Board Packet 01 18 06 - Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit - Home Page

1. Introduction
The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District (SMART) is seeking proposals for development on its
5.39-acre property at Railroad Square in Santa Rosa. Three development teams have been invited to
respond to this Request for Proposals (RFP), having been selected through an earlier Request for
Qualifications (RFQ) process. Following the review of proposals submitted, SMART will select a
development team with which to enter into an exclusive negotiating agreement (ENA) to develop the site.
The selected development team will work in conjunction with SMART to deliver a high-quality, mixeduse,
transit-oriented development project that is integrated with the planned passenger rail station.
This RFP builds on the information provided previously in the RFQ, and is organized into the following
sections:
a) Background and history of SMART;
b) SMART joint development policies;
c) Development schedule and process;
d) Site and neighborhood characteristics;
e) Desired programming elements; and
f) Submission requirements and selection procedures.
2. Background and History of SMART
In 1997, the Sonoma County Transportation Authority and Marin County sponsored the Sonoma Marin
Land Use & Transportation Study, which led to the formation of the SMART Commission in 1998. The
Commission was composed of two supervisors and three city representatives from each of the two
counties. Its purpose was to guide the design and implementation of passenger train service and facilities
in support of transportation and land use patterns to counteract the effects of sprawl and reduce
congestion along the Hwy 101 corridor.
The SMART Regional Rail District was created in January 2003 with the passage of California State
Assembly Bill 2224 (Nation, District 6), consolidating the existing SMART Commission, Northwestern
Pacific Railroad Authority, and assets of the rail corridor into a single rail district. The new district is
charged with the ownership, development and implementation of passenger rail service in Sonoma and
Marin Counties. SMART is governed by 12 directors, who are appointed by Sonoma County, Marin
County and the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District.
The proposed SMART trains will run along 70 miles of existing rail, from Cloverdale to a San Franciscobound
ferry terminal in Marin County. Current plans call for up to 14 stations, including Cloverdale,
Healdsburg, Windsor, two in Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Cotati, two in Petaluma, Novato North & South,
Civic Center, San Rafael and Larkspur (see Figure 1). The service is planned to run at 30-minute
frequencies during the peak commuter hours. Stations will offer convenient transfers to buses, ferries and
bicycle and pedestrian connections. Initial ridership is expected to be approximately 5,000 passengers per
day. Additional information about SMART is available at the website, www.sonomamarintrain.org.
Funding for SMART comes from a variety of sources, including state and federal funding and state rail
bond moneys. Additional funds are expected from a district-wide sales tax measure that is likely to be
placed on the ballot in November 2006.
Request for Proposals for Joint Development at Railroad Square -3-