Public Hearing Schedule Set for Marin Housing Element

Public hearings with the Marin County Planning Commission are scheduled to examine long-range plans for housing at all income levels in unincorporated areas of Marin. The first of three hearings will be July 28.

The Marin County Community Development Agency is drafting a new Housing Element update to the Countywide Plan and intends to submit it to the state by Jan. 31, 2015.Marin’s next Housing Element update is required to plan for significantly fewer homes than the previous update. The 2015-2023 Housing Element, with a minimum of 185 homes at all income levels for the entire unincorporated County, will replace the current update from 2007-2014 that was certified by the California Department of Housing and Community Development in December 2013.

Prior to submittal, a draft must first be reviewed and approved by the Planning Commission, followed by the Board of Supervisors. To begin the review process, the Planning Commission has scheduled hearings on July 28, August 25 and November 17 to offer feedback and to make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors. In late fall, the Board will review and consider adopting the housing element Update at one or more hearings. The public is encouraged to attend any or all hearings to share comments.

All three Planning Commission hearings will take place in Suite 328 (Planning Commission Chambers) of the Marin County Civic Center at 3501 Civic Center Drive in San Rafael. The first hearing on July 28 has been scheduled as a special evening hearing at 5 p.m. and will begin the review of the draft Housing Element. The 10 a.m. August 25 hearing will continue the public hearing and allow the Planning Commission to consider submittal of the draft to the state for review and comment as required by state law. The 1 p.m. November 17 hearing will address the Planning Commission’s recommendation for adoption of the environmental review document and a final recommendation on the draft to the Board of Supervisors.

The schedule is subject to change. To receive the latest updates, sign up to receive email notifications.

The County has more information online about the Housing Element and materials from the recently held community workshops. The input from the workshops, along with the feedback received from the 2014 Marin Housing Survey and other sources, will be provided to County decision-makers during the update process.

Questions and comments can be emailed to staff directly at housingelement@marincounty.org. For more information, call the Planning Division at 473-6269.