Politics & Government
Medical Clinic Trailer Approved at Ritter Center
The city's planning commission approved a new 933-square-foot trailer for medical services for the homeless and uninsured.
In a 3-2 vote, the San Rafael Planning Commission approved Ritter Center’s proposed medical clinic expansion that would add a 933-square-foot trailer to the existing location and eliminate five on-site parking spaces.
The approval will allow Ritter Center, a San Rafael-based nonprofit serving Marin’s homeless, to separate the existing medical clinic services from day services, like showering, laundry and mail.
Executive Director Diane Linn said the organization did not see the move as a significant expansion of services but rather a way to serve the existing clients and eliminate overcrowding and wait times.
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She added that the new medical center would provide a waiting area to help reduce the need for clients to wait in the parking lot or near the street.
Those who spoke in opposition to the medical clinic trailer, including Armand Dahan owner of the nearby House of Brakes, said that the overcrowding at Ritter Center indicated that the facility had outgrown its location.
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Other public speakers said that the location on busy 3rd Street and at the "gateway of the city" was becoming an inappropriate location for a growing homeless service facility.
Linn acknowledged that the center’s activity had increased due to the recession and that the organization was seeing a higher number of people who were not necessarily homeless, but who do not have medical insurance.
But Linn insisted that the center would not increase demand but take care of the existing users of the facility in a more efficient way.
Approximately 130 clients visit the center each day, with around 15 clients appearing for medical services, according to Ritter staff. With more space, the center hopes to increase the medical caseload to 20 people per day.
Linn added that the center’s lease would be running out in three years and the non-profit is “looking at a much broader strategic approach in moving out of that site.”
After the approval, the city staff noted that the appeal period is five business days and would end on Wednesday, Feb. 22 due to the Presidents Day holiday.
