Wednesday Soapbox More planning needed for Terra Linda development

Marin IJ political columnist Dick Spotswood is correct that Northgate owner Merlone Geier’s revised proposal for the mall is an improvement over its Costco plan, but it’s hardly ready for prime time.

First, there’s the matter of an “expanded multiscreen theater.” Will demand for bigscreen entertainment return to anything approaching prepandemic levels? Even if an enlarged theater did draw sufficient crowds, I do not believe these would be nearby residents. At best, an expanded multiplex would create problems similar to those wrought by a new Costco.

Then there are the developer’s generic promises of affordable housing. Yes, workforce housing is badly needed in Marin, but that need mustn’t be conflated with general affordable housing requirements. The funding sources and legal requirements are quite different. In fact, the most likely approach to expanded workforce housing lies in requiring large nearby employers also to contribute to the funding.

Interestingly, in the case of Northgate and the Terra Linda neighborhood, the largest nearby employer by far is Marin County itself. Any plan for Northgate’s redevelopment should include a usable and inviting pedestrian path between it and the Civic Center, as well as the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit station. That would integrate the Civic Center into a redesigned Terra Linda plaza. Without that, Northgate will probably never feel like a town center at all.

Moving the county headquarters from downtown San Rafael drove a stake through the heart of the city. So here’s an opportunity to atone for that planning oversight. With proper access routes and design of the Terra Linda site, the current Civic Center would become an asset in the development of a pleasant and viable neighborhood locus.

If officials representing Marin County, San Rafael and the developer can get together, they can create something valuable.