Supervisors Set To Make Final Call On Former Seminary Property In Marin County

STRAWBERRY, CA — After more than a decade of planning, environmental review, and public debate, the Marin County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to make a final decision Tuesday on a 337-unit mixed-use development proposed for the former Golden Gate Theological Seminary property on the Strawberry peninsula.

The board will consider certifying the final environmental impact report, approving a master plan, and granting related land use permits for the 101-acre project at 201 Seminary Dr. in unincorporated Marin County.

The Planning Commission recommended approval in March following more than 11 hours of deliberations.

“When this proposal first came to the County a decade ago, it was a stand-alone proposal for expanded housing in Marin,” said CDA Director Sarah Jones. “Over the many years of public input and environmental review, the proposal has evolved to balance housing needs, open space preservation, community amenities, and the site’s longstanding institutional character.”

Developer North Coast Land Holdings purchased the property after the seminary relocated to Southern California in 2015. The proposal calls for constructing 184 new residential units and a senior residential care facility while renovating 139 existing units and an academic building. The senior facility would offer up to 100 independent and assisted living apartments and 50 memory care units. A daycare center would also be relocated to a new building that would include a fitness center.

Seventy of the new residential units would be reserved as below-market-rate housing, offered at 80 percent of the area median income — $168,100 annually for a family of four in Marin County. Approximately 70 percent of the property would be retained as recreational or open space.

The project drew significant community feedback over the years, with residents raising concerns about scale, traffic, neighborhood compatibility and construction impacts. In response, North Coast agreed this spring to reduce building heights on some residential structures and place limits on future institutional uses and commuter student enrollment.

The Tuesday hearing will be held in person and online at the Board of Supervisors chamber at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, and is expected to begin in the late morning after ceremonial items and the consent calendar.