Board approves Seminary redevelopment in Strawberry, certifies EIR with conditions

The Marin County Board of Supervisors on June 9 certified the final environmental impact report (EIR) and approved a set of land‑use entitlements for the redevelopment of the former Golden Gate Baptist Seminary in the Strawberry neighborhood.

County planning staff described the project as a mixed residential and community-serving campus that would retain about 70% of the site as open space while adding 337 residential units (184 new and 139 replacement units), a 150‑room residential care facility, daycare, fitness center and other amenities. Staff and the Planning Commission noted the project evolved over years of review, environmental analysis and a March 2026 environmental settlement agreement with the Seminary Neighborhood Association that reduced building heights and capped commuting student enrollment.

“We have before the board what we have before the board is a project that would increase housing supply in a way that’s considerate of the context and nature of this extraordinary property,” county planner Michelle Levinson said during the staff presentation.

Developer Andrew Giacomini told supervisors the proposal is deliberately smaller than the 606 units the site could be entitled for under state density bonus rules, calling the 337‑unit plan “just over 50% of what they’re entitled to build” and emphasizing concessions baked into the conditions of approval. Architect John Fung described a design that clusters housing, provides underground parking and preserves open space and trail connections.

The EIR identified multiple significant or potentially significant impacts; mitigation reduced many but left some significant and unavoidable effects (notably vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions). County environmental staff said the EIR included an alternatives analysis and mitigation program and that the board could approve the project if the identified public benefits outweighed the unavoidable impacts.

Public comment at the hearing was lengthy and split. Residents and neighborhood groups urged delays, questioned traffic and safety analyses, raised concerns about a plan to place 220,000 cubic yards of excavated fill on the playing field, and asked for firmer enforceable limits on commuting students and clearer relocation protections for current on‑site renters. Other speakers, including some longtime residents and housing advocates, said the county needs housing and praised the negotiated concessions.

In response, staff pointed to conditions included in the master plan ordinance that incorporate the commuter‑student cap of 325 and require a construction management plan, transportation demand management measures, additional design‑review hearings for certain multistory buildings in the Hodges Shuck planning area, final geotechnical reports for the playing field fill, and a community process to study traffic and intersection safety improvements recommended in consultant reports.

After deliberation the board moved and seconded a package of actions that certified the final EIR, adopted CEQA findings and mitigation measures, denied the community plan amendment requested by the applicant, adopted the master plan ordinance with conditions, approved the design review and tree removal permit as conditioned, approved the master use permit as conditioned, and approved the vesting tentative map as conditioned. Supervisor Molton Peters moved the consolidated set of resolutions and ordinances; Supervisor Sackett seconded. The motion passed on a vote of the full board.

What happens next: with the entitlements approved, the applicant may submit building permits and the county will review subsequent permit applications, construction management plans and the required design‑review items that were reserved for later hearings. Several conditions and follow‑up steps (including transportation and geotechnical reviews and community engagement on intersection improvements) remain to be completed before full construction proceeds.