The future of housing within the City of Mill Valley, throughout the 94941 and beyond, has dominated much of the conversation in recent years, and will continue to do so as more proposed projects arise.

Dick Spotswood: “It’s time to accept reality. The state’s requirement that suburban counties must permit large high-rise multifamily developments in small to medium-sized towns isn’t going to change.

It’s clear that the Legislature, led by state Sen. Scott “Mr. Housing” Wiener (D-San Francisco) and his bipartisan allies, aren’t going to back down. Worthy efforts to place a statewide measure to return local control of zoning will likely not garner enough support to make California’s ballot.

A new fallback strategy is needed to mitigate the worst aspects of Wiener’s tsunami of housing laws. The following projects are the larger plans that are likely to proceed. All exceed local planning guidelines. Most are exempt due to bonuses granted for commitments to creating so-called “affordable housing” and locations near transit.

San Rafael can expect 3,200 new housing units to comply with state mandates. That includes a 17-story, 200-unit blockbuster at 700 Irwin St. Down the way, 930 Irwin St. will be an eight-story, 210-unit apartment house. With the dramatic decline in shopping at brick-and-mortar stores, Terra Linda’s Northgate mall will see 1,422 new apartments over 20 years. Next to it, at 555 Northgate Drive, 200 new units are likely in a seven-story complex.

In Novato’s downtown, at Third Street and Grant Avenue, expect to see a five-story building with 56 units of housing with zero parking required. The developer was able to pitch that with a straight face based on Wiener’s pipe dream that all its residents will travel to work, recreation, school or shops via transit, walking or cycling.

In small-town Fairfax, a six-story 243-unit structure is planned for 95 Broadway at School Street. In Corte Madera, 98 housing units are likely at the intersection of Tamal Vista Boulevard and Fifer Avenue.

There is a need for more workforce housing, but all things need to be done in moderation. Otherwise, unintended negative consequences will flow.

Don’t blame your local city council or the Marin County Board of Supervisors. No matter how loud they object, the law is the law. They and you are stuck. Marin and similarly situated suburbs don’t have the political clout or sufficient voting power votes to stop this avalanche of construction.

We can’t stop the avalanche. Instead, suburban coastal California might collectively organize to mitigate the worst aspects of Wiener’s passionate push.

Allow cities to have a strong say in design. Great design can cure many negatives. There is first-rate multistory architecture located in appropriate locations. Find examples of the best and allow jurisdictions to follow their lead. Reduce rights to appeal to provide developers with greater certainty. Our towns can have both excellence in design along with an expedited approval process.

Much of the planned new housing is mediocre at best. They all look the same. Drive along San Mateo County’s El Camino Real. You’ll see miles of nondescript five- and six-story housing.

Forget the lies behind “transit-oriented development” (aka TOD). New housing must include parking. In the real world, new residents have no practical option but to drive to work and do daily activities. When a TOD is approved, within a year after completion, require an origin-and-destination study that’ll prove whether the development produced the expected outcome.

Encourage new housing only near freeways. Fortunately, most of the housing described above is close to Highway 101. Fairfax is the obvious exception. As Corte Madera Councilmember Eli Beckman said, “Our town is meeting its housing mandate by locating new units near the freeway.” That limits in-town traffic increases and preserves most of the small-town character.

To make even these modest improvements to current state housing laws, our North Bay state legislative delegation and those in other suburban counties need to get aggressive on our behalf. For too long, suburban legislators of both parties have mouthed platitudes while being ineffective in preventing legislative extremes with negative implications for suburban communities. Certainly, we need workforce housing, but we need to start doing it the right way.