San Rafael, CA – Aligning with one of Marin County’s biggest civic needs – more affordable housing – a new 74-unit multifamily housing complex in Marin City has received approval from the Marin County Community Development Agency (CDA).
An architectural rendering of the new multifamily housing complex proposed for the 800 block of Drake Avenue in Marin City.The applicant, AMG & Associates of Encino, California, is proposing to construct a 73,793-square-foot multifamily apartment building on the site of the Village Baptist Church in the 800 block of Drake Avenue in Marin City. It would involve construction of a five-story building, 56 feet 8 inches tall, with 74 units. The applicant proposes a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units ranging in size from 592 to 1,128 square feet per unit.
Except for one manager’s apartment, every unit would be designated for households that qualify as very low and extremely low income. For example, a four-person household with an annual income of up to $87,000 would be considered very low income, and a two-person household with an annual income of up to $41,800 would be considered extremely low income. More information about qualifying income limits for affordable housing units is on the Marin Housing Authority website.
The development includes an 80% density bonus under state law, which adds 33 units above the 41-unit maximum allowable under the Countywide Plan, because of the significant level of affordability that will be achieved.
The affordable housing development is financed entirely by private investors under a state tax credit and will not require any County of Marin or other public funding. The applicant has indicated construction would start in 2021 and finish within 21 months.
CDA staff has posted the development plans online. It’s the first development proposal submitted to the County under a new state law intended to streamline certain types of housing developments to address California’s severe housing shortage and affordability crisis. The law, Senate Bill (SB) 35, applies to cities and counties that have not met their state-mandated Regional Housing Need Allocation targets. To facilitate the development of housing in Marin and elsewhere, which, in the past, has often been met with community opposition and a lengthy review process, state law now limits local review to compliance with adopted objective development standards and bypasses public hearings. The law requires the County to utilize a new review procedure that does not provide the level of public participation that residents and County planners are used to.
“While there are critics of the streamlined process that we are required to follow, County staff planners have applied the utmost rigor in reviewing this application to confirm it met all requirements under state law as well as the County’s well-established zoning and development standards,” said Tom Lai, CDA’s Interim Director.