San Rafael council reviews governance handbook after residents press for more outreach on 350 Meridale

San Rafael’s City Council spent much of its Nov. 12 retreat reviewing a proposed governance handbook meant to clarify how council members interact with staff and the public following the city’s shift to district elections. City staff and consultant Kathy Capriola said the draft is designed to set durable expectations — not to limit elected officials — and recommended the council approve the document in form and later codify it by resolution at a regular meeting.

The handbook review followed public comment that focused on process and transparency. "We have been blindsided by the 350 Meridale project," resident Gregory Andrew told the council, saying the neighborhood had not been consulted early enough and asking the council to "pause the project" and remove it from the Nov. 17 agenda until outreach restarts. "You never came to us and asked for our input or opinion until you had already decided," Andrew said. Another public speaker, Ken Dickinson, later questioned the timing of staff briefings and press statements around the same property and asked whether Brown Act procedures had been followed.

Why it matters: the handbook is meant to provide consistent guidance for how individual council members should work with the city manager, department heads and the public. Staff and the consultant emphasized six reasons for routing substantive requests through the city manager’s office: keep the manager informed, protect council and manager credibility, ensure equitable information access, avoid perceived power and confusion, prevent misinformation, and protect staff from inappropriate direction.

What staff proposed: the city manager and consultant said the handbook should distinguish substantive communications (policy questions, requests that require staff work or commitments of city resources) from routine exchanges and suggested council members copy the city manager on substantive messages so staff can triage and escalate appropriately. Staff also said the draft will be brought back to a regular council meeting with a resolution so the handbook is part of the official record.

Public reaction and next steps: residents asked the council for clearer timelines and stronger commitments to outreach on major proposals such as 350 Meridale. City staff told the council they would: document topical inbox distribution lists (for example, the 'endhomelessness' intake box), build a matrix showing when to use Council CRM vs topical emails vs SeeClickFix, and return with a clean final draft and a resolution for formal adoption. The council did not vote to adopt the handbook at the retreat; staff will return with the revised document and recommended formal action.