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Residents urge board to reconsider Peoples of the Canal shoreline exhibit over safety and sea‑level concerns
Summary
Dozens of San Rafael residents told the Public Art Review Board on July 15 that the proposed 22‑panel Peoples of the Canal installation should not be permanently sited along the narrow Shoreline Path because of safety, parking and sea‑level‑rise adaptation concerns; staff said no formal proposal has yet been submitted to the board.
At the July 15 meeting of the San Rafael Public Art Review Board, an extended public‑comment period drew dozens of residents who urged the board to reconsider placing the proposed Peoples of the Canal exhibit along the Shoreline Path, arguing the path is too narrow, lacks parking and sits in a corridor slated for sea‑level‑rise adaptation.
"This proposal is different. It would permanently install a 2‑mile large‑scale exhibit throughout one of San Rafael's most treasured shoreline parks," said Susan Levine, a member of MARSH (Marin Alliance to Retain Stark Weather Habitat). Levine and several other speakers said the shoreline itself — the marsh, wildlife and sweeping views — is the public’s destination and should not become a backdrop that is altered by permanent signage.
Supporters and critics agreed the project tells important stories, but they disagreed about the right location. "The question is whether the Shoreline Path can deliver what a permanent 22‑panel exhibit actually needs — an audience that stops, reads and returns," said Mark Palos, who described his experience placing community art in other urban contexts and recommended sites such as Pickleweed Park that offer parking, restrooms and space for school groups.
Stuart Dubey, a Bay Point resident and volunteer with MARSH, told the board the proposal raised process questions: "To date more than 290 verified petition signatures along with letters and public testimony asked the city to reconsider the location," he said, and he asked whether the applicant has demonstrated the level of neighborhood engagement required by the board's review criteria.
Project representatives, including Rich Storheck of Canal Arts, said the effort began four years ago with tribal partners and that the plan calls for roughly one‑tenth‑of‑a‑mile spacing between panels. Storheck disputed characterizations that the exhibits would be co‑located or oversized and said elected officials have been receptive to the project concept.
Staff emphasized that the Peoples of the Canal project was not a formal agenda item and that the city had not yet received a formal application for board review. "At this point the city has not received a proposal that we would deem a formal proposal that could be submitted to the Public Art Review Board," staff liaison Craig Verame said, and he urged speakers to submit written correspondence for the project file. The city maintains a project page with available materials and will update the record as it receives information.
What happens next: staff said they will continue to track the project at the staff level, collect written input for the project file, and notify the board if and when a formal proposal is submitted for review. No formal action or vote on the Peoples of the Canal project was taken at this meeting.
The public‑comment period in the meeting record contains multiple requests for temporary or movable exhibit options, concerns about future infrastructure work and sea‑level‑rise adaptation, and appeals to place the history where it can be safely and sustainably experienced.
