Gutters and Roofs for San Rafael, the Beating Heart of Marin
Gutter and roof installation, cleaning, repairs and rejuvenation. Family-owned since 2002, trusted by thousands of returning Bay Area homeowners.
San Rafael, in short
What do I have to clear from my roof and gutters for fire safety in San Rafael?
The City’s code asks owners to “Maintain the roof, gutters, decks, porches, and stairways of any structure on the property free of accumulated leaves, needles, or dead vegetative growth.” That duty is part of the City’s rules for the first five feet around a structure, which apply on all properties in the city. The Fire Department offers a free evaluation of your home and yard.
The story of San Rafael
San Rafael, the Marin County seat that calls itself “a mission city established over 200 years ago”.
The State’s listing says Mission San Rafael Arcangel was established in 1817 by the Franciscan Order. In 1844 a Mexican governor granted Timothy Murphy, the administrator at the former mission, a land grant called Rancho San Pedro, Santa Margarita y las Gallinas, and by 1869 the McNear brothers had a dairy ranch on part of it. San Rafael was incorporated in 1874, the City says; the county’s boundary commission calls it “Marin County’s largest city and the county seat.”
The City’s General Plan, in its Terra Linda profile, says: “The valley was initially settled by Coastal Miwok (Ewu).”
The State’s historic-resources listing says the mission, “20th in the chain of the 21 California missions, was established in 1817 by the Franciscan Order”, and “was reconstructed on the original site in 1949.”
In 1844, the Friends of China Camp say, the Mexican governor granted Timothy Murphy, who had become the administrator at the former San Rafael Mission and took the title of alcalde, or mayor, of San Rafael, a 21,679-acre land grant called Rancho San Pedro, Santa Margarita y las Gallinas.
The first public school in San Rafael was established in 1861 with 25 students at the corner of Fourth and B Street, the school district says.
In 1869, the Friends of China Camp say, John A. McNear and his brother George bought a large portion of Murphy’s rancho and “established a large dairy ranch that covered more than 2,500 acres, including five miles of waterfront along San Pablo Bay”; they went on to start a quarry and a brickyard on the former ranch.
The State’s listing calls China Camp “One of the earliest, largest, and most productive Chinese fishing villages in California”, “in operation by 1870”. The Friends of China Camp say it “reached the height of its prosperity in the 1880s, with almost 500 residents”, and that “more than three million pounds of shrimp was harvested from San Pablo Bay each year throughout the late 1800s and into the early 20th century.”
By the 1860s, the City’s article says, Marin County was producing 25% of the butter in the State of California; in 1871 the Marin Journal described San Rafael, then a town of six hundred residents, this way: “San Rafael is the county seat of Marin County, which is emphatically a ‘cow county,’ for the chief business of the people is dairy farming”.
San Rafael Heritage’s account says: “From 1871 to 1974, railroads, and our station, played a unique role in the economic and cultural development of San Rafael.”
San Rafael was incorporated in 1874, the City says; on April 9, 1874, its new Town Council passed the City’s first ordinance, Ordinance No. 1: “Relative to Animals Roaming in the Streets”.
The Marin History Museum calls the Boyd Gate House “This beautiful 1879 Victorian Gothic Revival”, and its timeline puts the house on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The museum’s first meeting was held at San Rafael City Hall on May 23, 1935; it moved to the mission in 1954 and to the Boyd Gate House in 1959, was renamed the Marin History Museum in 2000, and opened again at the Boyd Gate House in October 2021 with a new Research Library and Bookstore.
The City says Falkirk was “Built in 1888, the Queen Anne Victorian mansion”, later “saved by community members and voters in the 1970s”. The Marin History Museum’s article says Ella Nichols Park, “the young widow of attorney Trenor Park”, built the home, that Robert Dollar bought the 11-acre estate in 1906 and named it after his hometown of Falkirk, Scotland, that he “donated 31 acres to the City of San Rafael for Boyd Park and the access road to the summit of San Rafael Hill that bears his name”, and that by the early 1970s the estate “was nearly razed to build a large condominium and apartment complex.”
In 1889, the university says, Mother Louis O’Donnell, following the leadership of Mother Mary Goemaere, moved the Dominican Sisters’ central administration, a school and a novitiate from Benicia to San Rafael; they filed articles of incorporation in 1890, opened a junior college in 1915 and, two years later, Dominican College, which became Dominican University of California at the beginning of the 2000-2001 academic year.
San Rafael’s Carnegie Library opened on January 9, 1909, the City says; the City had approached the industrialist Andrew Carnegie for funding in 1904, and May Cooper, born in 1852, was the town’s librarian from 1907 to 1924.
The San Rafael Planning Commission was established in 1915 and the City’s first zoning rules were adopted in the 1920s, the General Plan says.
Starting in the early 1950s, the General Plan says, “the pasture lands of the former Freitas family ranch were developed with suburban homes, shopping centers,” and most of that area, unincorporated when first developed, was annexed by San Rafael in the 1960s and early 1970s.
The State’s listing says the Marin County Civic Center was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright “near the end of his long career”: the Administration Building was completed in 1962 and the Hall of Justice in 1970.
In 1972, the General Plan says, voters approved the Marin Open Space District “as a way to preserve about 25,000 acres from development”; China Camp State Park was acquired first by a non-profit foundation and then by the State in the mid-1970s.
Fire safety
Your fire department
The San Rafael Fire Department does emergency response, fire prevention, wildfire safety and vegetation management, with 7 neighborhood fire stations. Its wildfire team says: “We focus on reducing the risk of wildfires around homes and wildland areas.”
Find out if you are in a high fire hazard severity zone
The City sends residents to the County’s lookup: “Use the Marin County fire hazard zone lookup to see if your home is located within a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.”
See 8 more
The City’s wildland-urban interface
The City has its own wildland-urban interface (WUI) area, shown as a map: “The Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) area has a higher risk of wildfire, and different construction rules may apply.” It adds: “New construction or significant remodels in the WUI have special building and vegetation requirements”. The City’s code designates this area a very high fire hazard severity zone (Municipal Code 4.12.010). In it, the State’s Zone 0 rule for the first five feet around a home would apply: adopted by the Board of Forestry; in final review with the Office of Administrative Law; no effective date known. This is the status on our standing check of October 22, 2026.
Keep the roof and gutters clear
San Rafael’s code asks owners of every property in the city to “Maintain the roof, gutters, decks, porches, and stairways of any structure on the property free of accumulated leaves, needles, or dead vegetative growth.” That is the first item of the City’s rules for the first five feet around a structure (Municipal Code 4.12.030).
Read on the City’s online code Oct 29 2026
From five to 100 feet
The code asks owners to maintain defensible space within 100 feet of a structure. From five to thirty feet it asks for an effective firebreak, “Remove all vegetation within ten feet (10′) of a chimney or stovepipe outlet.”, and “Maintain woodpiles a minimum of ten feet (10′) and two (2) times the height of the woodpile away from any component of the structure”.
Read on the City’s online code Oct 29 2026
The yearly check
The Fire Department says: “We will evaluate your property for fire risk annually or as-needed. When we do this, you need to provide us access to your property.” It adds: “Each year, every San Rafael address also gets a mailed notice outlining wildfire prevention standards and available assistance.”
Embers
The City says: “Wildfires often spread by flying embers, not flames. Embers can travel far and ignite homes anywhere in the city. Fire-resistant materials help stop that.”
Hardening your home, the City’s list
The City’s “protect your home” page lists “Cover vents with 1/8-inch metal mesh” and “Install metal screens over chimneys (even if not in use)”. The page does not say which law requires each item.
The City’s list of contractors
The Fire Department keeps a list of contractors that San Rafael residents have worked with to resolve hazards on their defensible space reports, sorted by type of work, with a “Gutter Cover Contractors” group. Sunshine Gutters is on it. The Department says: “The San Rafael Fire Department does not endorse or recommend specific contractors.”
Fire-safe building rules
The City’s page says: “Fire-safe building rules now apply to all homes in San Rafael, not just those in high-risk areas.” Its example: “if you replace your windows, the new windows must meet fire-resistant standards.”
Need a hand with this? Gutter guards
San Rafael this month
Storm season: the City’s free sandbags are available from October to March, while supplies last, at the pick-up places listed on its page.
The San Rafael blog starts when there is enough local news to keep it current.
Culture and history
Falkirk Cultural Center
A historic mansion run as a cultural center, with eleven acres of gardens around a 1927 greenhouse and a gardener’s cottage, and rotating art exhibits, the City’s page says. More in The story of San Rafael, below.
Mission San Rafael Arcangel
Two worship spaces are on the property, the parish says: the main Parish Church and the Mission Chapel. More in The story of San Rafael, below.
See 9 more
Marin County Civic Center
The County runs the Marin Center there, with a 2,000-seat Veterans Auditorium, a 315-seat Showcase Theater and a 22,500 square foot Exhibit Hall, the General Plan says. More in The story of San Rafael, below.
Marin farmers markets at the Civic Center
The Agricultural Institute of Marin runs the Sunday Marin Farmers Market, which says: “With over 150 year-round vendors, the Sunday Marin Farmers Market is the third largest weekly market in California.” Its Thursday market, next to the lagoon, was launched in 1983.
Both pages show the markets running, read Oct 29 2026
Second Friday Art Walk
Art Works Downtown, a non-profit arts center founded in 1996, holds its popular 2nd Friday Art Walk; its Fourth Street building has galleries and 33 artist studios, the center says.
Second Friday of the month; the center’s page, read Oct 29 2026
The downtown arts district
The California Arts Council’s cultural-districts page says the district runs along “the spine of Fourth Street” and is anchored by Arts Works Downtown (the page’s spelling), the California Film Institute, the Falkirk Cultural Center and Youth in Arts.
Rafael Film Center
The California Film Institute runs the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, which it calls a “beautifully restored, state-of-the-art, three-screen theater”.
China Camp State Park
State Parks describes a 1,514-acre park on San Pablo Bay, “Four miles east of San Rafael”, with over 100 acres of protected tidal salt marsh. More in The story of San Rafael, below.
Albert Park
One of the three community parks in the city limits, with Pickleweed Park and the Terra Linda Recreation Area, the General Plan says; the City’s page invites you to “cheer on the San Rafael Pacifics”, the local baseball team.
Landmarks and historic districts
The City lists fifteen local landmarks, among them the Robert Dollar Estate a.k.a. Falkirk Mansion, The Flatiron Building, The Boyd House and Memorial Park, The McNear Brick Barn and The Litchfield Sign, and three local historic districts, including the Victorian Village (Fifth Avenue) and the French Quarter (Irwin Street).
Marin History Museum
The museum is at the Boyd Gate House, a Victorian Gothic Revival house. More in The story of San Rafael, below.
Community
Neighborhood associations
The City’s page lists 26 neighborhood associations and two umbrella groups, the Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods and the Point San Pedro Road Coalition, and says: “San Rafael has more than 30 neighborhoods.”
San Rafael Heritage
The group says it “was organized in 2015 in response to the threat of demolition faced by our city’s 85-year-old Mission Revival train depot”. Trained volunteers from the group worked with an architecture firm on the City’s 2019-2020 survey update of downtown, surveying more than 500 properties.
See 3 more
Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority
The City of San Rafael is on the Authority’s list of member agencies, and the Authority’s page sends San Rafael residents to the City’s Fire Department for wildfire evaluations.
Youth in Arts
Founded in 1970; its page says: “Since 2011, we have featured an art gallery in downtown San Rafael’s Cultural Arts District dedicated to celebrating youth artists.”
Dominican University of California
A university founded by the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael. More in The story of San Rafael, below.
City rules and regulations
Roof replacements need a building permit
The City’s page on the building permit process says: “All construction work requires a building permit. This includes but is not limited to:” and lists “Roof replacements.” The Building Division “is fully digital and uses the OpenGov Platform to process all aspects of the permitting and inspection process.”
A minor re-roof
The City’s page on permit types lists “Re-roof projects” under minor permits with no plan review: “Your project is considered minor if:” “No rooftop equipment will be removed or replaced”, “Only one overlay is added”, “Roof drains meet minimum code requirements”, “Attic ventilation is addressed if needed” and “You provide a clear and accurate value of the work”. Under full plan review the same page lists “Roof structure changes”.
See 11 more
What the City’s roofing page adds
For an overlay the page says: “A pre-inspection is required before the permit is issued.” It also says: “If the old roof covering is removed, a tear-off inspection is required.” and, for a home with a wood-burning fireplace, “install spark arresters on chimney tops.”
Inspections
The City says: “Schedule inspections at least 1 business day in advance.” and “No inspections on Fridays or weekends.”
Work that needs no building permit
The City’s list of work exempt from a building permit includes “Roofing repair if the roof is less than one hundred (100) square feet” “or still under its one (1) year warranty.” The list also says other City departments may set conditions on such work.
Debris boxes in the street
The City says: “You need an encroachment permit if work affects the public right-of-way.” Its examples include “Debris boxes placed in the street”.
Street trees
The City code says: “The public works department shall have supervision over all matters relating to trees now planted or hereafter to be planted in, upon or along the public streets, sidewalks and walkways within the city.” No tree may be planted on a public street, sidewalk or walkway until it is approved, its place is designated and a permit is granted.
A street tree and a sidewalk repair
The City says: “If the tree is in the public right-of-way, the City’s arborist will decide what happens to it.” For street tree work in a sidewalk repair it lists “City pays full cost”, and the new tree goes in “the public right-of-way (not on your property)”.
Inside the City limits or not
The City’s wildfire refund page says: “We manage the reimbursements for residents with San Rafael City limits and Marinwood Community Service District.” The General Plan calls the unincorporated Los Ranchitos area “surrounded on all sides by the City of San Rafael”.
When you buy or sell The resale report before a sale
The City says: “Before selling your home, you need a residential resale report and inspection to confirm your property meets building codes.” and “You must request the report before closing escrow.” It also says: “We will not stop the sale of a property. If you do not correct any issues, they will transfer to the buyer.”
When you buy or sell The wildfire inspection before a sale
Under the State’s sale rule, Civil Code 1102.19, the City says: “If you’re selling a home located in a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, you need a Wildfire Risk Inspection.” “The Wildfire Risk Inspection is valid for 6 months.” “After the inspection, you as the seller or agent will be able to download the Wildfire Risk Inspection which will need to be disclosed to the buyer.”
When you buy or sell Disclosing your property’s status
The City’s protect-your-home page says: “If you are selling your home and live in a high severity fire zone, you are required to disclose the status of your property.” It adds: “The buyer can then take on the responsibility of making the corrections to comply with home hardening and defensible space requirements.”
When you buy or sell Keep your final inspection records
The City says: “Keep your final inspection records for your files. They are important if you sell or refinance your property.”
Need a hand with this? Roofing
Storms, flood and drainage
Free sandbags
The City says: “Protect your property during severe rains with sandbags. Free, while supplies last.” They are “Available from October to March” at the pick-up places listed on the City’s page, where you fill the bags yourself. The City adds: “Sandbags can protect from up to two feet of water, but they don’t completely seal out water.”
City page undated, read Oct 29 2026
Before a storm
The City’s storm page says: “Winter storms can bring heavy rain, high tides, and fast-moving flooding in low-lying areas of San Rafael.” It asks you to remove debris from “Gutters and rain downspouts”, “Driveways”, “Basement drains” and “Ditches and drainage channels”, and to “Keep storm drains on your street clear of debris.”
Pages undated, read Oct 29 2026
See 5 more
A storm drain easement on your property
The City says: “Storm drains collect and move water away from streets” and “Blocked storm drains can lead to flooding”. If you have a storm drain easement on your property, “it is your responsibility to:” “Keep it clear of debris, fences, or plants that could block water flow” and “Give the City access whenever needed, even if you’re not home”.
V-ditches on private property
The City describes a V-ditch as “a concrete channel that is mostly found at the base of a hill to collect drainage before the water reaches a resident’s property”, and says: “For all v-ditches on private property, it is the responsibility of the private property owner to keep them clear.”
Flood plains and your insurance policy
The City’s hazard plan annex says: “Most of the lowland areas in San Rafael are in the 100-year floodplain, with several areas in the 500-year floodplain.” The City’s storm page says: “Check FEMA flood maps to understand your flood risk, but know that any property can experience flooding in severe weather. Review your insurance policy for flood damage coverage.” To see the flood zone for your own address, use FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center.
Annex and storm page undated, read Oct 29 2026
High tides and the storm drains
The hazard plan annex says: “Tide elevations within San Pablo Bay and San Rafael Bay have the potential to significantly impact the San Rafael storm drain system.”
Where roof water may go
We did not find a City rule on where roof and gutter water may go; the urban runoff chapter of the City’s code (9.30) holds no such sentence.
Need a hand with this? Gutter cleaning
Programs, loans and insurance
Check back Wildfire Risk Reduction Refund Program: check back
The Fire Department’s Wildfire Mitigation Team runs it: “Get money back for wildfire safety work at your home, like defensible space and home hardening projects.” The page’s table gives caps by project, among them “Wood Shake Roof Replacement” “50% up to $5,500” and “Resilient Home Phase 1” “50% up to $2,500”; Phase 1 includes “Installing gutter covers when overhead vegetation is within 30 feet”. “A full wildfire safety evaluation is required before applying”, “Pre-approval is required for most projects before work begins”, and “One parcel can receive up to $15,000 over the 10-year tax measure period”. The program does not reimburse “Routine or seasonal maintenance”, “Dead-leaf removal” or “Gutter cleaning”. The page has no open or closed word and no date.
Read Oct 29 2026
Check back Free vent retrofit: check back
The City’s program covers the entire cost of retrofitting screening over existing vents, “For homes in a High Fire Severity Zone or next to open space”; if you replace the vents, you pay for the materials and the City covers the contractor’s labor. “Must have a defensible space evaluation completed within one year of applying”. “Our contractor will reach out to you within 10 business days to schedule a time for the work to be completed.” The page has no open or closed word.
Read Oct 29 2026
See 12 more
Check back Free removal of juniper and Italian cypress: check back
“Our vegetation management contractors will come to your property and remove the hazardous vegetation at no cost.” The program “prioritizes residents that meet at least one of the following criteria:” “Be a senior (65 or older)”, “Have a disability”, “Live in a low-income household”; “If you do not meet any of the above criteria, you may still qualify for the program.” “Services scheduled based on availability and priority”; “Does not include stump or root removal”. The page has no open or closed word.
Read Oct 29 2026
Free wildfire safety evaluation
“Get a free evaluation of your home and yard from our wildfire mitigation staff.” It is “Available year-round” and “Takes about 45 minutes”; “After the visit, you’ll get a report with recommendations”, and “Some improvements may be required by law”. The City’s other page says: “Homeowners associations and neighborhood groups can request a free wildfire evaluation to understand local wildfire risks.”
Read Oct 29 2026
Free curbside chipper service
“Register to get free curbside pickup and disposal of excess vegetation on your residential property.” “The Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority offers 5 chipping events to choose from every year.” “Online pre-registration required”; “Only 1 pile per reservation”; “Each material in pile must be under 8 inches in diameter”; “Leaves or lawn clippings” are on the list of what is not allowed. The registration site says signups for the 2026 chipper season are open: you enter your address to reserve a place on the pickup schedule.
Read Oct 29 2026; registration site read Nov 5 2026
County-wide Check back Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority resident grants: check back
The City’s page says: “The MWPA offers grants similar to the San Rafael program with a slightly different application process. See which program works best for you.” The Authority’s page says: “We are currently accepting applications from residents who have recently received a full evaluation.” and “In Fiscal Year 2024/2025 Marin Wildfire will award up to $2,500 per parcel for the above listed items.” It also says the same work cannot be funded twice. The page names only that fiscal year and no later one.
Pages read Oct 29 2026
Marin Water rain barrel and cistern rebate
“Marin Water is offering customers $0.75 per gallon of water stored – with a cap of $2,000 per customer.” “The rebate is for new rain barrel installations only and cannot exceed system cost.” “a rebate application must be submitted within 90 days of the purchase of a rain barrel or cistern”. “To direct water into your rain barrel, downspouts can be sawed and modified with an elbow or a downspout diverter kit can be installed.”
Read Oct 29 2026
MCE Home Energy Savings
MCE offers “Free in-home home energy assessment performed by a trained energy advisor” and “Free home energy upgrades – valued at up to $7,000 – such as attic insulation, duct sealing, and more.” For qualifying single-family homeowners and renters, with gross annual household income “Up to $63,840” for 1 person and “Up to $132,000” for 4 (the page lists the other household sizes). “Home assessments and upgrades are scheduled based on location.” San Rafael is in MCE’s service area; the page names Belvedere, Corte Madera, Fairfax and Larkspur among the Marin places it visits and does not name San Rafael.
Read Oct 29 2026
County-wide Check back Marin Housing rehabilitation loans: check back
“The CalHome Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation Loan Program provides low-interest property improvement loans and technical assistance to qualified low-income homeowners to make basic repairs and improvements, correct substandard conditions, and eliminate health and safety hazards.” The City’s page says it is “Available only to single-family homeowners” and “Contact Marin Housing for details and how to apply.” The Marin Housing page has no status, date or waitlist word.
Read Oct 29 2026
County-wide Check back Habitat for Humanity home repairs in Marin: check back
Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco says: “Homeowners who live in Marin County are eligible to apply.” Its services include “Roof repair or replacement”, and “Habitat offers a 2% simple interest loan.” The page says: “Our Home Preservation Program in Marin County is currently fully subscribed, and we have temporarily closed applications.” “When applications reopen, loan amounts between $25,000 and $75,000 will be available for home improvement and repair needs.” The maximum household income starts at $117,700 for 1 person (the page lists the other household sizes).
Page last modified May 12 2026; read Oct 29 2026
Check back Sewer lateral loan in the north of the city: check back
The Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District says: “Customers within the District can apply for a loan of up to $15,000 from the program, allowing them a 10-year period to repay the borrowed amount at a 2-percent interest rate.” It explains the point of the program: “The consequence of neglected maintenance is the potential for rainwater infiltration, facilitated by cracks, breaks, open joints, or other defects in the laterals.” The page has no open or closed word.
Read Oct 29 2026
Check back Sewer bill discount in central San Rafael: check back
The San Rafael Sanitation District offers “a 25% discount to their annual sewer service charge, billed on your property tax bill.” Its page says: “Submissions are no longer being accepted for the 2026/2027 tax year.” and “Applications for tax year 2027/2028 may be submitted March 1, 2027 to May 31, 2027.”
Read Oct 29 2026
State-wide Check back California Safe Homes: check back
California Safe Homes, the State’s home-hardening grant program, is not open. Check back.
State-wide Check back Earthquake Brace + Bolt: check back
The program’s page says its retrofit grant programs “are available only for qualified homes in select ZIP Codes.” Its ZIP list includes 94901, 94903 and 94904, and its registration is closed: “When EBB registration is open, you can complete the registration form online.” The page says an answered form “will determine if your home qualifies for an EBB retrofit grant of up to $3,000.”
Read Oct 29 2026
Who serves your home in San Rafael
- Fire: The San Rafael Fire Department, which has 7 neighborhood fire stations
- Water: Marin Water (the Marin Municipal Water District); its 2025 Urban Water Management Plan says: “The incorporated cities and towns of San Rafael, Mill Valley, Fairfax, San Anselmo, Ross, Larkspur, Corte Madera, Tiburon, Belvedere and Sausalito, as well as unincorporated areas of Marin County, are within the District’s service area.”
- Sewer, central San Rafael: The San Rafael Sanitation District: “We serve the Central San Rafael area (PDF), south from the top of Puerto Suello Hill and the unincorporated areas within this jurisdiction.”
- Sewer, the north of the city: The Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District, which says it serves “communities north of central San Rafael”; Terra Linda was annexed to it in 1956
- Garbage: Marin Sanitary Service provides residential garbage, recycling and compostables collection in San Rafael, among other places; which hauler serves each part of the city is not shown on the page read
- Electricity: MCE, a community choice provider, which lists San Rafael among the Marin communities it serves
Useful links: San Rafael City Schools · Miller Creek School District (the north of the city) · San Rafael Fire Department (wildfire safety and vegetation management) · City of San Rafael: building permits (OpenGov) · Marin County fire hazard zone lookup (from the City’s page) · Marin Wildfire Prevention Authority · Marin Water · Marin Housing
The homes of San Rafael
San Rafael’s median home was built in 1968, and about 71 percent of its homes were built in 1979 or earlier. About 48 percent are single-family houses that stand apart and about 32 percent are in buildings of five or more units, our own calculations from the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 tables.
Late 1800s
Early residential neighborhoods
The General Plan describes Gerstle Park and the West End as among them: “The area developed in the late 1800s as one of San Rafael’s first residential neighborhoods.” In the West End, it says, “Redwood trees cover the north-facing slopes where summer homes for San Franciscans were originally built.”
1882 to 1916
Sun Valley’s Forbes Addition
The General Plan says: “The oldest area-the Forbes Addition–was subdivided between 1882 and 1916.”
More than a century ago
Victorians and craftsman bungalows in Fairhills
The General Plan says: “The southern part of the neighborhood includes gracious Victorians and craftsman bungalows over a century old.”
1940 to 1979
North San Rafael’s growth
The General Plan says: “Seventy percent of North San Rafael’s housing units were built between 1940 and 1979.” and “40 percent of the housing units in North San Rafael are multi-family or attached.”
1955 to 1965
Mid-century modern in Terra Linda
“Between 1955 and 1965, about 900 homes were developed by Joseph Eichler in the ‘mid-century modern’ architectural style.”
Mid-1960s and 1970s
Mont Marin and San Rafael Park
The General Plan says the neighborhood has approximately 550 homes, “developed during the mid-1960s and 1970s”.
Older roofs and gutters need a different hand: Gutter Repair · Roof Repair · Gutter Installation
The story of San Rafael
History and character
The City’s General Plan, in its Terra Linda profile, says: “The valley was initially settled by Coastal Miwok (Ewu).”
The State’s historic-resources listing says the mission, “20th in the chain of the 21 California missions, was established in 1817 by the Franciscan Order”, and “was reconstructed on the original site in 1949.”
In 1844, the Friends of China Camp say, the Mexican governor granted Timothy Murphy, who had become the administrator at the former San Rafael Mission and took the title of alcalde, or mayor, of San Rafael, a 21,679-acre land grant called Rancho San Pedro, Santa Margarita y las Gallinas.
The first public school in San Rafael was established in 1861 with 25 students at the corner of Fourth and B Street, the school district says.
In 1869, the Friends of China Camp say, John A. McNear and his brother George bought a large portion of Murphy’s rancho and “established a large dairy ranch that covered more than 2,500 acres, including five miles of waterfront along San Pablo Bay”; they went on to start a quarry and a brickyard on the former ranch.
The State’s listing calls China Camp “One of the earliest, largest, and most productive Chinese fishing villages in California”, “in operation by 1870”. The Friends of China Camp say it “reached the height of its prosperity in the 1880s, with almost 500 residents”, and that “more than three million pounds of shrimp was harvested from San Pablo Bay each year throughout the late 1800s and into the early 20th century.”
By the 1860s, the City’s article says, Marin County was producing 25% of the butter in the State of California; in 1871 the Marin Journal described San Rafael, then a town of six hundred residents, this way: “San Rafael is the county seat of Marin County, which is emphatically a ‘cow county,’ for the chief business of the people is dairy farming”.
San Rafael Heritage’s account says: “From 1871 to 1974, railroads, and our station, played a unique role in the economic and cultural development of San Rafael.”
San Rafael was incorporated in 1874, the City says; on April 9, 1874, its new Town Council passed the City’s first ordinance, Ordinance No. 1: “Relative to Animals Roaming in the Streets”.
The Marin History Museum calls the Boyd Gate House “This beautiful 1879 Victorian Gothic Revival”, and its timeline puts the house on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The museum’s first meeting was held at San Rafael City Hall on May 23, 1935; it moved to the mission in 1954 and to the Boyd Gate House in 1959, was renamed the Marin History Museum in 2000, and opened again at the Boyd Gate House in October 2021 with a new Research Library and Bookstore.
The City says Falkirk was “Built in 1888, the Queen Anne Victorian mansion”, later “saved by community members and voters in the 1970s”. The Marin History Museum’s article says Ella Nichols Park, “the young widow of attorney Trenor Park”, built the home, that Robert Dollar bought the 11-acre estate in 1906 and named it after his hometown of Falkirk, Scotland, that he “donated 31 acres to the City of San Rafael for Boyd Park and the access road to the summit of San Rafael Hill that bears his name”, and that by the early 1970s the estate “was nearly razed to build a large condominium and apartment complex.”
In 1889, the university says, Mother Louis O’Donnell, following the leadership of Mother Mary Goemaere, moved the Dominican Sisters’ central administration, a school and a novitiate from Benicia to San Rafael; they filed articles of incorporation in 1890, opened a junior college in 1915 and, two years later, Dominican College, which became Dominican University of California at the beginning of the 2000-2001 academic year.
San Rafael’s Carnegie Library opened on January 9, 1909, the City says; the City had approached the industrialist Andrew Carnegie for funding in 1904, and May Cooper, born in 1852, was the town’s librarian from 1907 to 1924.
The San Rafael Planning Commission was established in 1915 and the City’s first zoning rules were adopted in the 1920s, the General Plan says.
Starting in the early 1950s, the General Plan says, “the pasture lands of the former Freitas family ranch were developed with suburban homes, shopping centers,” and most of that area, unincorporated when first developed, was annexed by San Rafael in the 1960s and early 1970s.
The State’s listing says the Marin County Civic Center was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright “near the end of his long career”: the Administration Building was completed in 1962 and the Hall of Justice in 1970.
In 1972, the General Plan says, voters approved the Marin Open Space District “as a way to preserve about 25,000 acres from development”; China Camp State Park was acquired first by a non-profit foundation and then by the State in the mid-1970s.
San Rafael, roof and gutters
San Rafael has two kinds of ground. The General Plan says its identity is shaped by “ridgelines and shoreline”: hills on the south, west and north, San Francisco and San Pablo Bays on the east, and an east-west ridge that divides the city into two areas of roughly equal size. It also says: “Much of San Rafael is hilly, with slopes on many parcels exceeding 30 percent.”
Yearly rain is about 34 to 44 inches, by NOAA’s 1991-2020 normals at the two nearest federal stations, San Rafael Civic Center (34.45 inches) and Kentfield (44.39 inches), measured from City Hall. The two differ by almost 10 inches, so a range is more honest than one number. The City’s 2017 hazard plan says precipitation “is concentrated during October through April, when 95 percent of the seasonal precipitation normally occurs” and that “90 percent of the annual precipitation occurs between November and April.”
The General Plan says flooding in San Rafael “may occur as a result of heavy rain, blocked storm drains, rising groundwater, or bay waters coming on shore”, and that much of coastal San Rafael sits only a few feet above sea level. Its storm drain system includes 3,800 drain inlets and 116 miles of pipe: “The City maintains drains on City property while property owners are responsible for drains within their properties.”
The General Plan names coast live oak, valley oak, bay laurel, coast redwood, Monterey pine, American elm and eucalyptus among the trees of San Rafael’s urban areas. The Forest Service says valley oak is deciduous, with leaves falling in November and acorns ripe from October to November (for the species in general, not a San Rafael count).
We have been working on Bay Area roofs and gutters since 2002. If yours hasn’t had a look in a while, we’d be glad to come by.
Landmarks and parks
Mission San Rafael Arcangel
The parish says a replica of the original mission stands beside the 1919 parish church.
Falkirk Cultural Center
A Queen Anne Victorian mansion listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the City says.
Marin County Civic Center
A Frank Lloyd Wright design, listed by the National Park Service as a National Historic Landmark (designated July 17, 1991).
Boyd Gate House
A Victorian Gothic Revival house, home of the Marin History Museum.
China Camp State Park
A State park on the shore of San Pablo Bay, State Parks says.
Dominican University of California
Founded by the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael.
The Flatiron Building
On the City’s list of local landmarks.
The McNear Brick Barn
On the City’s list of local landmarks.
Rafael Film Center
A three-screen non-profit theater run by the California Film Institute.
Victorian Village
One of the City’s three local historic districts, on Fifth Avenue.
How we can help in San Rafael
Why Sunshine Gutters and Roofing
- Family-owned since 2002, trusted by thousands of returning Bay Area homeowners
- Licensed (CSLB #1053780), bonded, with $2 million in general liability coverage
- Our own crew, never subcontractors
- We keep track of local regulations, fire safety rules and insurance programs
- We show you what we found, with photos, so you decide what happens next
The year in San Rafael
| March | Last month of the City’s free sandbags (October to March) San Rafael Sanitation District sewer-bill discount: applications open March 1, 2027 |
|---|---|
| April | End of the months when, the City’s 2017 plan says, precipitation is concentrated (October through April) |
| May | San Rafael Sanitation District sewer-bill discount: applications close May 31, 2027 |
| October | The City’s free sandbags become available |
| November | Valley oak leaves fall (the Forest Service, for the species in general) |
San Rafael questions
What San Rafael homeowners ask us
Do I need a permit to replace my roof in San Rafael?
To replace it, yes. The City’s page on the building permit process says “All construction work requires a building permit” and lists “Roof replacements.” A re-roof is a minor permit with no plan review when the City’s conditions hold, and a change to the roof structure needs full plan review. If you wish, we can also pull the permit for you, as most of our customers ask us to.
Do I need an inspection to sell my house in San Rafael?
Yes, a residential resale report and inspection: “You must get a Residential Resale Report when a property changes ownership.” If the house is in a High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, the City adds that you need a Wildfire Risk Inspection, under the State’s sale rule, Civil Code 1102.19.
Do I have to keep the storm drain or V-ditch on my property clear in San Rafael?
Yes. “If you have a storm drain easement on your property, it is your responsibility to:” “Keep it clear of debris, fences, or plants that could block water flow”. For V-ditches the City says: “For all v-ditches on private property, it is the responsibility of the private property owner to keep them clear.”
Who looks after the tree in front of my house in San Rafael?
If it is in the public right-of-way, “the City’s arborist will decide what happens to it.” When a sidewalk repair touches a street tree, the City lists street tree work as “City pays full cost” and plants the new tree in the public right-of-way, not on your property.
What our customers say
Get a free estimate
We usually respond promptly within the day. Phone first for emergencies: (510) 525-0880.
Where we work
San Rafael neighbourhoods we serve
Downtown
The General Plan says: “Downtown is the cultural, economic, civic, and historic heart of San Rafael.”
West End
The General Plan’s profile: “The West End neighborhood is located between Downtown San Rafael and San Anselmo.”
Gerstle Park
The General Plan says the area “retains one of the largest concentrations of Victorian and early 20th Century architecture in Marin County”; its association’s site calls it “San Rafael’s oldest neighborhood”.
Sun Valley
The General Plan’s profile: “Sun Valley extends along the floor and slopes of a box valley extending to the northwest of Downtown San Rafael.”
Fairhills
The General Plan’s profile: “The Fairhills neighborhood is located northwest of Downtown San Rafael.” Its association represents about 180 homes in the area.
Montecito and Happy Valley
The General Plan’s profile: “Montecito/Happy Valley is nestled in two valleys located north of the San Rafael Canal and northeast of Downtown.”
Dominican and Black Canyon
The General Plan’s profile: “Located in the geographic center of San Rafael, Dominican/Black Canyon is a pleasant residential neighborhood”.
Lincoln and San Rafael Hill
The General Plan’s profile: “Lincoln/San Rafael Hill extends north from Downtown San Rafael along the west side of Highway 101.”
Bret Harte
The General Plan’s profile: “The Bret Harte neighborhood rises from Woodland Avenue to the crest of Southern Heights”.
Civic Center
The General Plan’s profile: “The Civic Center neighborhood includes land east of Highway 101 and south of the Merrydale overcrossing”.
Terra Linda
The General Plan’s profile: “Terra Linda extends west and northwest from the North San Rafael Town Center, occupying the floor of the Las Gallinas Valley.”
Mont Marin and San Rafael Park
The General Plan’s profile: “Mont Marin/San Rafael Park is a suburban neighborhood” “located between Terra Linda and Marinwood.”
Peacock Gap
The General Plan’s profile: “The Peacock Gap neighborhood is developed with single family homes, townhomes, and the Peacock Gap Golf Club.”
Glenwood
The General Plan’s profile: “Glenwood is a neighborhood of approximately 650 single family homes”.
Also serving nearby: Ross · San Anselmo · Larkspur · Kentfield · Lucas Valley-Marinwood · Santa Venetia · Sleepy Hollow · Corte Madera