LETTERS TO THE EDITOR | September 2, 2022 at 11:45 a.m.

Northgate housing plan too dense to be approved

The proposed Northgate mall housing project is too ambitious. The idea of as many as 3,600 new residents is concerning. This is a quiet, residential area with limited services, few restaurants, one major grocery store and congested freeway access.

The first phase of proposed construction would be exclusively for low-income residents. This is insidious segregation. There is a stigma attached to low-income housing that cannot be erased. The only way to negate it is to integrate low-income residents fully into retail rate housing and to subsidize the cost of such units as income warrants.

Multiple studies show that low-income housing solutions work, but only when fully integrated into the community, and not identified as such.

We still must address the water supply, electrical needs, sewage, police and fire coverage, emergency evacuation plans and school capacity. Moreover, there is only a small open space planned. The city should not allow this.

I’d oppose these multi-story behemoths even if they were million-dollar condominiums. It’s simply too many units and they are too densely packed for the

neighborhood. It is too ambitious for the limited infrastructure. The nearly two-decade timeline for this project negates any excuse for short-changing the planning and preparation process.

San Rafael officials should take a big step back from the current proposal and look at additional options to spread the housing so that no one area is burdened with such density.

— Jeanne C. Mann, San Rafael