Housing Elements Update
RHNA Tracking and Housing Element Implementation
Jurisdictions will need significant resources to meet commitments
Marin’s 6th Housing Element Cycle officially kicked off Jan 31, 2024. Although several Marin cities and towns are still finalizing their housing elements, all jurisdictions must still take action to meet their state housing goals (RHNA, the Regional Housing Needs Allocation). Every April, each jurisdiction must publish an annual progress report (APR) documenting its status toward reaching its housing requirement. So far, Fairfax is the only Marin jurisdiction that seems to be on track to meet its RHNA goal, according to APR data. Belvedere recently approved the Mallard Pointe project, which provides 18 new units of housing. However, this approval was after the APR deadline and will appear in next year’s report. The table below shows this progress.
RHNA makes noise, but Housing Element implementation is more than numbers
While RHNA housing goals garner the most attention, the Housing Element covers much more than housing production. The Housing Element also requires that jurisdictions
- plan for the preservation of existing affordable housing
- prevent displacement
- meet Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing goals
Every city, town and the county has specified a list of programs it will implement before the end of its Housing Element cycle (2031), and its APR must report the progress every year. MEHC is working to monitor progress on these programs. Table B, sourced from HCD’s Program Implementation dashboard, shows status and provides links. Monitoring this progress is challenging, as many programs include multiple components, are vaguely defined, and the jurisdictions’ reporting is often less than clear. What is clear is that all jurisdictions will need to dedicate significant resources to implement their Housing Element commitments.
This is our first attempt to monitor Housing Elements implementation programs and progress. We will update our reporting over time.
All data from HCD Annual Progress Report dashboard
*7 programs had no status report listed
**4 programs had no status report listed
*** 9 programs had no status report listed
Holding jurisdictions accountable and giving them the tools to perform
Overall, Marin jurisdictions are NOT on track to successfully implement their housing elements. A countywide poll identifies affordable housing as the #1 issue of concern for residents. Collective community support and engagement is necessary in order to hold jurisdictions accountable and ensure that more housing is developed; we need to push more projects through the pipeline. You can read more about the status of housing projects in Marin here in our past Perspective.
Moreover, not every project that receives county/city/town approval and has community support actually gets built. Financing can be an enormous issue, in particular for 100% affordable housing projects which simply cannot pencil out without subsidies–which often require years to layer together. Delays cost real money in material and labor costs increases as well as ongoing staffing and operations costs. In the meanwhile, people are increasingly cost-burdened, forced out of the community, or become homeless. The societal toll of insufficient housing at all price levels continues to mount.
It’s clear that there are many many hurdles to creating new housing in Marin–community support, approvals, financing. The affordable housing bond measure proposed for the November ballot will provide $10-$20 billion in affordable housing funding for the Bay Area, of which $350-$700 million would come directly to Marin under local control. This stable source of ongoing funding in addition to enlightened community support will go a very long way in helping Marin to reach our state housing goals.
| MEHC is member of new Housing For All Marin Coalition One significant barrier to the creation and preservation of affordable housing is funding. While the state and Federal government provide some funding for affordable projects, it falls far short of the demand. Last funding cycle, California received 10X as much in funding requests as it could fulfill. This year, there is an exciting opportunity to bring more affordable housing to Marin. There is a $10–$20 Billion affordable housing bond planned for the November ballot. This bond will provide $350–$700 million in affordable housing funding for Marin. There is no other funding source that can make this level of funding available to our County. MEHC has joined with other Marin based organizations to create the Housing For All Marin/Casa Para Todos Marin Coalition. Coalition members include: Canal Alliance, Community Action Marin, Housing Crisis Action, Legal Aid of Marin, Marin Environmental Housing Collaborative, Marin Organizing Committee, North Bay Community Services, West Marin Community Services. We will be busy this summer, tabling at events and meeting with organizations to help educate the community on housing. Keep up to date by following our calendar or by signing up for our weekly Coming Up newsletter. If you’d like to subscribe, email us at info@marinmehc.org. Our Housing for All Marin/Casa por Todos Marin Coalition will provide outreach and education on the need for this level of funding for affordable housing. If you or your organization would like to learn more about affordable housing funding or this bond, please reach out to us at info@marinmehc.org. We will be happy to meet with you or your group. |
| AFFORDABLE HOUSING CIVIC ACADEMY – Wednesday June 12, 4–5:30 pm North Marin Community Services 680 Wilson Ave., Novato Come learn about the proposed Affordable Housing bond measure planned for the November 2024 ballot. If passed, this measure would unlock $350–$700 million for affordable housing and homelessness solutions in Marin. PDF flyer in Spanish >> Register here>> |
| MEHC’s Perspective newsletter is a mostly-monthly publication with important housing related information pertinent to Marin County residents. Visit our website, the Housing Hub for up-to-date information! |
 MEHC works for the Marin community Many Marin workers, employers, residents and nonprofits support MEHC’s work to advance environmentally appropriate, culturally sensitive, and socially equitable affordable housing. If that includes you, please consider a tax-deductible donation to MEHC to help us keep working. Your support matters, thank you. |