Marin Voice: More Can Be Done to Build the Housing We Need
We need more affordable housing. Many residents are pleading for it, and the state is requiring that Marin permit at least 14,000 new housing units by 2031. May is Affordable Housing Month, so I would like to assess how we are doing.
Some have the impression that Marin is in the midst of a building boom. The reality is different. Over the past three years, only about 1,100 homes, mostly accessory dwelling units, have received building permits. While those units built on properties with single-family homes help our supply, they are typically used for family members, caregivers or supplemental living space, and are rarely available to the broader public, especially families. Very little new housing is reaching the market.
Approvals are doing better. Over 6,500 new housing units have been approved, making this the largest pipeline Marin has had in decades. But approvals aren’t homes. Many projects remain stalled, including fully affordable developments like 240 Tamal Vista in Corte Madera and 1 Hamilton in Mill Valley. These are still seeking financing long after being approved. Marin’s affordable-housing fund is very limited, while state and federal funding is highly competitive. Market-rate projects are struggling even more – most are offering returns that are too low to attract investors. There is a huge gap between what gets approved and what gets built; historically, only about one-third of proposed projects break ground.
Many blame financing challenges for our low rate of housing production. Yet, costs are high throughout California and Marin consistently has the lowest rate of housing production. Our cultural attitudes and historically cumbersome approval processes compound the financing challenges. There is more that Marin can do to build housing more quickly.
Marin can create more funding for affordable housing. Local money invested in affordable housing projects make us more competitive for state and federal funding. Other counties dedicate ongoing funding for affordable housing via sales tax, general obligation bonds, parcel taxes or other measures. Marin County is one of the wealthiest counties in the country. We can afford a dedicated source of funding for affordable housing.
Marin can put a moratorium on new fees developers have to pay until development is on pace. Despite the concerns about development costs, many jurisdictions – including Corte Madera, Larkspur, Marin County and San Rafael – are creating new impact fees on new development, further increasing the costs of development and reducing the likelihood of attracting funding. This is in stark contrast to neighboring Sonoma County, which just reduced fees in order to encourage development.
Marin can accommodate more housing in its already developed areas. San Rafael is the only jurisdiction in the county to implement a broad-based upzoning in this housing cycle. Its “Downtown Precise Plan” significantly expanded housing capacity.
By contrast, other jurisdictions relied on upzoning a limited number of individual parcels, assuming development would follow. Housing projects are complex and costly. Upzoning alone is not enough. Projects require a willing property owner, an interested developer and a viable financial return. Many sites lack these conditions. San Rafael has received nine development proposals across the plan’s large 265-acre area. Meaningful housing production throughout Marin requires upzoning much more developed land.
Jurisdictions can seek a pro-housing designation from the state. This requires jurisdictions to meet specific criteria to facilitate housing development. This designation would make Marin projects more competitive for state funding sources and guide jurisdictions to adopt best practices for development.
Jurisdictions can work to shorten the time between project proposal and the issuing of building permits. The state requires that the housing development project application be objective, timely and transparent. Yet, we see many projects go through three or four rounds of comments and revisions before applications are deemed complete. Criteria can appear subjective and unpredictable.
We can expand by-right approval processes. Let planning commissions focus their energy on policy and community planning, not individual project approvals. Approval processes can be transparent and speedy.
Every year of delay adds roughly 15% to costs due to inflation, changing building codes, land carrying costs, professional fees for redesign and resubmittal work. Delays make the problem more expensive, more entrenched and harder to solve.
Some suggestions above may seem radical, but they’ve been done successfully elsewhere. Residents want affordable housing, and what we are doing now is not creating it. It’s time to try new strategies and start solving this critical problem.
Jennifer Silva, of Sausalito, is executive director of the Call Marin Home nonprofit organization.