Nijjar Living Trust Housing Compliance Review (P4412)

Project summary:

The applicant proposes to construct an assisted living/memory care facility for senior citizens on a vacant lot along Thomas Drive and N. Knoll Road in the community of Strawberry, in unincorporated Marin County. The project would be located on 3.7 acres of the 6.6-acre site. The proposed facility would be one six story building, that appears to reach a maximum height of 70 feet above surrounding grade. The building would contain approximately 141,595 square feet of floor area, consisting of 72 total apartments, a central kitchen, common areas and a parking garage.

Project description:

The proposed facility would contain approximately 141,595 square feet of floor area, consisting of 72 total apartments, a central kitchen facility, common areas (foyer, bistro lounge, private dining room, general dining rooms, activity rooms, theater, salon, library, fitness room and staff rooms), decks, maintenance areas, storage areas, and laundry area. The main components of the project include:

• Thirty-eight (38) memory care rooms (without cooking facilities);
• Seventy-one (71) assisted living units with kitchens to allow independent living, consisting of forty-six (46) one-bedrooms, eighteen (18) two bedrooms, and seven (7) three bedrooms;
• At total of seventy-two (72) parking spaces in a below grade cellar parking garage; and
• A common dining room and on-site activity areas.

Walking trails on the upslope portion of the property would be accessible via an elevated walkway and trolley line. Other site improvements would include access and drop-off driveways, sidewalks, access stairs, a fire truck turnaround, site retaining walls and bioretention basins. Tree removal is also proposed with the project.

The six-story building would have a combination of a contemporary and a craftsman architectural design with earthen-tone  stucco and wood-like siding. The top floor would include a vertical insulated metal panel siding.

The entire facility would be licensed and operated as a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE) under the State of California Health & Safety Code, which triggers special construction requirements (steel/concrete construction as opposed to wood construction for rental housing) and would be subject to inspections by the Department of Social Services for compliance with care, safety and sanitary regulations. The licensing includes special requirements related to care and service requirements. In addition, the project would be subject to the County’s “Affordable Housing Regulations” that require a “commercial linkage fee” for residential care facilities.

All residents would have access to three meals per day in a shared dining room, and the independent apartments would also include full-sized kitchens. All residents would receive housekeeping, laundry, transportation services, enrichment programs such as on-site yoga and meditation classes, group wellness activities, and access to an equestrian horse therapy program.

Housing Compliance Review approval is required pursuant to Marin County Code Section 22.64.020.A, because the project entails the ministerial review of a housing development project under the regulations of the Marin County Form Based Code.

For more information, please see the Planning Division's public statement about the project.

Zoning: HOD-RMP-0.2
Countywide Plan Designation: HOD-PR
Community Plan (if applicable): Strawberry Community Plan