Resumen
Project Description
The Agricultural Institute of Marin (AIM), in partnership with Marin County, is proposing to develop a portion of the Marin Civic Center Campus as a permanent location for the Marin Farmers Market and a new Center for Food and Agriculture. AIM is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that currently operates a Farmers Market elsewhere on the Civic Center Campus two days per week. The Project location is the “Christmas Tree Lot,” a currently undeveloped portion of the Civic Center Campus located at the intersection of Peter Behr Drive and Civic Center Drive, in the northwesternmost part of the Campus, in the City of San Rafael.
The Project would develop permanent facilities for AIM, including a covered market stall area, a visitor center, a small office building, a commercial kitchen, an educational building, restrooms, a food-storage container, and a walk-in refrigerator. The Project includes relocating the current Marin Farmers Market, which operates on Thursday and Sunday at parking lots within the Civic Center Campus, to the new location, and adding a third weekly market. When not in use, the market stall area would serve as a parking lot.
The proposed buildings would house the Center for Food and Agriculture (“CFA”) and would be used for educational and other activities. These activities would include classes on food preparation and other topics related to food and agriculture, training workshops for producers, and an educational speakers series with chefs and farmers, with indoor capacity capped at 75 attendees. No activities would be allowed that would compete with activities at the Marin Center.
Review type
Mitigated Negative Declarations (MND), Initial Study (IS)Estado
Ubicación
The Agricultural Institute of Marin (AIM), in partnership with Marin County, is proposing to develop a portion of the Marin Civic Center Campus as a permanent location for the Marin Farmers Market and a new Center for Food and Agriculture. The Project location is the “Christmas Tree Lot,” a currently undeveloped portion of the Civic Center Campus located at the intersection of Peter Behr Drive and Civic Center Drive, in the northwesternmost part of the Campus, in the City of San Rafael.
Address: 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903
Assessor's Parcel Number (APN): 179-270-11
Notice of Availability
The Marin County Community Development Agency has completed the Final Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) for the Permanent Farmers Market and Center for Food and Agriculture at the Marin Civic Center Campus Project. The Draft IS/MND is linked below in the "Environmental Review Documents" section near the bottom of this webpage; no changes were made prior to finalization. The 30-day public comment period for the Draft IS/MND began on November 20, 2023 and ended on December 20, 2023. On September 16, 2025, a hearing was conducted by the Marin County Board of Supervisors where the IS/MND was approved in addition to the associated lease agreement for the project. A Notice of Determination was filed for the IS/MND on September 23, 2025 and is also linked below in the "Environmental Review Documents" section below.
Public Notice
Notice of Availability - Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration
Environmental Review Documents
The documents in this list may not work with all assistive technology and are being remediated. For alternative formats, please email Tammy Taylor or phone 415-473-7873. To use the California relay service, dial 711.
- AIM Farmers Market - Draft IS/MND (15.15 MB) — The Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) for the AIM Permanent Farmers Market at Marin Civic Center Project.
- AIM Farmers Market - NOD (1.94 MB) — The Notice of Determination (NOD) for the AIM Permanent Farmers Market at Marin Civic Center Project, filed on September 23, 2025.