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

3. SMART’s Joint Development Goals and Policies
SMART’s official joint development goals, policies and procedures are provided in Appendix A. The
overarching goals of SMART relative to joint development are to:
1. Maximize transit ridership at each site.
2. Generate long-term revenue.
3. Incorporate transit and pedestrian oriented design (i.e., integration with transit facilities, lower
parking ratios, mixed-use where appropriate) at each site.
4. Encourage economic development.
5. Improve connectivity of surrounding area to transit.
6. Encourage mixed income housing.
7. Provide high quality public space, as appropriate.
8. Maintain community compatibility between SMART’s site and the surrounding area.
SMART is seeking a fair market financial return for the use of its property, and intends to maintain
ownership of the site over the long term. Thus, a development agreement for the Railroad Square property
could come in the form of a ground lease, air rights sale or other agreement that allows development on
the site but maintains SMART’s ownership of the land. SMART also prefers an agreement that provides
an ongoing source of revenue for operations. However, SMART’s other key priority for the site is to
develop transit-oriented land uses that will maximize ridership for the SMART system. The District
understands that there may be a need to make tradeoffs between these two key goals.
4. Development Schedule and Process
The timeline for development of the Railroad Square property is as follows:
RFP Issued January 19, 2005
Proposals Due March 24, 2006
Final Developer Selection / ENA April 2006
Development Agreement
Summer 2006 (estimate)
Construction Begins
Spring 2007 (estimate)
SMART will invite the selected developer to enter into an exclusive negotiating agreement (ENA). (See
Appendix D for a sample ENA). It is anticipated that the parties will engage in initial negotiations of key
business terms that will become the basis for subsequent negotiations of a long term ground lease. (See
Appendix E for SMART’s minimum business terms and selected ground lease requirements). Upon
execution of the ENA, the selected developer will be required to make a $20,000 nonrefundable deposit in
the form of a certified cashier’s check, payable to SMART. These funds will be used to offset any costs
incurred by SMART during negotiations. Any unexpended funds will be credited toward future lease
deposits and payments.
In consultation with SMART, the development team should be prepared to initiate and manage a process
that allows for community participation and input prior to final approval. The proposals submitted in
response to this RFP should describe the team’s suggested approach to community participation. (See
Section 7.2 Submission Requirements, item #5).
Request for Proposals for Joint Development at Railroad Square -5-