Council Economic Development Sub-Committee receives update on Economic Development Strategic Plan Policy and Program Recommendations from Kosmont Companies April 13, 2023, the Council Economic Development Subcommittee received a briefing from Kosmont Companies on the Economic Strategic Plan draft policy and program recommendations. This presentation was a follow-up to the initial presentation made by Kosmont Companies...
As part of the City’s Strategic Priority of Economic Recovery, the City has retained Kosmont Companies to prepare an Economic Development Strategic Plan to make recommendations designed to enhance the City’s economic growth and viability. Kosmont’s approach will focus on both city-wide economic resiliencies, as well as the economic vitality of key areas of the...
New energy efficient program opportunities are available for small and medium sized businesses. The Bay Area Regional Energy Network (BayREN) has launched a new energy efficiency program for Bay Area businesses. Depending on the size of the businesses, there are a couple of options for participating: BayREN Business: Who: For small and medium sized businesses...
Since April 2020, City of San Rafael meetings have taken place via video conference on the Zoom platform. As an accommodation during the COVID-19 pandemic, five separate methods of submitting public comment were enabled to allow members of the public various opportunities to participate in City business while this virtual format is in place. As...
Dining Under the Lights is returning to downtown San Rafael every Thursday and Friday night beginning Thursday March 11! Launched in summer 2020 in partnership with the Downtown Business Improvement District, the City's Dining Under the Lights program was a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic to support our downtown restaurants and bars by enabling...
Due to the lingering effects of Covid-19, the Downtown Summer San Rafael Farmers Market held on Fourth Street will not be occurring this Summer. The City of San Rafael and the Agricultural Institute of Marin (AIM) look forward to resuming the market in 2021. We will miss seeing everyone’s smiling (masked) faces this summer! However,...
We are partnering with the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Business Improvement District to support our incredible business community as best as possible. Starting next week, the latest Marin County Public Health order will allow outdoor dining and retail based on the following guidelines: Guidelines for retail Guidelines for restaurants To facilitate outdoor dining...
The County of Marin issued a new public health order today with guidance for retailers. Starting Monday, May 18, 2020, retailers will be able to reopen for curbside pick-up and delivery only. Each curbside Retailer must create, adopt, and implement a written COVID-19 Site-Specific Protection Plan that incorporates and addresses all applicable Public Health Order requirements....
State’s Great Plates Delivered program goes before Board of Supervisors May 12 San Rafael, CA – In partnership with the local community, the County of Marin plans to start participation in the State of California’s Great Plates Delivered Program, set up to support older adults who are sheltering in place, unable to access meals, and ineligible for...
COVID-19 is an emergency on so many levels – physically, emotionally, and financially just to name a few. The staff report being presented to City Council on Monday evening provides a brief summary of COVID-19’s impact on San Rafael as context to a larger financial response discussion. While there are many financial unknowns (e.g. will...
The majority of restrictions remain in place in light of the extended order, but let’s celebrate the re-opening of our outdoor businesses! COVID-19 has absolutely delivered a tough blow to our local, small businesses. The San Rafael Small Business COVID-19 Disaster Relief Fund continues to help our small businesses stay afloat during these unprecedented times. You can help our local economy by donating to the fund, and by patronizing our businesses that remain open. Why not treat your household to...
Launch Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2020 and complete applications must be submitted Deadline: No later than 5pm (PDT) on Monday, April 20, 2020. Application Closed About the Fund A San Rafael Small Business COVID-19 Disaster Relief Fund (the “Relief Fund”) has been created to help small businesses struggling to maintain cash flow and financial solvency...
Prepare Now Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) has notified the County of Marin that it may activate its Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) protocols in response to a high wind event and Red Flag Warning. At 7:30am this morning, PG&E said it could potentially initiate a planned power shutoff in parts of Marin County...
The City of San Rafael is hosting a multi-day design workshop (known as a "Charrette") from Wednesday, May 8th to Saturday, May 11th to develop an updated master plan for Downtown San Rafael. Charrette events will include community workshops and presentations, brown bag lunches, and two open ‘drop-in’ studios. All members of the public are invited to come check out potential design concepts and share ideas with a group...
Arts Organizations Come Together and Celebrate Latinx Arts and Culture The newly designated Downtown San Rafael Arts District, located along Fourth Street in San Rafael, officially launches this Fall with an exciting array of arts programming centered around the shared theme of Latinx. Latinx is inspired by national movements such as Spanish Heritage month and National...
The City of San Rafael is proud to announce the launch of its new online business permitting portal, OpenCounter, which includes two new tools centered around business development. The first tool, a Zoning Portal, will allow users to explore where different businesses are permitted throughout the City. The second, a Business Portal, is designed to...
AlterTheater Ensemble creates pop-up performances with professional artists in storefronts along downtown San Rafael’s pedestrian shopping district. With its award-winning playwright residency program, AlterTheater plays have started on Fourth Street in San Rafael and gone on to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, to New York, to Canada, and more. We hire the same actors as larger...
Newly launched state designation program celebrates the state’s arts and culture San Rafael has been selected as one of California’s premier state-designated arts and culture districts, the California Arts Council announced today. San Rafael joins 13 other districts in a new program highlighting the state’s unique artistic and cultural communities within California, home to the country’s leading...
It's that time of year again! This weekend is Italian Street Painting Marin at Fourth & A Streets. You can't really have street painting without a couple of street closures. So, from 8 a.m. on Wednesday, 06/21 (tomorrow) to 4 p.m. on Monday, 6/26 the following streets will be closed: A Street will be closed...
In order to make way for the construction of our new Public Safety Center, the Economic Development Department is moving. Starting Thursday, May 25th, the Department will move from its current home at 1313 Fifth Ave. to the Boyd Gate House, 1125 B Street. The Department will be officially open for business at the Boyd...
The year 2016 was one of transitions for the Downtown San Rafael Business Improvement District (BID), both in staffing and at the board. At the BID public hearing on November 21, 2016, the City Council appointed a new BID Advisory Board consisting of 5 members of our business community. At Monday’s City Council meeting, the...
San Rafael, CA, ranks No. 3 on the small-cities index this year after debuting on the 2015 index of large cities at No. 23. Milken's Best-Performing Cities index helps businesses, investors, industry associations and government officials monitor and evaluate how well their metro is promoting economic vitality relative to the rest of the country. In addition,...
Most people aren’t surprised when they hear that San Francisco is one of the most walkable cities in the U.S. With a walk score of 86, the city of S.F. is chock-full of charming neighborhoods, trendy restaurants and loads of amenities, but, with a median sale price of $1.25 million, it also happens to be...
