The design for City offices downtown continues to move forward at a brisk pace.

On September 13, the Council received a presentation from RMW Architects outlining a 50% schematic design for the City offices.  This presentation provided the first visual of the proposed building.

The Council and community provided feedback on the design which will be taken into account by staff and architects.  A 100% schematic design will be brought to the Council in the middle of October. 

The public is encouraged to visit the City Office page on the City website to view the staff reports and related presentations.  The page can be viewed at this link. Staff and the architects will be asking for resident's views on the design soon. 

Sign up here to get updates on the City Office project and receive information on future meetings.  To sign up for notifications, enter your email address, check the "City Office Project" box under "News" and then click, "Subscribe."  

On September 13, the Council also updated the City's graffiti ordinance.  This action was in response to the concern over graffiti within the community.  The current ordinance was originally adopted in 1995 and had not been updated since that time.

The new ordinance will enhance the City's approach to prevent and abate graffiti through new enforcement provisions.  Council and staff believe these provisions are vital towards addressing this community issue. 

The staff report and new graffiti ordinance can be found on the City's website here.

On another note, Council and staff would like to publicly thank all of the volunteers who have tirelessly worked to remove graffiti and keep our community looking good.  Your involvement has been a great help and we thank you for your assistance. 

If you see graffiti in the community, please call our Graffiti Hotline at 897-4398 or email graffiti@novato.org.

In the last edition of the Our Town, the City reported that on August 11th, the Council decided to take the first step in the process to continue the Novato Redevelopment Agency and make remittance payments as outlined in legislation approved by the state. At this meeting, Councilmembers specified that this action was not a final decision. The Council wanted to provide additional time for the community to review the options and the financial details before taking a definitive action.

On August 23rd, the Council further affirmed its desire to continue the Redevelopment Agency by adopting an "opt-in" ordinance that will go into effect on September 23rd.  Over the last month, staff has met with community members to discuss the Agency's finances and explain the rationale for making the required remittance payments.

At its September 27th meeting, the Council will consider a remittance agreement, a loan agreement and a cooperation/ funding agreement between the City and the Redevelopment Agency to formalize the Council's action to continue the Agency and fund the payments required by the state legislation.  These agreements will be adopted on a conditional basis due to the uncertainty over the lawsuit challenging the State's elimination of redevelopment. 

The California Supreme Court is scheduled to rule on the constitutionality of the State's action in mid-January.  If their ruling is favorable to cities, Novato may not have to make these remittance payments. Please watch for further information on redevelopment in the Our Town and on the City's website.