San Rafael nears pivotal votes on mall housing plan

San Rafael planners got another earful of complaints, along with some praise, over a massive housing development heading toward its last approval hurdles.

The final version of the project — which proposes 1,422 homes mixed in with shops and restaurants at the 45-acre Northgate mall site in Terra Linda — was presented during a two-and-a-half-hour Planning Commission study session Tuesday.

Developers say they revised the plans in response to community comments over the past three years.