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Zoning administrator conditionally approves two-year extension for 1515 4th Street senior living project
Summary
The San Rafael zoning administrator approved a two‑year extension to vest entitlements for a previously approved residential care/senior living facility at 1515 4th Street on Dec. 17, 2025; staff recommended approval, a member of the public raised concerns about the change of use, and appeal instructions were provided.
Renee Nikkadig, an associate planner who said she was serving as the acting zoning administrator for the hearing, conditionally approved a two‑year extension to vest the entitlements for a residential care facility at 1515 4th Street during a Dec. 17, 2025 zoning administrator hearing.
The extension preserves an earlier approval for a senior living center and was granted after staff told the hearing there were no issues in making the required findings for approval. The project planner described the site as 4,300 square feet in the downtown precise plan and said the original approval was granted in May 2023 with a use‑permit modification approved in July 2024.
Staff recommended the extension to allow the applicant more time to vest the approved use permit and environmental design review. The planner characterized the item as a time‑extension request rather than a rehearing of the original entitlements and emphasized that no substantive changes to the approved project were before the zoning administrator at this hearing.
A member of the public who identified themselves as a landlord opposed the change of use during the public comment period, saying the planned senior living center resembled "a concierge hotel with a hospital or a lockdown wing" and calling the transfer of entitlements "just a big monopoly game." The planner asked the hearing to remain focused on the formal extension request and offered to address broader policy and GRAMA questions after the hearing closed.
Nikkadig said the decision is appealable to the planning commission and recorded filing instructions in the hearing record, including a deadline five days after the decision. The hearing transcript lists an appeal filing payment described in the record as "a 3 58 dollar" payment (the exact amount is unclear in the audio/transcript) and a $5,119 deposit; those figures were provided in the hearing when appeal procedures were explained. Any appeal must be accompanied by a letter stating the reasons for the appeal and submitted by 5 p.m. on the stated deadline.
The zoning administrator’s conditional approval preserves the project’s entitlement schedule through the new vesting date; the decision will become effective after the appeal period closes if no appeal is filed. The hearing concluded without further action.
