Marin Voice: We need deliberation, not political theater in Marin

Marin Independent Journal, August 25, 2014 
Marin Voice: We need deliberation, not political theater in Marin
Steven Saxe and Colin Russell
We write on behalf of the Marin Environmental Housing Collaborative, a partnership that includes affordable housing, environmental and social justice advocates. MEHC works to promote public support for projects that advance affordable housing, environmental integrity and social justice. We urge our county Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission to move forward and complete the Housing Element Update on schedule.
In March, the Board of Supervisors approved a schedule for completing the Housing Element Update by Jan. 31, 2015. Now, five months later, activists opposed to excellent affordable housing projects, such as Marinwood Village, are demanding that the review process be delayed.
Housing opponents are not asking for more time for decision-makers to deliberate; their views are already known — they merely seek more time for more political theater.
The adopted schedule provides more than enough time for community input:
  • The 2013 Housing Element was just adopted late last year, after over two years of public participation in numerous informal and formal meetings and hearings.
  • The Housing Element Update now in process is essentially the same as the 2013 Housing Element; the only significant difference is that the county’s housing production targets have been reduced by 75 percent. There is not a lot of new information that needs more time for study. 
  • Not counting the public hearings the Board of Supervisors will hold before taking action, the review process will have provided at least 18 opportunities for public participation: two stakeholder meetings, four meetings with design review boards and community service districts, four meetings with other community organizations, five community workshops, and three Planning Commission hearings.
  • The review process has been widely advertised and all of the relevant documents have been readily available on the county’s website.
  • The environmental impacts of the 2013 Housing Element were fully analyzed in an EIR. The update under consideration is essentially the same and does not raise new environmental issues. Indeed, it further addresses some of the environmental concerns that have been raised, eliminating certain sites that might have presented flood issues.
  • Contrary to the opponents’ claims, there will be severe penalties if the county fails to adopt the update by Jan. 31. The county will be ineligible for important transportation grants and may be forced to go through the same process in four years, instead of in 2023. 
Much anger is being expressed because the update calls for more new housing units than the minimum now required by the state. The reality is that, independent of state minimum requirements, Marin is being choked by traffic, in large part due to a lack of adequate housing for those who work here and serve our needs. We need the transportation grants and more responsibly-sited housing.
Neither housing element opponents nor supporters, such as the Marin Environmental Housing Collaborative, need more time to formulate arguments and put their positions on the record. 
We strongly urge the Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission to maintain the schedule and complete the housing element update by Jan. 31. 
Steven Saxe of Corte Madera and Colin Russell of San Rafael are members of the Marin Environmental Housing Collaborative