Council adopts midyear updates to San Rafael's three-year strategic work plan; residents urge more neighborhood engagement on 350 Merridale

The San Rafael City Council unanimously adopted midyear updates to the city's three-year strategic plan work plan for fiscal year 2025–26 at its March 2 meeting. Assistant City Manager John Stefanski and the digital team summarized accomplishments, deferrals and next steps; staff said about 10% of projects are complete, 73% are on track and 17% are planned for deferral.

Vedika from the digital services team reviewed progress across the seven strategic priority areas and described key accomplishments: a Central San Rafael gateway/beautification pilot, continued implementation of wildfire-prevention measures and zone-0 grant work, identification of 350 Merridale as an interim shelter site with a county grant agreement in place, adoption of a mobile-vending ordinance, and a first Inclusive Outreach and Engagement Guide for staff. Staff said deferrals result from scope increases, staffing absences, capacity constraints and funding limitations.

Councilmembers and staff discussed how the work-plan structure will be used as a management and communication tool and how emerging priorities will be considered during the year. Staff said the work-plan update and the full staff report will be posted online and that digital tools (including Asana) are being evaluated to improve public reporting.

During public comment, Marianne Monistock (San Rafael Meadows) asked the council to pause the RFP process for 350 Merridale and meet directly with impacted neighborhoods after an RFP posted Feb. 19 required developers to propose at least 80 units and set a selection date of August 2026. Monistock argued early community engagement was bypassed and said neighborhood trust has been eroded; she urged the council to meet with residents before the city enters into an exclusive negotiating agreement with a developer.

Staff responded that some elements of the Merridale work did require entitlements and grant-related steps (including entitling the property) and that staff is focused on aligning grant commitments and timelines while seeking opportunities to secure long-term funding. Councilmembers stressed the work plan is a flexible management tool and acknowledged it will change as emerging priorities and resource constraints arise.

The council voted on a resolution to adopt the midyear updates to the work plan; roll-call votes were recorded as Aye for the members present, and staff will post the updated work plan and continue outreach on priority items.