San Rafael, CA – The County of Marin is appealing the assigned number of new homes it must create in unincorporated areas through 2030 as directed by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG).
At its June 22 meeting, the Marin County Board of Supervisors agreed that the allocation for 3,569 new units – 19 times more than the 185 units assigned in the current eight-year cycle – was too high and directed staff from the Marin County Community Development Agency (CDA) to file the appeal prior to the July 9 deadline.
The housing figure is known as the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) and is part of each municipality’s long-range plans.
The 3,569 units represent 25% of the 14,405 units allocated to the county and its 11 incorporated towns and cities. Unlike most Bay Area counties, more than 80% of the Marin County’s land is protected for agricultural production and open space, and the remaining lands are mostly built out along the Highway 101 corridor. In addition, the RHNA does not account for significant and unforeseen changes in circumstances associated with the current drought when there is uncertainty about the stability of the local water supplies.
The County must meet its RHNA production goals by the end of the eight-year cycle that begins in 2023. CDA is working on the next Housing Element Update of the Marin Countywide Plan for the years 2023-2031. That update must be completed by January 2023.
RHNA covers housing goals in four categories of affordability: homes that are affordable to households earning above-moderate-, moderate-, low-, and very-low incomes. The thresholds are determined by the area median household income, or AMI, which in Marin is $149,600 for a household of four. More details about who qualifies for those categories is on the Marin Housing Authority website.
A final decision on the appeal is expected from ABAG by the end of the year. Once a local government has received its final RHNA numbers from ABAG, it must incorporate plans to update its Housing Element and zoning ordinances to identify properties that could meet the RHNA targets, by affordability level. Communities are required to report progress annually to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). If a jurisdiction does not meet its RHNA target, it becomes ineligible for state funding to serve local transportation needs and may be subject to statewide streamlining rules.
CDA is convening a 2023-2031 Housing Element Stakeholder Group to engage residents and technical experts in all stages of the Housing Element Update process. The Board of Supervisors and County staff will consider the group's recommendations for components of the Housing Element, especially those that help the County meet its RHNA allocation.
More information can be found on CDA’s Housing Element webpage.