Body of News Release
Marin County, CA – A proposed development on Marin County’s unincorporated Strawberry peninsula is moving toward a second review by the Marin County Planning Commission.
Preview materials for the planned renovation of the former Golden Gate Theological Seminary are available online, including the final environmental impact report (EIR), and the topic is scheduled for the March 30 Planning Commission agenda. The meeting starts at 11 AM at Marin Center’s Showcase Theater, at 20 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. It will be livestreamed on the County website and archived for later viewing.
The 127-acre property at 201 Seminary Drive is owned by North Coast Land Holdings LLC. With nine assessor parcels involved, the county’s largest private development project in many years would include construction of 336 single- and multifamily residential units that would replace a majority of the existing residential housing and a new residential care facility with up to 100 independent and 50 assisted living and memory care apartments for older adults. Seventy of the proposed residential units would be reserved as below-market-rate housing.
On March 30, the Planning Commission will further evaluate the project and final EIR, which will include a review of the "Environmental Settlement Agreement" between the applicant and a community neighborhood group called the Seminary Neighborhood Association. The agreement lays out several developer commitments, which include reducing heights for some residential buildings, and limiting the nature of the site school to those of a graduate, post-graduate and/or research nature. Another voluntary commitment would limit the number of school enrollees that can commute to the site to 325 students.
As the meeting concludes, the Planning Commission is expected to make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors regarding certification of the final EIR and approval of the project.
North Coast Land Holdings purchased the land after the seminary relocated to Southern California in 2015. Families and other individuals both affiliated and unaffiliated with the college have been living in housing constructed on the site since the 1980s. The draft EIR for the redevelopment plan was completed in July 2024 and showed 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.
The development does not qualify for ministerial review and must go through a state-mandated environmental review as well as public hearings administered by County CDA since Strawberry is an unincorporated area.
Anyone may subscribe to receive emailed updates from the CDA Planning Division about the planning and environmental review process.
# # #
For disability accommodations, please phone (415) 473-7873 (voice), CA Relay 711, or e-mail CDA staff at least five business days in advance of the event. The County will do its best to fulfill requests received with less than five business days’ notice. Copies of documents are available in alternative formats, upon request.