Affordable housing plans in Mill Valley progressing
Marin IJ Readers’ Forum, October 20, 2020
Marin Environmental Housing Collaborative is a consortium of advocates building support for projects and policies that advance affordable housing, environmental integrity and social justice. As a member of the MEHC board, I want to say that we applaud the proactive role Mill Valley’s housing advisory committee has taken in seeking ways to encourage affordable housing creation (“Mill Valley scraps idea to sell land for affordable housing,” Oct. 12).
The committee explored different funding mechanisms to provide a local match to incentivize nonprofit developers to create deed-restricted affordable housing in a city with notoriously expensive costs. It determined that selling or donating public, surplus land — potentially part of a local park — would be best due to the anticipated difficulty of raising funds through donations or a transfer tax in the current economic environment.
While MEHC’s ethos is to avoid pitting important goals like preserving open space and advancing social justice against one another, we think this may result in a happy ending.
The committee and the City Council listened to the community and chose to seek solutions other than selling part of Scott Highlands Park. The publicity engaged the broader community in a critical conversation about affordable housing. It energized a nascent pro-affordable housing movement that emphasizes racial equity and social justice.
It rallied the residents to brainstorm solutions to the problem of affordable housing in the city. The City Council voted to allocate funding toward hiring a consultant to do an in-depth analysis of strategies to raise funds and provide additional deed-restricted affordable housing.
While we heard some of the usual arguments against affordable housing, we also heard a new willingness to consider this issue and actively contribute to a solution. We will be watching the progress of this effort as it unfolds.
— Larry Kennings, Mill Valley
Photo Credits: Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal