|
Local government is about potholes and paving, taking care of our public places and open spaces, ensuring public safety, providing safety net services, emergency preparedness and responding to disaster. Local government is also very much about planning for the future – future needs, future residents, future conditions towards ensuring our communities and county are resilient, sustainable, and equitable in all areas of our shared physical, social and economic ecosystems.
As we head into 2023, I am thinking about how the actions and investments we make today have consequences for how our county and communities look and function tomorrow: Who lives here and their relative health and level of wealth. The ability of local businesses and institutions to hire workforce. The length of commutes of those workers. How resilient we are to enduring storm events and how safe from wildfire. The state of our housing, and number of unhoused.
I invite you to join me in thinking about the future as we consider how to address the problems and challenges we face today, and the impact of those decisions on the health of our communities and county tomorrow.
Survey Question: What is the top issue local government should address today towards ensuring the health and well-being of Marin County residents tomorrow? I would love to hear from you.
Most of our toughest challenges are shared countywide. Top among them is housing – ensuring adequate housing for the diversity of residents every healthy, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable community needs.
Since 1969, the State has required all cities and towns (and County’s for unincorporated areas) to provide a plan called, The Housing Element, for how the local jurisdiction will meet the existing and projected housing needs of their community over the coming eight-year planning cycle. The state assigns the number of units and relative affordability levels each community must plan for.
For the 2023-2032 cycle, the County was instructed to plan for (identify sites/parcels that could feasibility accommodate) at least 3,569 new units in unincorporated areas of Marin. Within that total, at least 1,734 must be designated as affordable to lower-income households, at least 512 for moderate-income households, and at least 1,323 for above-moderate-income households.
Importantly, while the state requires local government to plan, and zone, and remove constraints for the development of new housing, it does not require local government to build the housing.
On January 24th, after over a year of research, site analysis, community engagement and feedback on specific sites and programs to help support the development of new housing, our Board approved the Housing Element for unincorporated Marin.
Our approved Housing Element aligns with Marin’s 2007 Countywide Plan goals of fostering equitable, economically and environmentally sustainable communities. Consistent with long held Marin values towards protecting open space and preventing sprawl, the plan seeks to meet housing needs through focusing new development on infill opportunities, taking advantage of underutilized parcels in residentially zoned areas, prioritizing locations with access to services and amenities, and incorporates sustainable development principles.
The plan seeks to meet a broad range of housing needs by supporting a mix of housing types, densities, designs and affordability levels fostering inclusive communities that create opportunity for the range of local workers that our communities depend on.
Importantly, with the Board’s approval on January 24, the County met the state’s deadline for Housing Element adoption. Jurisdictions without a certified housing element put at risk access to state housing and transportation funding, and risk developers taking advantage of what’s called “builders remedy.” The “Builder’s Remedy” is a provision of state law (Housing Accountability Act) that allows developers to propose housing projects that do not comply with the local jurisdictions zoning or general plan.
With our Housing Element in place, any development proposal for unincorporated Marin cannot be approved or built without thorough review for consistency with all county planning and building code and policy, including environmental protections, in addition to review and permitting by any and all agencies with regulatory authority over the site or project.
|
Serving on a Marin County board or commission is a great opportunity to make a difference in your community and county. Featured below are current District 2 specific seat vacancies on Marin County boards and commissions. The county also has board and commission openings noticed for at large seats on the county website. I encourage you to take a look. My staff would be happy to answer any questions you have.
Disaster and Citizens Corps Council:
The Disaster and Citizens Corps Council reviews, evaluates, and communicates to decision makers and the public on all matters pertaining to disaster preparedness. If you are interested and want to learn more about the Disaster and Citizens Corps Council, please get in touch with Therese Gorostiza with the Office of Emergency Services at tgorostiza@marincounty.org.
FCZ #9 (Corte Madera Creek):
The Flood Control Zone No. 9 Advisory Board shall be consulted by the Board of Supervisors of the Marin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District in all matters affecting Flood Control Zone No. 9. If you are interested and want to learn more about the Flood Control Zone No. 9 Advisory Board, please get in touch with Hannah Lee with the Department of Public Works at hlee@marincounty.org.
Integrated Pest Management:
The Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Commission oversees implementation of the Marin County Integrated Pest Management policy and plan, and advises and makes recommendations to the IPM Coordinator and Board of Supervisors. If you are interested and want to learn more about the Integrated Pest Management Commission, please get in touch with Jim Chayka, Superintendent of Marin County Parks, at jchayka@marincounty.org.
Marin County Library Commission:
The Library Commission serves as a resource body and liaison to the Board of Supervisors, the Director of County Library Services, and the community to find ways to enlist public interest in supporting and improving Library services. They serve as the Measure A Advisory Committee to provide independent citizen oversight for Measure A, a special tax for the Marin County Free Library. If you are interested and want to learn more about the Library commission, please get in touch with Edna Guadiana with the Marin County Free Library at eguadiana@marincounty.org.
|
