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For the last 50 years, the community has worked in partnership with the County to ensure community planning incorporates the theme of sustainable communities to protect sensitive coastal habitats; ensure resource availability; reduce greenhouse gas impacts; encourage infill and redevelopment projects to recolonize the asphalt with projects focused on underutilized development near transit and job centers.
Can the Last Place Last? That was the name of the 1970s EIR that the County commissioned in response to the absurd pro-development planning that would have destroyed forever what we know today as the inland-agricultural and the coastal corridors.
As the County grapples to meet the RHNA numbers, it is on track to rollback the foundational elements of the award-winning 2007 Countywide Plan and conservation zoning that has safeguarded Marin from sprawl and irresponsible development projects while the state seeks to roll back local control for housing development.
- Morgan Patton, Executive Director
The Marin County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors received an update from the Marin County Community Development Agency (CDA) on June 14th regarding the recently released Draft Housing and Safety Elements. EAC attended the meeting, along with other members of the public raising questions about the public’s ability to comment on both the Safety and Housing Element drafts without the Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR), raised concerns about conservation zoning rollbacks, and changes to the General Plans environmental corridors in the face of pressure from the State to meet the Regional Housing Needs Allocation.
WHY THIS HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE NEEDS YOUR ATTENTION
This Housing Element Update is unlike past updates. Locations identified for potential development in the next 8-years will most likely be subject to ministerial actions in the future for development. This is a real problem, as ministerial actions bypass local government review (are not subject to review by the Planning Commission and not appealable) and in some cases are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Therefore, it is absolutely essential to have locations inappropriate for development removed from any potential consideration lists before the end of the year.
The release of the Drafts highlights a huge land-use planning challenge in Marin County, how can the County plan for additional housing the State of California is requiring in areas vulnerable to wildfire, flooding, drought conditions, sea-level rise; and that lack appropriate infrastructure (roads, wastewater treatment, and public transportation)?
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The Draft EIR will be programmatic and help us better understand impacts on Aesthetics, Agricultural and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Energy, Geology and Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality, Land Use and Planning, Mandatory Findings of Significance, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population and Housing, Public Services, Recreation, Transportation, Tribal Cultural Resources, Utilities and Service Systems, and Wildfire as required by the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA.
Any comments submitted in response to the Draft EIR must be responded to by the County.
Further complicating matters for public transparency, is that these drafts were released ahead of the programmatic Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR). The Draft EIR is expected to be released in August 2022 for public review.
The list of potential sites will change depending on the outcome of the Draft EIR. In addition, key infrastructure questions including wastewater treatment, transportation, climate change impacts, etc. are not fully addressed in the Draft Housing and Safety Elements but should be detailed in the Draft EIR.
EAC is waiting for the Draft EIR release to make substantive comments on the negative environmental impacts of the proposed plan.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Know that your support of EAC ensures we are engaged on this issue on your behalf with a focus on preventing environmental harm from irresponsible development. But, we also need your help; our elected leaders need to also hear from a variety of community members to inform their decision-making.
Review the Draft Reports (Draft Housing Element and Draft Safety Report). The Housing Element is 600+ pages long. If you are short on time, we recommend you read these sections:
Section 2: Needs Assessment: There are a lot of tables and demographic information in here that is helpful to understand the context of the land-use and development planning that is being considered. Specifically look for community profile information, maps, and vacancy rates and second homes totals for coastal villages.
Section 5: Housing Plan: Review the recommendations and implementing plans. This is where you will find the information about rezoning A-60 parcels and amending the 2007 CWP Corridors to pave the way for future development activities.
Appendix C: Site Inventory: This is the list of current sites that are part of the Draft Housing Element. This is subject to further change, pending the Draft EIR and additional public input and feedback.
Don’t want to read it online? Physical copies of the draft Housing Element are available for review at the below locations. Please reference the Marin County Free Library webpage for more information about hours and locations.
Civic Center Planning Counter, County of Marin Library Branches in Bolinas, Inverness, Marin City, Point Reyes & Stinson Beach.
Send in written comments or call your County Supervisor!
We created an Action Alert that will be accessible through June 30th and you can use our draft template to send in comments. We encourage you to edit the letter to include your personal information so that the County receives different versions of the letter and does not disregard them as form letters.
SUGGESTED TALKING POINTS
Do not change our Environmental Corridors
In 2007, Community members volunteered their time and worked with the Community Development Agency to help update the Countywide Plan (2007 CWP) with a theme of “sustainable communities” creating a plan that would reduce negative impacts on the environment through strategic land-use planning that encourages development to infill sites near transportation corridors and discourages development in hazardous areas subject to wildfires, flooding, and sea level rise. It does not make any sense that the County is planning to change the environmental corridors for urban sprawl development.Do Not Rezone A-60 Parcels
Agricultural conservation zoning should not be changed to pave the way for developers to build above market housing over the next 8-years. A-60 zoning has protected the Inland Rural Corridor from urban sprawl development since 1973. The County should be making decisions based on sustainable development and incorporating the long-term consequences of changing the Countywide Plan Corridors and A-60 roll backs. Exclude the Buck Center site and other proposed A-60 sites, protecting our hard-fought A-60 zoning! The County is proposing to change the foundational land-use corridors by extending the City Center Corridor and rolling back A-60 zoning.Protect sensitive habitat areas and depleted water resources from irresponsible development! Development sites should be 100 feet away from a shoreline or creek, protecting riparian habitat and water quality.
Proposed housing should be located in areas with adequate water and septic infrastructure to reduce environmental harms and avoid exacerbating lack of water availability due to extreme drought conditions.
Protect our residential communities with complementary programs and policies. Housing should be prioritized for people that live and work in our communities on a full-time basis. We can’t simply build our way out of this crisis. Without ensuring safeguards that proposed development will serve the residential and workforce communities, we may exacerbate our existing affordable housing crisis. The County needs to find ways to further restrict short-term rentals, tax second homes (e.g. vacancy tax), and explore other solutions to preserve our communities.
Honor the Sustainable Communities Strategies of Plan Bay Area 2050. The County should promote infill near commercial cores, job centers, and transit centers, as well as promoting mixed-use commercial spaces.
The public should have full participation in this rushed process, with a high-value placed on stakeholder input.
Learn More & Next Steps
Check out EAC's blog posts and webpage on the Housing Element.
Read the 2007 Countywide Plan that guides the conservation and development of Marin County. Screenshots of the introduction and Environmental Corridors are below for quick reference.
Watch back the Board of Supervisors Meeting from June 14th or prior meetings.
Stay tuned for the Draft EIR in August! We will alert you.
Have a specific question, contact Marin County:
Questions about the draft Housing Element may be directed to the Housing and Federal Grants Division by email (housingelement@marincounty.org) or by phone at (415) 473-7309. Questions about the draft Safety Element may be directed to Leslie Lacko by email (llacko@marincounty.org) or by phone at (415) 473-4333.Stay Engaged:
join Marin County’s subscription list.
Support Our Work
Please consider a donation to support our work on the Housing Element.
We estimate our engagement on this important policy issue will cost $15,000 this year. If you are not a member, need to renew, or make an additional gift to EAC, it will help us bring in additional resources to stay engaged.
As a grassroots environmental non-profit, more than 70% of our work is funded by individual tax-deductible contributions. We are grateful for your support and engagement.
