North Coast Land Holdings Community Plan Amendment/Master Plan/Design Review/Master Use Permit/Tentative Map/Tree Removal Permit on the former Golden Gate Baptist Seminary property (P1490)

Project Description

Proposed Project:

The applicant, North Coast Land Holdings, LLC, is supplementing its previously submitted Community Plan Amendment request with an application for Master Plan, Design Review, Vesting Tentative Map, Master Use Permit, and Tree Removal Permit approval to allow the redevelopment of portions of the existing Seminary campus. In summary, the following proposed project elements would require the following authorizations:

Community Plan Amendment. An amendment to the Strawberry Community Plan is necessary to modify language in the Community Plan specifically related to the Seminary site.

• The proposed amendment would modify the Community Plan such that the residential unit count would be revised, and the residential units and other site uses would no longer be exclusively dedicated to students, faculty and staff of the site school.

Master Plan and Design Review. Pursuant to Section 22.44.020 of the Marin County Development Code, a Master Plan is required for large-scale development of the site and pursuant to Section 22.42.020 of the County Code, Design Review is required for new construction in a planned zoning district. The following project components require Master Plan and/or Design Review approval:

• Construct a new 20,000-square-foot facility to house a pre-school (3,000 square feet) and fitness center (17,000 square feet).
• Replace a majority of the existing residences and dorm rooms with a mixture of single-family and multi-family residences, and construct new single-family and multi-family residences. A total of 336 residential units are proposed.
• Construct a new, 267,354-square-foot residential care facility that would contain 100 independent living and 44 to 50 assisted living and memory care apartments.
• Renovate the Administration Building and add a total of 15,800 square feet of floor area, resulting in a 41,000-square-foot Administration Building.
• Demolish the existing maintenance building and construct a new 2,200-square-foot maintenance building in a different location.
• Install landscape and hardscape improvements associated with the school campus and the residential development, including parking, playfields and a network of walkways and pedestrian-friendly streets.
• Provide open space (approximately 70-percent of the site) and establish a network of trails throughout the project area.

Vesting Tentative Map. Pursuant to Section 22.84.110 of the County Code, a Vesting Tentative Map application was submitted for future condominiumization of the site.

• While no changes to the existing configuration of lot lines is proposed with the project, the applicant has submitted a request for Vesting Tentative Map approval for future condominiumization of portions of the property.

Master Use Permit. Pursuant to Section 22.49.010 of the County Code, a Master Use Permit is necessary to allow multiple conditional uses on site in addition to the existing educational use.

• Authorize the following uses: (1) a fitness center that would be open to the public; and (2) allow the existing, on-site pre-school to accept children not affiliated with the school dedicated to higher education.

Tree Removal Permit. Pursuant to Section 22.62.020 of the County Code, a Tree Removal permit is necessary to allow the removal of regulated trees.

• Remove approximately 41 healthy, mature, native trees to accommodate the project.

Public Statement

Most Recent Project Plans

Project Plans 
North Coast Vol1 A (Corrected)
North Coast Vol1 B (Corrected)
North Coast Vol1 C
North Coast Vol1 D (Corrected)
North Coast Vol1 E
North Coast Vol1 F
North Coast Vol1 G
North Coast Vol2
North Coast Vol3 A
North Coast Vol3 B
A005A REGIONAL BUS ACCESS DIAGRAM
A005B REGIONAL BIKE ACCESS DIAGRAM
L110 ILLUSTRATIVE SITE PLAN EAST
L110A SITE PLAN EAST
L120 ILLUSTRATIVE SITE PLAN WEST
L120A SITE PLAN WEST
L220 LIGHTING PLAN
L220 LIGHTING PLAN
L310 TREE
L311 TREE
L312 TREE
L313 TREE
L314 TREE
L320 TREE
L321 TREE
L322 TREE
L323 TREE
L324 TREE
L410 MANAGEMENT PLAN
L420 MANAGEMENT PLAN
L610 LANDSCAPE MATERIALS REFERENCE PLANTING
L611 LANDSCAPE MATERIALS REFERENCE HARDSCAPE
L612 LANDSCAPE MATERIALS REFERENCE LANDSCAPE

Applicant's Supplemental Information

Affordable Housing Plan
Applicant's Community Engagement (Corrected)
Applicant's Requested Environmental Review Alternative
Arborist's Report
Operational Characteristics
Project Narrative (Corrected)
Proposed Community Plan Amendment
Applicant's Correspondence 2.10.20

Notice of Completion and Notice of Public Hearing on the Draft EIR

Public Notice published on 7/16/2024

The Marin County Community Development Agency has completed a Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR) for the North Coast Land Holdings Project. The public comment period on the Draft EIR begins on Tuesday, July 16, 2024 and will end on Monday, September 16, 2024 at 4:00 p.m. The comment period has been extended beyond the required 45-days to provide additional time for community and public agency review.

Please email your comments to the Environmental Planning Division before the end of the comment period deadline. The email address is listed on the public notice linked above. Any mailed comments must be postmarked on or before Monday, September 16, 2024 to the attention of Rachel Reid, Environmental Planning Manager, at 3501 Civic Center Drive, Suite 308, San Rafael, CA 94903.

The Draft EIR has evaluated the project with respect to all the environmental topical areas of concern as listed in Appendix G of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines. The topical areas addressed include: 

• Aesthetics; 
• Agricultural and Forestry Resources; 
• Air Quality; 
• Biological Resources; 
• Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions and Energy; 
• Geology and Soils; 
• Hazards and Hazardous Materials; 
• Hydrology and Water Quality; 
• Land Use and Planning; 
• Mineral Resources; 
• Noise; 
• Population and Housing; 
• Public Services; 
• Transportation; 
• Cultural/Tribal Cultural and Historic Resources;
• Utilities and Service Systems; and 
• Wildfire.

The Draft EIR found that the proposed project would result in significant and unavoidable impacts related to project-level and cumulative greenhouse gas emissions, temporary construction noise, and vehicle miles travelled.

Notice of Public Hearing 

A public hearing on the adequacy of the Draft EIR will be conducted by the Marin County Planning Commission. Oral and written comments on the Draft EIR may be presented to the Planning Commission at the hearing. The hearing is scheduled for the regular meeting of the Marin County Planning Commission on Monday, September 9, 2024, in the Planning Commission Chambers at the Marin County Civic Center at 3501 Civic Center Drive, Room 328 (Administration Building), San Rafael, California, at which time all persons interested in this matter may appear and be heard. 

Future Project Actions

Following the close of the Draft EIR comment period, the Final EIR will be prepared, which will include responses to comments raising significant environmental points about the Draft EIR. Subsequently, the Final EIR will be considered by the Planning Commission at a future hearing date(s), wherein the Planning Commission will recommend an action to the Board of Supervisors on the certification of the Final EIR and planning entitlements for the project.

If you challenge the decision on this proposed project in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing, or in written correspondence delivered to the Community Development Agency, Planning Division during or prior to the public hearing. (Government Code Section 65009(b)(2)).

Environmental Review

View project environmental review page