May 9, 2017 | Legal move stalls Dominican sisters’ plan for transitional housing.
An attorney who lives near the Dominican sisters’ Our Lady of Lourdes Convent in San Rafael has appealed the city’s decision to allow the nuns to house two distressed families.
The city’s interim zoning administrator approved a temporary-use permit in January. Dolan and another neighbor filed appeals to the city’s Planning Commission, which rejected their appeals in a 6-0 vote March 14.
Other neighbors, advocates for people who are homeless, and some of the 30 sisters who attended the hearing testified in favor of the plan.
Among the Dominican Sisters’ current ministries are affordable housing, social justice advocacy, social services, and respite for homeless. In January the sisters were granted permission by the city to amend the convent’s use permit to a housing unit.
The unit would be shared by two women and their children, to help the women get established and find permanent housing as part of the convent’s mission. The change in the use permit would end after two years and the women would be supervised by Homeward Bound, Marin’s longstanding provider of services to homeless families.
Join AAI in supporting the Dominican Sisters’ transitional housing unit:
The San Rafael City Council will be asked to uphold the appeal on Monday May 15th, 7:00pm at San Rafael City Hall, 1400 Fourth Avenue. Please save the date and spread the word. Come support the efforts of the aging Sisters who want to do good in their community. This is a chance to ask the Mayor and Council members to recognize that there is a housing crisis in Marin County, to support the efforts of a senior community that wants to help, and to uphold the decision of the Zoning Administrator.
Contact Linda Jackson:
linda.m.jackson@agingactioninitiative.org
About Aging Action Initiative
The purpose of the Aging Action Initiative is to promote a countywide age-friendly environment, especially for those in need, collectively created by a strong network of service providers through public education, policy advocacy, and service coordination. The initiative is a collective effort of over 65 different agencies, grassroots organizations, commissions and neighborhood groups, funded by the County of Marin, and coordinated by MARINSPACE.
