San Rafael, CA – Marin County residents, members of the local workforce, and local experts in the housing industry are invited to participate in a new stakeholder committee that will guide the County of Marin’s housing needs for unincorporated areas over the next decade.
With a Housing Element update, the County of Marin needs to show how our local government is working to meet existing and planned housing needs according to state law.Starting this week, the County’s
Community Development Agency (CDA) is recruiting participants for the
Housing Element Stakeholder Committee. The group will review draft documents and make recommendations to staff in preparation for the
2024-2030 Housing Element, a guiding document that shows Marin is working to meet existing and planned housing needs according to state law. The Marin County Board of Supervisors approved a
Housing Element work program on October 6 that included the creation of this committee.
“We’d like this inclusive committee to have participants with a range of ages, incomes, and racial backgrounds so it accurately reflects how Marin’s demographics have been changing,” said CDA Planner Jillian Nameth Zeiger. “The hope is that the people involved will listen and learn from each other and help develop consensus about the direction Marin should head with its housing plans as it complies with regional needs and state law.”
Zeiger estimated that stakeholder committee members would meet at least once per month throughout the 2021 calendar year.
All towns, cities, and counties in California must deliver a Housing Element plan every eight years. The next Housing Element will be the seventh such County of Marin document dating to 1970. Marin’s Housing Element for the years 2015-2023 was found to be in compliance with state housing law in March 2015 following adoption by the Board of Supervisors in December 2014. County CDA hosted dozens of community meetings and factored in feedback from hundreds of residents throughout 2014 before writing the plan.
Marin’s housing plans must show how a range of housing choices can be provided to accommodate diversity of incomes, lifestyles, and workforce needs. The Housing Element identifies sites appropriately zoned for future housing development in unincorporated Marin, including emergency shelter and transitional units. The stakeholder committee will evaluate housing site selection guidelines, check compliance with the Countywide Plan, help develop new policies and programs, solicit ideas from outside groups and act as stewards in the community, and work with economic and planning consultants on final recommendations.
With assistance from the stakeholder committee, CDA plans to balance housing options while maintaining the integrity of existing land-use regulations, open space, distinctive small-town centers, and green hillside community separators. More housing is being planned in high-resource areas like Marin, with a greater emphasis on equity.
The minimum number of new housing units that must be planned for in the next Housing Element will be determined in spring 2021. The total will include homes affordable for very low income households (30% of the area median income) up to those with above moderate incomes.
What’s a stake? Housing Element certification from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) means Marin is eligible for funds that serve local planning, transportation, and development needs.
Those interested in joining the stakeholder committee may visit www.marincounty.org/housingelement for details.