UPDATE San Rafael, Novato & County: On January 19th, the City of San Rafael City Council adopted a temporary “rent freeze” ordinance for tenants residing in certain residential units through December 31, 2021. The temporary moratorium solely applies in two designated US Census Tracts, Tract Nos. 1122.01 (Canal Neighborhood) and 1122.02 (Southeast San Rafael and Canal neighborhood), which have been…
The countywide moratorium on pandemic-related evictions expired in September, having been replaced by a statewide moratorium that provides relief through January 31, 2021 for tenants who submit a declaration form and pay at least 25% of their September–January rent. On January 12th, the Marin County Board of Supervisors re-instituted its local moratorium, which will remain effective…
LOCAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEWS Funding for Legal Assistance for Tenants: On September 15, the Marin County Board of supervisors voted to provide $400,000 for legal assistance to low-income tenants and mediation of landlord-tenant disputes. Most of this funding will go to Legal Aid of Marin to provide assistance to tenants, while another portion will provide…
Many analysts are projecting a massive surge of COVID-19-related evictions when eviction moratoriums around the state and nation expire. While many California counties have been working to reopen their economies, the number of COVID-19 cases is increasing and an increase in the number of homeless people on our streets would exacerbate this public health crisis. …
MEHC’s partner organization, the Multicultural Center of Marin, led by MEHC Board member Douglas Mundo, has been re-funded to continue its Canal Community Resilience Council (CCRC) project for another year, through mid-2021. MEHC is pleased to be able to continue to provide technical support on this project. The CCRC is intended to build community resilience…
Like climate change, a pandemic disproportionately impacts low-income communities, even in Marin. Insufficient affordable housing and consequent crowding, unhealthy environmental conditions like poor air quality and flooding, low wages and inadequate access to healthcare and nutritious food all contribute to making low-income Marin residents particularly vulnerable in a crisis. It’s even worse in immigrant communities…
Recent State housing legislation, including Senate Bill 35, Senate Bill 330 and the Housing Accountability Act (HAA,) have established mandates for cities, towns and counties to streamline the review process for multi-family housing projects and use objective standards to review projects. As a result, Marin has embarked on a multi-jurisdictional effort to update and expand…
By WILL HOUSTON | whouston@marinij.com | PUBLISHED: December 18, 2019 at 5:58 pm | UPDATED: December 19, 2019 at 6:56 am Marin Independent Journal The Marin Municipal Water District Board of Directors voted unanimously this week to adopt rate and fee reductions for existing in-law units to promote affordable housing development under state law. Several residents turned out to the board meeting…
Considering Marin’s resistance to new development, you might be surprised to learn that Marin scored the highest among Bay Area counties in meeting last year’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) goals according to a recent report, Missing the Mark. RHNA is a statewide program that calculates how much housing each local jurisdiction needs to build, by…
CA Housing Legislation Approved! Funding & objective standards support affordable housing production The California legislature has just passed and Governor Brown has signed fifteen bills to promote housing and address homelessness. Of these, Senate Bill 35 will have the greatest impact on Marin County. Background: California counties, cities and towns are required to include and regularly…