Dear SDV community, below is a copy of a letter we will be sending to the City outlining the very real danger this development poses to our community:
Dear Mayor Kate Colin and the San Rafael Planning Department,
The ongoing wildfire disaster in Los Angeles County has been a heartbreaking and devastating tragedy for countless families. Entire communities have been decimated. Homes, livelihoods, and irreplaceable memories have been lost. Families are mourning loved ones, pets, and neighbors. The mental scars left behind will linger long after the physical destruction has been cleared. Rebuilding will take years, and the damage to these communities may never truly be undone.
As we watch this tragedy unfold, the residents of Dominican Valley cannot help but envision the same nightmare playing out in our very own neighborhood. And it does not take much imagination. The parallels between the Palisades Hills and Dominican Valley are striking—and terrifying. Both are defined by narrow, winding roads, in some places barely wide enough for a single vehicle, with no sidewalks for safe evacuation. Steep drop-offs and deep drainage gullies border key routes, leaving no room for error during an emergency evacuation. Our neighborhood is surrounded by unmanaged vegetation, overhead power lines vulnerable to high winds, towering/unstable eucalyptus trees, and terrain subject to gusts exceeding 60 miles per hour. These conditions are a recipe for disaster. Many residents live in fear each fire season, knowing the infrastructure is already insufficient to handle a rapid, large-scale evacuation.
Now, the proposed development of 50-70 new wooden structures in a deeply forested area backing onto more than 2,000 acres of wildland makes the danger even more urgent. More homes would mean more cars on the same limited roads, blocking emergency responders and trapping residents in a crisis. We’ve seen how this unfolds: in LA, fire trucks were unable to reach homes because evacuation routes were blocked by abandoned vehicles. Precious minutes were lost as bulldozers had to clear the roads—while people and homes were consumed by the flames.
This is not hyperbole. This is reality. What we are witnessing in LA is not just a tragedy—it is a warning.
We are pleading with you to recognize that this development represents a preventable public safety crisis. Approving it while wildfires rage across the state would be a reckless failure of your duty to protect the lives of those you serve.
On behalf of the Save Dominican Valley neighborhood coalition, representing over 400 local residents and the Hoffman Institute, we urge you to halt this development immediately. The safety of our families and community must come first. Do not let the tragedy we are witnessing in LA become our own.
Best,
SDV Steering Committee
Make your voices heard
It’s very important that people continue to write letters to the City expressing their concerns over the proposed development. There are so many stories of fire scares, vehicles getting stuck, and trees falling onto powerlines; the City needs to hear them. Lives and livelihoods are at risk, so the stakes could not be higher.
People to contact:
• Kate Colin, Mayor: Kate.Colin@
• Kristina Estudillo, Principal Planner: Kristina.Estudillo@
• General Public Comments: PlanningPublicComment@
• City Project Page: Dominican Residential Development
Encouraging EIR update
Although not an official determination, we heard that the “City Staff” agree that an Environmental Impact Report is needed to fully review this project. They will be issuing a Request for Proposals to solicit qualified consultants to prepare this document in the coming weeks. We look forward to seeing the formal determination and the scope for the EIR.
