FEDERATION OF SAN RAFAEL NEIGHBORHOODS
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Happy New Year + 15 Q City survey too!
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  Seasons Greetings
      &
Happy New Year!
From 
The Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods

Scroll down for City Survey

Happy Winter, Everyone!

With hopes for a peaceful & healthy New Year, from the beautiful shores of San Rafael's Neighborhoods

Your Fed Steering Committee,

Amy Likover, Richard Bernstein, Kevin Hagerty, 

Daniel Alm, Greg Brockbank, Jim Draper, Joy Phoenix, Kate Powers, Nina Lilienthal Murphy


Greetings~Federation Winter's Eve Neighborhood Leader's party
With a surprise stop-by from Assemblymember Connolly
And many more!
Fed Neighborhoods 2022
Bret Harte Community Association
California Park
Contempo Marin
Culloden-Quarry-Twin Oaks Homeowners Association
Dominican Black Canyon Neighborhood Association
Gerstle Park Neighborhood Association
Glenwood Neighbors
Lincoln San Rafael Hill Neighborhood Association
Loch Lomond Homeowners Association
Mont Marin/San Rafael Park Neighborhood Association
Montecito Area Residents Association
Peacock Gap Homeowners Association
Southern Heights Neighborhood Association
Spinnaker Point Homeowners Association
Terra Linda Neighborhood Association
West End Neighborhood Association

Thanks for renewing your membership/joining below asap!
Neighbors, Please read this note from City Economic Development Staff Victoria Kim , and take the 15 question survey
 
City of San Rafael - Economic Development Strategic Plan - General Community Survey
The City of San Rafael has retained Kosmont Companies to prepare an Economic Development Strategic Plan to make recommendations designed to enhance the City’s economic growth. Kosmont’s approach will focus on both city-wide economic resiliencies, as well as the economic vitality of key areas of the City, such as Downtown, the Canal District, Northgate Mall / North San Rafael, and Francisco Blvd. commercial corridor. This survey provides community members and other stakeholders an opportunity to provide vital feedback that will help plan for San Rafael’s future. The survey will be open until mid-December.
 
Note: Individual responses will be kept confidential. Survey responses will be aggregated and incorporated into the Economic Development Strategic Plan.

 
Renew your 2023 membership NOW!
Make it your New Year's resolution to get involved!
Contact: sanrafaelneighborhoods@gmail.com

Amy: 415-450-1520
https://www.fedsrn.org
MISSION ​
The purpose of the Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods is to facilitate communication and interaction among the neighborhoods, as represented by their associations, groups, and individuals, and to promote
effective and regular communication with local government entities and agencies.
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Copyright ©2022 *Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods*, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
PO BOX 151485
FSRN
San Rafael, CA  94915-1485
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Fed/SPRC Candidates Forum, Apr 14 + Grants, SR Parks & Rec, Mar 30
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CANDIDATES FORUM
Thursday, April 14
7 PM-8:30 PM


Marin County District 1 candidates:
Gina Banks Daly, Mary Sackett, George Saribalis
CA Assembly District 12 candidates:
Sara Aminzadeh, Damon Connolly, Ida TImes-Green and
Steve Schwartz:


Bring your questions!
Join us - click here - on Zoom!

Federation Grant Awards 2022
Fed Member Grant application due March 30
LINK TO APPLICATION

Have a neighborhood project and need $$$? If you are a Fed member/member organization and propose your project to the Steering Committee, it may get funded.  One privilege of Fed membership per our bylaws includes a subsidy for your good ideas.
No grant too small!

Think of what your neighborhood could do!
Past grants include a neighborhood mural, emergency preparedness equipment & neighborhood outreach programs. 
FEDERATION of SAN RAFAEL MISSION ​

The purpose of the Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods is to facilitate communication and interaction among the neighborhoods, as represented by their associations, groups, and individuals, and to promote effective and regular communication with local government entities and agencies.

fedsr.org
federationofsanrafael@gmail.com
 
POINT SAN PEDRO ROAD COALITION MISSION ​

The Point San Pedro Road Coalition is a non-profit organization representing the interests of residents and neighborhood associations along the Point San Pedro Road corridor in east San Rafael. The Coalition’s role includes advocacy and education on environmental, land use, emergency preparedness, health and safety and other issues that directly affect this community.  

sprcoalition.org
info@sprcoalition.org
San Rafael Parks & Recreation Master Plan

Your input is important!

This Master Plan will guide our parks and recreational programs, create and maintain funding and set priorities for the future. 
 

The plan will look at existing conditions in the parks and recreation, identify needed improvements. This includes how we can maintain the parks, update facilities, including accessibility and strengthening programs.
 

They want want to hear from YOU and learn more about community values,
wants and needs.

 

 First community meeting - Wed, March 30th, 6 PM
San Rafael Community Center
618 B St.
415-485-3333
recreation@cityofsanrafael.org
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Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods 2020

Goal 1:  Ensure the Federation Steering Committee is representative of the San Rafael community.
A. Expand the Steering Committee to represent more neighborhoods
B. Create a membership committee to: communicate with members develop a strategy to attract new members and measure success manage and operate the member database 

Goal 2:  Develop financial management practices that build stability and flexibility both today and in the future.
A. Initiate a financial plan for the Federation’s reserve and ongoing expenditures

Goal 3:  Raise awareness of topics, issues and opportunities impacting the San Rafael community
A. Implement regular newsletters
B. Develop a social media platform

Goal 4:  Develop increased partnership with the City of San Rafael
A. Establish a working relationship with the City’s Neighbor to Neighbor program

  • Develop advocacy strategy
  • Facilitate (neutral) exchange of information in general meetings
  • Prioritize issues, supporting what SC approves by consensus
  • Establish protocol for civil and productive Fed/CIty meetings
  • Communicate issues back to the neighborhoods for their input.
      
2. Build Representation and participation
  • Host regular general meetings (time/place/venue)
  • Activate Membership Subcommittee
  • Recruit neighborhood association/HOA membership
  • Recruit individual membership
  • Enlist membership in subcommittees
                    3. Educate membership about our mission and practices
  • Membership Subcommittee communicates mission and practices
  • Steering Committee communicates mission and practices


       4.  Build Financial Capacity
  • Develop budget
  • Increase membership
  • Obtain fiscal agent
  • Apply for grants


                    5. Develop Grant Program
  • Allocate neighborhood grant monies in budget process
  • Decide on amount and number of grants
  • Award grant at annual meeting

Founded in 1992, the Federation has served as an umbrella group for all neighborhoods in San Rafael. 

What we do:  We provide a platform to address multi-neighborhood issues that cross over neighborhood boundaries and impact a multiple number of neighborhoods.  Often individual neighbors or neighborhood associations have  addressed these issues in ineffective and redundant ways and have been unable to gain the attention of the City of San Rafael.  The Federation has gotten involved in Graffiti abatement, downtown development, street repaving, illegal units, wildfire safety, St Vincent’s dining room and many more issues since its inception.  The group is made up of both neighborhood associations and individuals who often care about broad issues that can impact all of San Rafael.  The group has established a positive partnership with the City and created a vehicle for solving real problems with positive outcomes.
Photo: October Candidates Night - hosted by the Federation. Photo by Jim Draper


Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods Annual Meeting
​ "A Beautiful and Brilliant New Year" Thursday, Feb 13, 2020

What an informative and dynamic group of speakers!
  • Fed VP Richard Bernstein explained our two proposed bylaws amendments, which passed.  Fed northern borders have been eliminated, allowing all San Rafael neighbors and neighborhoods to join us.  The second bylaw brings clarity to the two classes of membership, creating the option for neighborhood boards to vote.
  • Christine Foster, City Data Specialist, announced plans to update their neighborhood files and encouraged all neighborhoods to fill in updated information.
  • SRFD Chief Bob Sinnott spoke about fire safety and training, encouraging neighbors to prepare by taking a CERT course and Get Ready classes.
  • Barry Miller, 2040 General Plan Project Manager, spoke about the importance of the Neighborhood Element and the urgency of submission.
  • Rafat Raie, City Traffic Engineer, updated our attendees about new signalization and data-driven  and project plans along 3rd St. He zeroed in on specific crossroads and updated the audience.
  • Vice-Mayor Kate Colin delivered an engaging City update about issues that matter to Fed members: the Fire Safe marin program, the imminent opening of the new public safety building and the two completed fire stations, community engagement, SMART, and she urged support of Wildfire Measure C.
We saw many new and familiar faces, and are grateful so many of you renewed your memberships.  With lovely homemade refreshments and fun year in review slideshow, our Annual Meeting was truly a beautiful and brilliant event. 

photos  from 2018 holiday party

Photos from the 2017 Federation holiday party

Attendees included County Supervisors Damon Connolly, Katie Rice and FSRN members and friends from 
Bret Hart 
• Dominican/Black Canyon • Forbes • Gerstle Park Neighborhood Association 
Lincoln/San Rafael Hill 
•  Montecito Area Residents Association • North San Pedro Road Coalition 
North San Rafael Coalition 
• Picnic Hill • Rafael Highlands • Sun Valley

                              At the November 6th City Council meeting a slideshow was presented by
​                                                
Paul Jensen, Community Development Director.
Take a moment to read this succinct summary of past Downtown planning. There is much development pressure on the City, and the Mayor's Downtown Design Committee is hammering out guidelines to steer how the City will look, with hopefully "Timeless" design.


Click Here to see presentation on and Discussion of Downtown San Rafael Vision
in Preparation for General Plan 2040
​
 
OR
 View slideshow below:


Station Area Forum II
Wednesday, March 29th
​Media Gallery


Watch video from the meeting:

View Slideshow from the presentation:

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​From the Marin IJ, September 12, 2017

SAN RAFAEL

Hugo Landecker, city activist from
Gerstle Park, dies

By Keri Brenner
kbrenner@marinij.com @KeriWorks on Twitter

Hugo Landecker, a longtime San Rafael booster, volunteer and community organizer, died Sunday after a six-month battle with an aggressive form of lung cancer. He was 78.
Mr. Landecker, one of the cofounders, with wife Cynthia, of the Gerstle Park Neighborhood Association, died at 2:26 p.m., just as the neighborhood group’s annual picnic, which he started at the then-new organization in the 1970s, was getting going. The Gerstle Park group is San Rafael’s oldest neighborhood association. 

“I texted Amy (Likover, a close friend) ‘He’s gone,’” Cynthia Landecker said. “Then the band played ‘Say Goodbye,’ and everyone was crying.”
Gina Silvestri, president of the neighborhood association, said it was especially poignant that Mr. Landecker died “just as the community was coming together” at the picnic, she said.

“He was all about community,” Silvestri said. “He was a gem.”
Cynthia Landecker said her husband of 49 years, a San Rafael “Citizen of the Year” in 2014, was devoted to improving the city and preserving its heritage. He spent decades removing Scotch broom from the area’s open spaces, freeing up trails that were formerly closed.

“He believed that you could work together with others, and that you don’t have to be help-less,” she said. “He said if you established relations with city officials and others, then you can work together to make your life better and enrich the community as well.”

In later years, Mr. Landecker took up the cause of downtown merchants who were troubled by the actions of a growing homeless population — earning himself both controversy and praise. His daily email blog on homelessness issues, The San Rafael Group, went out to 500 people.

“A lot of people thought he was evil; he wasn’t,” Cynthia Landecker said. “He just didn’t want the city destroyed.” 

San Rafael Mayor Gary Phillips said he and Mr. Landecker disagreed about how to approach homelessness problems, but Phillips said he appreciated the interchange of ideas. Phillips said he invited Mr. Landecker to his office to discuss the issue on multiple occasions.

“He had the best interests of San Rafael at heart,” Phillips said Monday. “I’ve always respected that.”

Likover, interim chair of the Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods, said both Landeckers also served with her on the board of San Rafael Heritage, a historic preservation advocacy group that the Landeckers cofounded in 2015. “He worked tirelessly to champion the city he loved, and was a mentor to many of us about public engagement and the importance of the individual as a change-maker,” she added.
Silvestri said Mr. Landecker’s love of historic preservation extended to him being the one to offer reviews and consultations when homeowners in Gerstle Park needed to make renovations.

“He was such a wealth of information and knowledge,” she said. “It’s rare that you find someone who had that many different gifts.”

Hugo Carl Landecker was born in San Francisco in December 1938 to Laura Miller Landecker and Hugo Landecker. He left high school to join the U.S. Navy, and spent three years on the destroyer USS Lofberg, where he learned navigation. After the Navy, he became a journeyman machinist at Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyard, later shifting to Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo after the Hunter’s Point facility closed.

The Landeckers moved to San Rafael in 1968, where they raised daughter Julie, who lives in Santa Rosa. Mr. Landecker retired in 1991.
​

Mr. Landecker had a longtime love of sailing and took many sailing trips with his family.
Services are pending. Contributions in his memory may be made to the Gerstle Park Neighborhood Association, San Rafael Heritage or the Marin Conservation League.



St. Patricks' Day Memorial for Steve Patterson

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Nearly 100 people attended a celebration of the life and civic contributions of Steve Patterson on Saturday, March 17th, 2012. Steve was the co-founder of the Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods and a Gerstle Park resident since 1976 (see IJ article below).  Steve's relatives mentioned that St. Patrick's Day was the favorite family holiday so it was fitting that all gathered at the craftsman house one last time. 

                                    Photos from the event - click to enlarge.                    Photos by Jim Draper

Steve Patterson  1947 - 2012

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By Jessica Bernstein-Wax
Marin Independent Journal 

Steve Patterson, a ubiquitous and outspoken voice on San Rafael issues for more than two decades, died Monday of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, friends said. He was 64.

Mr. Patterson, a Gerstle Park resident since 1976 and co-founder of the Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods, was heavily involved in numerous city issues from development to the 2010 library tax to street trees.

Over the years Mr. Patterson both took on and cooperated with City Hall.

"He always worked the line between the neighborhoods and City Hall," said Hugo Landecker, a longtime Gerstle Park resident who served with Mr. Patterson on the neighborhood association board. "He always was able to kind of get people working together or coming up with some common ground. Steve was able to bridge that gap."

Born on May 2, 1947 in Oakland, Mr. Patterson grew up in San Francisco and moved to San Rafael in 1960. He attended San Rafael High School and San Jose State University, where he received a bachelor's degree in business and a master's in business administration.

Mr. Patterson had a varied career working as a McGraw-Hill publisher, sales rep and real estate investor.

An avid bicyclist, weight-lifter and former competitive runner, he owned condominiums in Sonoma and Sausalito, houses and duplexes in San Rafael and a four-unit building overlooking Angel Island in Tiburon's Lyford Cove.

Mr. Patterson continued to serve as chairman of the Federation 
of San Rafael Neighborhoods until his death.

"If there wasn't a federation, there'd be trees falling in the forest and no one would hear them," he told the Independent Journal in 2007. "We enable a dialogue that wouldn't otherwise happen."

A group of residents nominated Mr. Patterson for San Rafael's citizen of the year last month.

"Steve has worked tirelessly for the betterment of San Rafael," resident Jackie Schmidt said in a letter supporting the nomination. "He always did the administrative grunt work, communication, and also personal advocacy — day in, day out, year in, year out. He was reliable (some would say relentless) in his efforts — always to be counted on to participate, never 'dropping out' of the dialogue."

Sandy Miller, a Dominican resident and former federation secretary, said Mr. Patterson "just had his fingers on everything in San Rafael. He made sure nobody got away with anything."

Former Mayor Al Boro sometimes butted heads with Mr. Patterson at public meetings but remembered him as a dedicated force in city politics.

"We sometimes didn't agree on how to get things done, (but) I think we both wanted to accomplish the same things," Boro said. "He certainly put a lot of effort into being concerned about the city. He should be recognized for that."

Mr. Patterson informed his friends and colleagues of his diagnosis late last year, said Amy Likover, president of the Gerstle Park Neighborhood Association.

"He sent an email to community leaders and friends to tell them of the card that he had been dealt and said that he was going to keep on working until the end — and he did," Likover said. "He's a real straight shooter — you always knew where you stood with him. He spoke to the issues. ... He was all about transparency in government."

Mr. Patterson is survived by an aunt and cousins in Iowa, said Tymber Cavasian, the federation's vice chairwoman. A memorial service is still in the planning stages but will take place in the next few weeks at Mr. Patterson's home, she said. For information on the service, send email to tymber@distinctivebuilders.com or call 459-4337.




In Memory of Dick Watts,  FSRN Board Member


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RICHARD LEONARD WATTS  1937 - 2010 
"One generation plants the trees; Another gets the shade." Chinese Proverb Those of us fortunate enough to be part of Dick Watts' life will always enjoy the shade of his love and generosity. Richard Leonard Watts was born in New York and raised in New Jersey. A graduate of Princeton and Purdue, he studied chemical engineering and went on to a distinguished career in that field with Chevron. A long-time Marin County resident, Dick dedicated his retirement years to the service of his church, Lincoln Hill Community Church, and his community.

He was active in organizations including the Sun Valley Neighborhood Association and the San Rafael Federation of Neighborhoods. Dick was particularly proud about his work on the 2020 General Plan Steering Committee for the City of San Rafael. Dick tackled his every occupation enthusiastically and efficiently. But, he also took time to enjoy himself. He was an avid tennis player and swimmer, and could often be found at the theater or in a College of Marin Italian language class. He traveled the world. And, as he was truly an engineer at heart, we know he enjoyed researching and planning trips as much as taking them. Dick was a very intelligent man. But, he will be remembered for his wisdom, earned from a life well lived. He died July 1st, at home, on his own terms, after a brief bout with cancer. He will be dearly missed by his wife of 15 years, Nadine Watts, two daughters, Jill Silvestri and Laura Wise, three sons, Brant, Kell and Cade Hardin and six grandchildren. 

Published in Marin Independent Journal from July 3 to July 9, 2010

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Mayor Gary Phillips in a conversation with the FSRN Board at the November meeting. 
Topics included the latest on SMART, homelessness, massage parlor reductions, Ritter House, community outreach.




Federation Gives $1,500 Grant to Marin ReLeaf

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Sandra Sellinger, head of Marin ReLeaf recieves Check from the Federation
On May 16th, 2015, the Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods presented a $1500 grant to Marin Releaf to provide funding for the planting of trees in the city.  The check was received by San Rafael resident Sandra Sellinger who heads the organization. The origin of this grant was in 2008 when the City Council established a Tree Advisory Committee to advise the city on the existing and possible future street trees, (which it was having increasing trouble funding).  Since that time due to budget tightening, the City Street Tree program suffered and efforts for progress are challenged. 

The original funding offer of $1500 from Steve Patterson of the Federation was incentive to the City Council for the formation of the Tree Advisory Committee.  The Parks Department of San Rafael Public Works and Sandra worked out the details after the Committee’s work was completed.  Marin ReLeaf must find funding for each year’s plantings since they do not receive money from the City. 


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