YOUR VOICE IS NEEDED TO
PROTECT OUR IRREPLACEABLE LANDS, WATERS, AND BIODIVERSITY
FROM HARMFUL DEVELOPMENT
COMMENTS DUE ON MONDAY MARCH 14th BY 5PM
SEND COMMENTS TO:
housingelement@marincounty.org
BOS@marincounty.org
DRodoni@marincounty.org
March 15th Board of Supervisors Meeting
Tuesday, March 15th, the Marin County Board of Supervisors will hear from the Community Development Agency regarding the Housing Element update and potential locations to develop more than 3,500 new homes in unincorporated Marin County.
This update includes an update from the March 1st Workshop, recommendation of one of the two proposed alternatives (alternative 1: countywide distribution and alternative 2: avoiding hazards and infill), and review of site selections.
The Supervisors are being asked to provided direction on the potential housing locations to continue to narrow down the site list for additional consideration at the April 12th Supervisors and Planning Commission Workshop.
Why You Need to Get Involved
At the March 1st Workshop, the County’s consultants referred to our Community Plans as “impediments” to development. Our Community Plans are NOT impediments! Community members need to engage to exclude locations in environmentally sensitive habitat areas and to align with Community and Regional Plans. Our Community Plans identify where new development should not happen as it would be harmful to environmental resources and out balance with community character and values. In several examples, the proposed development sites totally ignore the Community Plans.
The total number of housing units cannot be reduced at the local level. The State of California is pushing the total number of housing to each city and county with penalties if there is not compliance. In short, local control is extremely limited and the number of housing units can’t be reduced. The County has already appealed, asking for a reduction of 1,288 homes based on lack of resources (drinking water), infrastructure (roads and wastewater), expansions outside the urban growth boundaries, and hazards (wildfire). Their appeal was denied in October 2021 (see pages 12-42).
We must protect sensitive habitat areas from development.
The County has proposed several inappropriate locations for development including parcels located in Tomales Bay; within 100 feet of creeks, wetlands, and shorelines; areas that are currently owned by conservation land trusts; agricultural lands that would expand suburban sprawl outside of urban growth boundaries.We can’t just build our way out of the housing crisis.
In addition to voicing your concerns on on inappropriate housing locations, you must also let the County know that they need to do something about the causes of our housing crisis, including establishing restrictions on short-term rentals and finding ways to stop the hollowing out of our residential communities. Our coastal villages have extremely high vacancy rates due to the high number of second homes. Every home converted to a vacation house is a loss to our residential housing stock.Locations inappropriate for housing development that remain on the potential housing list may be subject to ministerial actions in the future for development.
This is a real problem, as ministerial actions are actions where the local government will have no discretion (not subject to review by the Planning Commission and not appealable) and are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Therefore, it’s absolutely essential to have locations inappropriate for development removed from any potential consideration lists before the end of the year.
How You Can Help
We know this is an an overwhelming amount of information and it’s difficult to know where to start. So first, 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.
What You Can Do
Write an email to the Board of Supervisors and District 4 Supervisor Dennis Rodoni expressing your concerns. Comments are due Monday, March 14, 2022 by 5pm (send comments to housingelement@marincounty.org, BOS@marincounty.org, DRodoni@marincounty.org).
Attend the Board of Supervisors Meeting on Tuesday, March 15th at 5pm (via Zoom) to express your top concerns (expect to limit comments to two minutes).
suggestions on organizing your comments
Normally, we would help to set up a direct action alert to help get comments into the hands of our elected leadership. However, this time, we need you to write a personal note and send to the Supervisors.
You can personalize this template to help start your letter that also includes some example talking points.
We created some Research Tips to help you as your organize your ideas, thoughts, and comments.
Next Steps:
Write and Submit your Comments on Monday, March 14th by 5pm.
Attend the Board of Supervisors Meeting on Tuesday, March 15th at 5pm. Instructions on how to sign up to speak are on the website.
Plan to Stay engaged on this item for the long-haul! Additional meetings are scheduled in April and the final list of sites will be determined before the end of the year.
