San Rafael, CA – After years of planning, the County of Marin is progressing with its goal of purchasing a former U.S. Coast Guard property in Point Reyes Station.
The former U.S. Coast Guard facility in Point Reyes Station was designated by the federal government as surplus property in 2014.The Marin County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to decide whether to authorize a notice of intent to purchase the property for $4.3 million at its August 13 meeting. If the Board takes that step, it would schedule a hearing to consider entering into a purchase agreement on September 17.
With a signed agreement, the Marin County Community Development Agency (CDA) then would prepare to issue a request for proposals to transform the outdated and deteriorating housing units into a public benefit.
In 2018, CDA and a community advisory working group hosted two community meetings in Point Reyes Station to develop components of a request for proposal for potential housing developers looking to rehabilitate the property. Of the many public benefit use case scenarios the participants provided, affordable housing for families was the most common theme heard at both meetings.
The 32-acre Coast Guard site, located on Commodore Webster Drive, is a half mile east of downtown Point Reyes Station. With 36 townhomes and an eight-unit single-room-occupancy-style barracks, the base formerly served as home to dozens of officers and their families. When the Coast Guard designated the facility as surplus in 2014, the local community worked with Congressman Jared Huffman’s Office to seize the opportunity to anchor Point Reyes Station with 36 permanently affordable homes for families with children.
In Marin, a household income of $129,150 qualifies a four-person household for subsidized low-income housing, and an income of $80,600 qualifies that same household as very low-income. The qualifying income levels are based on a percentage of the median household income in Marin, which, for a family of four, is $136,800 as of April 2019.
“The West Marin community successfully advocated for the passage of federal legislation to require that the property be sold to the County for use as affordable housing or public benefit,” said Leelee Thomas, CDA Planning Manager. “We’d like to thank the community for their support and patience. We have worked hard with Congressman Huffman and his staff to work toward these purchase authorizations.”
More information can be found at www.marincounty.org/coastguard, including answers to frequently asked questions, more about the Advisory Working Group, and an archive of community meetings about the property. Anyone may subscribe to receive e-mailed updates from Marin CDA about the Coast Guard property, and questions may be emailed to CDA staff.