San Rafael, CA – The Marin County Board of Supervisors is preparing to choose a nonprofit developer to serve as a partner in the renovation of a former U.S. Coast Guard facility in Point Reyes Station. The Board is interested in converting the long-vacant buildings into affordable housing.
The Board plans to review developer options at its April 14 meeting, which will be largely conducted by video conference. Although the Board chamber at the Civic Center is open to the public, Marin’s shelter-in-place public health order has led the County to strongly urge interested people to watch the webcast, watch on television, or to participate remotely. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. and the Coast Guard property item is No. 7 on the agenda.
The 32-acre site at 100 Commodore Webster Drive formerly was home to Coast Guard personnel and their families. No one has lived on the site since the Coast Guard designated it as surplus in 2014. It was acquired by the County of Marin from the federal government in December 2019 for $4.3 million, and the purchase agreement includes language that restricts the property’s use to public benefit.
Late in 2019, the Marin County Community Development Agency (CDA) opened a request for proposals and a statement of qualifications from nonprofit developers, and two proposals were accepted. One is from EAH Housing, and the other is from the Community Land Trust Association of West Marin (CLAM) and Eden Housing.
The developer proposals would serve as a starting point for creating a project that will be designed, negotiated, and evaluated to meet community and County goals. After the Board selects a developer, CDA staff and the chosen developer would negotiate a development agreement and bring it back to the Board for approval. The timeline is partly dependent on available staff resources during the County’s COVID-19 emergency response efforts.
There are 36 townhomes, a 24-room barracks, a dining hall, a kitchen, and several ancillary buildings at the property, which is a half mile east of downtown Point Reyes Station. CDA planners worked with a Community Advisory Working Group for several years to articulate the West Marin community’s preferred vision for the site. The community goals included providing affordable rental housing, partly for lower-income agricultural workers and their families, and integrating other public benefit uses into the existing neighborhood.
The chosen developer will collaborate with CDA staff on a project design and site layout for the rehabilitation of the existing facilities. An on-site wastewater treatment facility is a top priority as well. The project will be subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
To move forward with the project, the Board would have to approve a development agreement and professional services agreement with the chosen developer.
More information about the Coast Guard property project can be found at www.marincounty.org/coastguard, including answers to frequently asked questions, more about the Community 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.