A rendering of proposed residential building at 150 Shoreline Highway in Mill Valley. (The Pacific Companies)
A controversial plan for new housing in the Tamalpais Valley area is heading toward a critical hurdle, and the Board of Supervisors is scheduled to discuss the project on March 5.
Marin County supervisors plan a vote Tuesday on an agreement to construct 32 apartments at 150 Shoreline Highway. The goal is to siphon those dwellings from a 74-apartment development that has been approved for 825 Drake Ave. in Marin City.
County planners unveiled the proposal six months ago, but the hearing will be the first time the supervisors will officially weigh in.
“We want to solidify this to the extent possible every step of the way,” said Sarah Jones, director of the Marin County Community Development Agency.
Jones said the project’s developer, Caleb Roope, chief executive officer of the Pacific Companies, “needed something to point to to say this is going to work out.”
The supervisors will be asked to make their decision before the Tamalpais Design Review Board has examined plans or an environmental review for the project, which would be in a flood zone. The board is scheduled to discuss the project on March 5.
Because of new state housing laws, the original 74-apartment plan in Marin City was approved ministerially with little or no input from the community.
A group called Save Our City has waged an unsuccessful campaign, including a lawsuit, to kill the project. The group is led by Bettie Hodges, a founder of the Marin City Community Development Corp., and Marilyn Mackel, a former court commissioner in Los Angeles.
Save Our City has objected to the effects the project would have on traffic, parking and Village Oduduwa, a nearby complex for low-income seniors. The group also says many residents of Marin City would be unable to afford the new apartments, even though all of them are slated to qualify as “affordable” under state law.
In a report to the Board of Supervisors, Jones wrote that “staff considers 825 Drake a unique situation that warrants further action and steps to modify the project.”
To meet a state mandate to zone for 3,569 new residences in the county’s jurisdiction by 2031, supervisors identified 148 sites for development that also will be approved ministerially. Jones said she doesn’t envision the county interceding to reduce the size of any projects planned for the sites.
Jones said 825 Drake Ave. deserves special treatment, however, because it was approved before the 148 sites included in the county’s housing element were selected and, as a result, didn’t receive the same amount of public review.
In addition, Jones said the project should be treated differently “because of the inequities that Marin City has experienced.”
She noted in her report that Marin City historically was home to a majority Black population and its population is still 27% Black residents and 66% people of color, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.
Jones said Save Our City has not endorsed the new plan. “They’re not happy with this,” she said, “because they still don’t want to see this project happen at all.”