San Rafael, CA – The Marin County Community Development Agency (CDA) is preparing a comprehensive document that covers how the County will plan for housing and public safety in the face of environmental hazards such as wildfire, drought, and sea level rise. Residents are encouraged to provide comments. In addition to safety, the Housing Element will discuss how the County plans to address local housing needs in the future.
Community Development Agency planners are working on updates to the Countywide Plan this year.Both the Safety Element and Housing Element are being evaluated in 2022 as part of a larger update of the County’s state-mandated general plan, otherwise known as the Marin Countywide Plan. The elements will address needs and issues for the years 2023-2031.
The introductory notice of preparation (NOP) is the initial step toward the drafting of the environmental impact report (EIR), and the notice was publicly released on December 8, 2021. The NOP’s comment period closes on Monday, January 24, 2022.
Prior to that, Marin CDA will host an online public scoping session at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, January 11, to provide a brief overview of the work on the Safety and Housing Elements and hear from residents about topics of concern and ideas about potential impacts that could come out of the two elements. The EIR ultimately will include an analysis of potential impacts on air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, water quality, stream and creek habitats, noise, and many other topics.
“Housing and safety are both central to Marin County’s priorities and are inextricably linked in our effort to meet communities’ needs in a way that acknowledges some of our most critical challenges like environmental justice, affordability, sea level rise, and wildfire,” said Sarah Jones, CDA Assistant Director. “Preparing our Housing and Safety Elements together is a deliberate strategy to make sure we can meet our housing goals in a way that reflects and appropriately manages for risk and doesn’t put vulnerable residents in harm’s way.”
More about the EIR process can be found on the Environmental Planning Division webpage.
The webinar ID for the January 11 online session is 820 2383 3240. Callers may dial 1-669-900-6833 to participate. Comments may be emailed to the planning staff as well.
For disability accommodations, please phone (415) 473-6358 (voice), CA Relay 711, or e-mail the Environmental Planning staff at least five business days in advance of the event. The County will do its best to fulfill requests received with less than five business days’ notice. Copies of documents are available in alternative formats, upon request.