Body of News Release
Marin County, CA – A proposed development on Marin County’s Strawberry peninsula is moving toward a review by the Marin County Planning Commission.
Preview materials for the planned renovation of the former Golden Gate Theological Seminary site are now available online, and the project, along with the final environmental impact report (EIR) will be the addressed at the next two Planning Commission meetings. A project overview, similar to a public workshop, is scheduled for March 2 to provide background and context to a development that’s been years in the making. On March 30, the Planning Commission will consider making a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors regarding certification of the final EIR and approval of the project.
Both meetings will take place in Marin Center’s Showcase Theater, 20 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael. The theater is the temporary home of many County meetings while audio-video upgrades are made to the Board of Supervisors’ chamber at the Civic Center.
The 127-acre property off Seminary Drive is owned by North Coast Land Holdings LLC. The project is proposed on a 101-acre portion of the site that includes nine assessor parcels. The project would be the county’s largest private development project in many years and would include construction of a new residential care facility with up to 100 independent and 50 assisted living and memory care apartments for older adults and 336 single- and multifamily residential units that would replace the majority of the existing residential housing. Seventy of the proposed residential units would be reserved as below-market-rate housing.
Marin and the entire state of California are experiencing a housing crisis, which has led to higher living costs and increased homelessness. Marin has one of the highest median resident ages in the state and the latest demographic statistics show that one-third of the county population will be age 65 or older within the next few years.
The applicant has supplemented its previous development application with an application for a community plan amendment as well as a master plan, design review, vesting tentative map, a master use permit, and a tree removal permit. Due to the number of residential units proposed at affordable levels, the development qualifies for consideration under state housing laws.
North Coast Land Holdings purchased the land after the seminary relocated to Southern California in 2015. Residents unaffiliated with the college have been living in housing constructed on the site since the 1980s.
The Marin County Community Development Agency (CDA) prepared the staff report and recommendations for the Planning Commission meeting. A final review by the Board of Supervisors is expected sometime this summer.
The draft EIR for the property 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 approval and must go through a state-mandated environmental review in addition to public hearings at the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors because Strawberry is an unincorporated area.
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