San Rafael launched a redesigned city website at sanrafael.gov on Thursday, Oct. 22. The city said its staff email transition begins Friday, Oct. 23.
The change means residents who email city hall should update their contacts. General city staff addresses will end in @sanrafael.gov instead of @cityofsanrafael.org. San Rafael Police Department emails shift from @srpd.org to @sanrafaelpolice.gov.
The domain switch helps the city comply with Assembly Bill 1637, a 2023 California law that requires cities and counties to use .gov or .ca.gov domains for their public websites and employee email addresses by Jan. 1, 2029.
The .gov domain is verified through a federal program reserved for confirmed government organizations. That verification helps residents know they have reached an official site rather than an imitation, the city said.
“We built the site around the services and information that residents come for most, like reporting issues, applying for permits, or finding information on projects happening in the City,” said Sean Mooney, the city’s director of digital service and open government.
The redesigned site organizes services by task rather than by department. Categories like “Permits and construction,” “Making a payment” and “Streets and transportation” help residents find services without knowing which department handles them.
The city said more than 50% of visitors browse on mobile devices, so the new layout is built to work across phones, tablets and computers.
The city said the site follows federal accessibility standards. Pages use clear fonts, strong color contrast and text descriptions on images for screen-reader users. Built-in translation into multiple languages has been improved as well.
The San Rafael Public Library website has been folded into sanrafael.gov, consolidating library events and news in one place. A dedicated “Projects and Issues” section gives residents a central hub for major city projects that draw high community interest.
The city plans to run usability testing through the year. The Police Department website will migrate to the main site later this fall, according to the announcement.
