San Rafael Hires Manager for Shelter Project
The city of San Rafael has hired Swinerton Management and Consulting to oversee a controversial homeless shelter project. The firm will manage the development of the site amid ongoing community opposition regarding its location and scope.
The project at 350 Merrydale Road involves two distinct phases: first, an interim shelter with 65 individual cabins for up to 70 people, which will operate for approximately 3-4 years. This initial phase is designed to house people currently living in sanctioned encampments along Mahon Creek Path and Andersen Drive. This temporary site must close by June 2029 at the latest. The long-term plan, and a condition of the project's funding, is to redevelop the 2.5-acre lot into a permanent affordable housing complex with a minimum of 80 units. Marin County is funding the property acquisition and site setup with up to $8 million. This funding is contingent on the City of San Rafael formally approving, or "entitling," the property for the development of the 80+ affordable housing units by June 30, 2028. The total cost for the initial interim housing project is estimated at around $12.5 million. The project was announced in October 2025, a move that residents of the adjacent Rafael Meadows neighborhood said "blindsided" them. An opposition group named Citizens for Solutions Not Secrecy formed, citing concerns about the lack of community engagement and the shelter's proximity to daycares and assisted living facilities. Despite the backlash, the San Rafael City Council unanimously approved the property purchase in November 2025 following a meeting with hours of public testimony. San Rafael Mayor Kate Colin publicly acknowledged the city's initial misstep, stating, "I understand it was received as blindsided, and I own that." The decision comes as San Rafael's unsheltered homeless population increased from 161 individuals in 2019 to 264 in 2024. The 2024 point-in-time count identified just over 1,000 unhoused people in all of Marin County.
