The Downtown PDA was established in 2009. Since it was established, there have been many accomplishments. The City benefited from the specific PDAs funding from the One Bay Area Grant (OBAG) program. OBAG grants greatly subsidized the preparation of two plans. The City received $250,000 to develop the 2012 Downtown Station Area Plan and $600,000 for the pending Downtown Precise Plan. Also, because of the PDA status, the City was awarded OBAG funding for several infrastructure projects. These funds included $2.1 million for sidewalk improvements along Francisco Boulevard East and $1.9 million for Downtown transportation enhancement improvements to prepared for the SMART rail service.
To date, there have been no challenges or obstacles with the Downtown PDA. The Downtown Precise Plan has been developed through a community driven planning process. This planning process was funded the OBAG grants described above. All of the Precise Plan contents and recommendations have been administered, shepherded and crafted solely by the City of San Rafael and our community. During this process, there has been no intervention by or pressure from the regional agencies (MTC/ABAG) to influence the Plan findings or recommendations.