Housing Element of Marin County Wide Plan

There are several land use issues now being decided by the County that will greatly impact Marin and our community.

The Housing Element is one of the seven mandated elements of the County’s local general plan, the 2007 County Wide Plan (CWP). Housing Element law requires each city and County to identify and designate “inventory sites” that will allow for the development of high density affordable housing.

The Housing Element must detail a concrete “program of actions” the local government commits to carry out so that its fair share of new affordable housing can be built. These actions include designation of “inventory sites” and implementing programs, and the rezoning of sites to allow for development of 30 housing units/acre, or more.

The current proposed Housing Element designates and calls for the rezoning of several properties in Lucas Valley, Marinwood and St. Vincent’s to allow for high density affordable housing. The identified sites are as follows:

• St. Vincent’s: 221 units
• Marinwood Plaza: 100 units
• Grady Ranch: 240 units

Other sites that have also been identified, and may be included in the next planning period 2014-2022 are:

• Rotary Village: 60 units
• Big Rock Deli: 80 units
• Los Ranchitos: 60 units

In addition, the (City of) San Rafael General plan provides for 620 additional units of housing by 2020. These sites are all to be developed at 30 – 45 units/acre or more

Further, in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the County has performed a Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIR), which identifies and studies various impacts the inventory sites would have on traffic, schools, air quality, etc. if built. The SEIR is a “Program EIR” meaning that future development on any identified inventory site will be allowed to use the SEIR to facilitate future environmental review, and thus development.

The Housing Element and its SEIR will become County Law if approved by the Board of Supervisors. The vote is anticipated in late (August – September) summer or early fall.

The Housing Element and its SEIR as currently proposed could have serious impacts to our community. Some of the impacts are:

• School capacity and funding: The cumulative impacts on schools of 546 proposed (tax exempted family household) units from the County unincorporated area and an additional 620 units for San Rafael, have not been studied. Funding for schools has not been considered.(to assess if the School District can absorb students from 1,166 new family households without any new revenue / exempted from annual school funding)
• Properties up-zoned to 30 units/acre in otherwise single family resident neighborhoods;
• Increased costs for all community services, (paid by local, not county, taxpayers)
• Traffic congestion
• Funding shortfall and for services (fire, police, sheriff)