Lawsuits and Housing Production

Marin County has had the lowest rate of housing production in the Bay Area for over 50 years. Exclusionary zoning rules and creation of open space have slowed production, but arguably, lawsuits have been an even larger factor.

Marin famously kicked off the conservation movement and the use of lawsuits to block development in the 1960’s, when activists used the legal process to block the Marincello development. Since then, lawsuits frequently arise for many multi-family developments, including current lawsuits in Mill Vallley and Tiburon trying to block affordable housing projects.

Recently, the Yimby movement has started to use the legal process as well, to force local jurisdictions to follow state housing law. In this space, we will include information on known housing legal battles in Marin.