The City Hall building will be closed to the general public on Fridays from June 6, 2025 through August 29, 2025. San Rafael Community Centers, Libraries, Al Boro Parking Services, and all Public Safety services will remain open and maintain normal Friday hours.

 

General Plan Documents

General Plan 2040 is here!

Adopted Plan

On August 2, 2021, the City Council adopted San Rafael General Plan 2040.  Links to the adopted document are below.  To view earlier drafts, please scroll down this page to "Archived Documents."

To Download Individual Chapters of General Plan 2040, or to access the Appendix, click on the links below:

  1. Introduction
  2. Framework and Guiding Principles
  3. Land Use Element
  4. Neighborhoods Element
  5. Community Design and Preservation Element
  6. Conservation and Climate Change Element
  7. Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Element
  8. Safety and Resilience Element
  9. Noise Element
  10. Mobility Element
  11. Community Services and Infrastructure Element
  12. Arts and Culture Element
  13. Economic Vitality Element
  14. Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Element
  15. Housing Element 2023-2031

APPENDICES

 

ARCHIVED DOCUMENTS

Earlier DRAFT versions of General Plan 2040 are provided below for archival reference only.

August 2, 2021 City Council Draft (includes tracked changes showing edits made after July 19, 2021 City Council hearing)

July 2021 City Council Draft ("clean" version, incorporating edits approved by Planning Commission from 10/2/20 to 6/30/21)

Entire Document

Individual Chapters

  1. Introduction (includes changes after 7/19/21 Council hearing)
  2. Framework and Guiding Principles
  3. Land Use Element
  4. Neighborhoods Element
  5. Community Design and Preservation Element (includes changes after 7/19/21 Council hearing)
  6. Conservation and Climate Change Element (includes changes after 7/19/21 Council hearing)
  7. Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Element
  8. Safety and Resilience Element (includes changes after 7/19/21 Council hearing)
  9. Noise Element
  10. Mobility Element
  11. Community Services and Infrastructure Element
  12. Arts and Culture Element
  13. Economic Vitality Element (includes changes after 7/19/21 Council hearing)
  14. Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Element (includes changes after 7/19/21 Council hearing)

July 2021 City Council Draft ("tracked change" version, highlighting Planning Commission edits in red)

Entire Document (showing tracked changes)

May 2021 "Tracked Change Draft"

Entire Document (44 MB file)

Individual Chapters

  1. Introduction
  2. Framework and Guiding Principles
  3. Land Use Element
  4. Neighborhoods Element (supplemental edits from June 29 meeting shown in blue)
  5. Community Design and Preservation Element
  6. Conservation and Climate Change Element (supplemental edits from June 29 meeting shown in blue)
  7.   Park, Recreation, and Open Space Element
  8. Safety and Resilience Element
  9. Noise Element
  10. Mobility Element
  11. Community Services and Infrastructure Element (supplemental edits from June 29 meeting shown in blue)
  12. Arts and Culture Element
  13. Economic Vitality Element
  14. Equity Diversity and Inclusion Element

Appendices

October 2020 Draft

You can download the entire Plan at the link below, or click the links further down the page to open individual chapters.

  Individual Chapters

General Plan Comments and Responses

The Planning Commission began the public hearing process on General Plan 2040 in October 2020.  The bulleted list below provides comments received in writing during the public review process, along with staff responses indicating how each comment will be addressed.  Comments received from Commissioners and from public testimony at the hearings are also included.

Below are documents prepared prior to the kick-off of the 2040 General Plan Update in 2017.   The first link is to General Plan 2020, which was adopted in 2004 and serves as the current General Plan for the City of San Rafael.  The other links are to plans and studies that have been completed since 2004 that may shape new General Plan policies and actions.

General Plan 2020
Station Area Plans
Canalfront Conceptual Design Plan
Downtown Parking and Wayfinding Study
Canal Neighborhood Community Based Transportation Plan
Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan (update underway)
Climate Change Action Plan (update underway)
Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (Adopted 11/20/2017)
Climate Adaptation – Sea Level Rise White Paper (2014)
Marin Bay Wave Vulnerability Assessment (Marin Co)
Round 1 Workshops Engagement Summary

RFP Information (June-August, 2018)

On August 9, 2018, the City of San Rafael released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for technical services on the General Plan Update and preparation of a Downtown Precise Plan.  This page provides information for prospective bidders, including links to the RFP, the detailed scopes of work, the City’s Standard Professional Services Agreement, and attachments related to the Precise Plan grant.  This page also provides a list of firms contacted about the RFP opportunity, questions and responses from prospective bidders, sign-in sheets from the pre-bid conference (scheduled for August 20 at 9:30 AM), and other information relevant to the bid process.  Proposals must be received by 5:00 PM on Monday September 10, 2018.

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