environmental organizations, business groups, the League of Women
Voters, neighborhood representatives housing advocates and the community at
large, and
WHEREAS, both the City of San
Rafael City Council and Mann County Board of Supervisors accepted the Citizen’s
Advisory Committee recommendations and directed their staffs to consider and
incorporate the recommendations in their respective General Plan updates, and
WHEREAS, the Council wishes to provide input to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service in their analysis of proposed refuge boundaries and possible refuge
management practices during their public comment period;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of San Rafael
recommends the following issues be addressed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service in their analysis of a proposed Mann Baylands Wildlife Refuge:
1. That those portions of the St. Vincent’s and
Silveira properties west of the former Northwest Pacific railroad line and the
previously developed portion of the Silveira property known as the Honor Farm
east of the railroad tracks be excluded from the proposed refuge boundaries for
the following reasons:
a) The land use study initiated by Mann County
and the City of San Rafael for the St Vincent’s and Silveira properties was an
example of a community process that brought together all interest groups — environmental organizations,
business groups, the League of Women Voters, neighborhood representatives
housing advocates and the community at large, to reach consensus. They
recommended that the entire eastern half of the properties, excluding the
previously developed Honor Farm site, remain as open space, but that portions
of the properties west of the railroad tracks be devoted to critical housing
needs. The City is required by the Stile of California to demonstrate the
ability to construct 2,090 housing units by 2007. The St. Vincent’s and
Silveira properties are the only large, undeveloped sites remaining in San
Rafael’s Sphere of Influence. Consigning the entire 1,200 acres to
environmental preservation ignores the balancing of needs.
b) The proposed boundaries are inconsistent with
the Baylands Ecosystem Habitat Goals Project, a four year effort which involved
numerous resource agencies, including U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and
extensive public input. The Goals Project recommends for the Silveira and St.
Vincent’s properties that there be restoration of tidal marsh on one half of
the properties east of the railroad tracks, that seasonal wetlands and
transitional uplands be preserved and enhanced between the new marshland and
the railroad tracks, and that seasonal wetlands and oaks be preserved west of
the tracks. These recommendations are
consistent with General Plan policies of both Mann County and the City of San
Rafael and with the recommendations of the
St. Vincent’s/Silveira Citizen’s Advisory
Committee which require preservation of 70% of the land area west of the
railroad tracks, including preservation of the adjacent oak woodlands on
Pacheco Ridge, the large seasonal wetlands near the railroad tracks and
retaining substantial areas for habitat corridors.
C) While the
proposed refuge designation may not affect local land use authority, it
certainly will add further controversy and affect public perception regarding
development west of the railroad tracks. Given the level of controversy that a
development proposal would engender, we believe it would not be prudent to
include designation of the lands as a potential refuge into the community
debate.
2. Boundary
designation should either exclude the former Northwest Pacific rail corridor or
specifically incorporate policy direction in the Land Protection Plan to
preclude establishment of sensitive habitat near the rail line. No refuge
activities or restrictions should infringe upon future use of the rail line for
transit or bicycle use.
I, JEANNE M. LEONCINI, Clerk of the City of San Rafael, hereby certify
that the foregoing Resolution was duly and regularly introduced and adopted at
a regular meeting of the Council of said City on Monday, the 7th day of May,
2001, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS:
JEANNE M. LEONCINI, City Clerk