Cities don't mandate quiet zones, the FRA does. Berkeley just tried to get one through the waterfront area and the FRA told them only one of two ways: eliminate the crossings or put in grade separation(s). Cities get them by jumping through lots of hoops and spending /lots/ of money for safety mitigation. If any are found later to be unsafe, the FRA will rescind them, period, end of story. In Berkeley's case, there were too many crossings with too much traffic and too many pedestrians. With Novato, who knows? Besides, who really cares. The town grew up around the NWP, now their just venting their frustrations and bullying.