County of Marin
Dick Spotswood & Mill Valley Councilmember Stephen Burke Brainstormed on the Difficulty Building Housing, Unveiling
Tax incremental financing. Use it now to finance workforce housing: A developer selects a site and applies for permits to build multi-unit homes. Half would be market rate to generate profit; the remainder will be affordable for our workforce, including first responders and teachers. That initial development, like all that follows, will need to be subsidized. Those dollars will need to come from an existing public sector source. The incremental difference between the amount of the “before tax,” and “after tax” determined once construction is complete is reserved. Designated local governments then use that sum to fund the next affordable project, and on and on. Applying tax incremental financing to fund workforce housing is another example of thinking outside the box resulting in new, if yet untested, approaches to housing finance.
Read MoreFree Westminster Events & Outdoor Art Club Host a Thought-Provoking Conversation About the Future of Public Health With Marin County Health Officer Lisa Santora & Ross Town Councilmember Teri Dowling – March 8th, 3-5pm
Free Westminster Events & Outdoor Art Club Host a Thought-Provoking Conversation About the Future of Public Health With Marin County Health Officer Lisa Santora & Ross Town Councilmember Teri Dowling – March 8th, 3-5pm.
Read MoreNYT Reporter Conor Dougherty Has Long Educated Marin & Larger Bay Area About How Best to Navigate Housing, Whether its ‘Abundance,’ Affordability, Now He Suggests ‘America Needs New Cities – a Whole City from Scratch. It’s Been Done Before & Might Solve the Housing Crisis
In the United States, where real estate is ultimately about profit and loss, the best way to bend the paradigm is to prove something different can be lucrative. But first you have to build it.
Read MoreOn the Heels of a Community Workshop in 2025, EHS Has Unveiled an Evolving Program to explicitly encourage business success and foster a “One Marin” mindset—balancing safety standards & a commitment to the economic vitality of the local food community
Today, the program is evolving to explicitly encourage business success and foster a “One Marin” mindset—balancing appropriate safety standards with a commitment to the economic vitality of the local food community. This report details how EHS will work within the CalCode to identify solutions that navigate regulatory requirements in a more engagement-centric and expedited manner to foster business growth and sustainability.
Read MoreCity Hall Has Nearly 60 Projects It Wants to Accomplish – Vitality, Branding Mill Valley as a Destination, Signage, Farmers Market… Councilmember Urban Carmel: “It’s More Like a 5-Year Plan.”
In the latter part of 2025, the Mill Valley City Council, led by then-incoming Mayor Max Perrey, made it clear that the intentions for the City of Mill Valley were bold. That has become increasingly clear in 2026, with Perrey and the rest of the City Council unveiling a Work Plan that spans nearly 60 projects it seeks to accomplish or launch over the next two years. The to-do list includes building a public works complex and multimillion-dollar renovations at the golf course clubhouse and library. It includes creating a recurring “Miller Nights” event series where streets would be closed for music, dining and kids’ activities. The list also includes extending local taxes and raising new revenues, developing affordable housing, updating traffic signals and transit options, making progress on sea-level rise and wildfire protection, further streamlining the permit process and expanding neighborhood and community-wide events.
Read MoreA Major Milestone in Housing Delivery Is Underway in Marin City as Pre-Built Apartments Are installed at 825 Drake Avenue. In the Coming Weeks, Modular Building Sections Will Be Transforming a 5-story pt. building.
A major milestone in housing delivery is underway in Marin City as pre-built apartments are installed at 825 Drake Avenue. Over the coming weeks, modular building sections will be lifted into place, transforming what is now a foundation into a five-story apartment building. The installation of modular units marks a significant step forward for the 42-unit affordable housing project and reflects a faster, more efficient approach to building housing at a time of urgent need across Marin County. Beginning January 22 and continuing through mid-February, modular units will arrive by truck and be set by crane during daytime construction hours. Construction is scheduled Mondays through Fridays, 7 AM to 6 PM. No weekend work is expected during this phase. Dates are subject to change and may be extended if there are weather delays.
Read MoreScenes from Marin Sanitary Service in San Rafael: New Report Lays Out Just How Bad California’s Recycling System Is – Will New Legislation Change Anything?
California acts as a model for environmental legislation across the country, spearheading strict regulations and pushing the boundaries on climate action. Even still, its recycling rates remain dismally low. A recent report from CalRecycle, the state agency that oversees recycling and waste disposal in California, estimates just how few of our milk cartons, peanut butter jars and takeout containers actually end up being properly recycled. Spoiler alert: The results are enough to make any concerned citizen feel miserable about the prospect of their yogurt container getting new life. Despite California’s best efforts, no material category came in anywhere near a recycling rate of 100%. The biggest offenders were aseptic and gable-top cartons — the common containers of milk, juice and broth — with less than 1% of those materials recycled.
Read MoreEconomic Outlook for 2026 Indicates North Bay at a Crossroads: Economist Robert Eyler Warns of Stagnation, Structural Shifts, Uneven Paths Forward
The North Bay economy is undergoing a profound transition marked by stalled job growth, shifting demographics, housing market stagnation and a wine industry facing long-term restructuring. While the challenges are significant, a noted local economist said opportunities remain — if regional leaders understand the depth of the changes underway and respond with coordinated, realistic strategies. Robert Eyler, an economics professor at Sonoma State University and president of Economic Forensics and Analytics, presented his analysis. Using county-level data, statewide and national trends, he described an economy that is no longer behaving as Californians have historically expected, particularly in regions once seen as beneficiaries of pandemic-era migration. Unprecedented jobs plateau. One of the most striking indicators Eyler presented was California’s prolonged lack of job growth. “We’ve seen about a 24-month period in which we had zero jobs growth in California, which is unprecedented in the recorded history of California’s economy outside of recession,” he said. cross the North Bay, that stagnation shows up in different ways. Sonoma and Marin counties remain below their pre-pandemic labor force levels. Napa County has posted modest gains, while Mendocino County has remained largely flat. “The Bay Area and California economies showed encouraging signs of labor market stabilization in November,” Anderson told the news outlet.
Read MoreMarin IJ: Marin Transit Adopts Bus Yard Environmental Assessment, Takes a Major Step Forward and Satisfies CEQA Requirements at a Former Auto Dealership at 1075 Francisco Blvd. in San Rafael for a Bus Storage lot for Marin Transit
Marin Transit’s plan to construct an electric bus yard in San Rafael has taken a major step forward. The board governing the agency voted Monday to adopt a study that satisfies requirements set by the California Environmental Quality Act. The adoption was needed for Marin Transit to advance the plan at 1075 Francisco Blvd. East, a 3.5-acre property in the Canal neighborhood. Board member Maribeth Bushey, who sits on the San Rafael City Council, said city officials still have reservations. “The city of San Rafael remains concerned and impacted by the decision to remove this site, this freeway frontage site, from its potential to be a high tax-generating site for the city of San Rafael,” Bushey said. “This has implications for our general plan as well as, most pointedly, for our general fund.”
Read MoreThe Outdoor Art Club Hosts an Extraordinary Season of Deep Dives into the Arts, Local Politics & the Natural World, From Grammy-Nominated Legends to World-Class Climate Scientists!
The OAC’s public speaker programs for 2025-2026 begin in September. We hope you will join us for an engaging year of speaker programs and public events. Be sure to note the location for each program. Our Clubhouse will be closed from January through May as our kitchen undergoes a major renovation. Programs during that period will be at various locations.
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