TO ADDRESS ITS HOUSING SHORTAGE, California implemented a Housing Element process over 50 years ago. The process requires each local city and county to adopt a Housing Element that must be updated and certified by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) every 8 years (an 8-year “Housing Cycle”). So far, this program has failed…
In addition to the high hurdle of public opposition, a significant barrier to creating new affordable housing, especially in Marin, is the high cost of land. In our January newsletter, we discussed California’s Surplus Lands Act, which makes affordable housing one of the top priorities for the sale of surplus public land. This month, we…
While cities and towns are required to plan for a certain number of affordable units—getting those units built has been a struggle. With the demise of redevelopment agencies (and funding) in 2012, jurisdictions have been forced to rely upon private for-profit and non-profit developers to create that housing. Along with public opposition, the high cost…
For decades, many property owners in Marin — and statewide — have vociferously opposed affordable housing in order to “preserve local character.” For a suburban county like Marin where 85% of the land area is closed to development, this means, in effect, “don’t build anything anywhere.” Justifications? No more traffic. Save our open space. Keep class sizes…
Krissy Clark/Marketplace Thursday, June 11, 2015 – 16:34 We’re looking at the issue of affordable housing through one place where housing is not exactly affordable: Marin County, just north of San Francisco. George Lucas*, filmmaker and longtime Marin resident, says he’ll use more than $100 million to finance, entirely, 224 low-income apartments on a piece…