A short primer on affordable housing, BAHFA and BAHA, and potentially game-changing funding! Marinites overwhelmingly want more affordable housing.According to the Marin County 2023 Community Survey, it is the #1 issue that Marinites would like our local governments to address. But how can we build more affordable housing? And what does this have to do with the…
Happy New Year, fellow housing nerds and policy wonks!There is a lot to catch up on! The 2023 California legislative season ended in October with record-setting housing activity, November was for equal parts pats-on-the-back and wound-licking, and December was the time to rest and get ready to start the maddening but addictingly fun process all over…
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…
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…
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…