You have (hopefully) heard by now that Marin is in the midst of a housing crisis, and that if we don’t address it head on, we may ultimately lose the local control we have over where new housing appears within our community.
Jennifer Silva, a longtime housing advocate and the Board Chair for the Marin Environmental Housing Collaborative (MEHC), has been among the diehard proponents of taking action, as she expressed in an informative event earlier this year at Westminster Events In Tiburon.
Silva continues to spread the word, this time focusing on the incredibly high cost of housing. New housing proposals in Marin are often opposed with concerns that the project will “ruin Marin,” she writes. ”History shows these worries are misplaced. Completed projects are quickly accepted and appreciated by the community. What is actively ruining Marin is the obscene cost of housing. Many of Marin’s challenges are caused or worsened by high housing costs. This makes it challenging for employers to hire and retain employees. Schools struggle to recruit teachers, restaurants close early and residents can’t find caretakers or doctors taking new patients. Our commuting workforce creates the heavy traffic leading to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge in the afternoons.
And it leads to increased homelessness. Even here in liberal Marin, many believe that homelessness stems from addiction, mental illness or “bad” life decisions. It does not. Homelessness results from not being able to afford the cost of housing. This is why California has a severe homelessness problem and states with high levels of addiction and mental illness, like West Virginia and MIssissippi, do not.
I have met a number of Marin residents facing homelessness. Some recent examples include a University of California, Berkeley graduate who has worked continuously since graduation. Another works full-time while also caring for her developmentally disabled son. Another pays more in rent than her entire monthly income, watching her savings shrink monthly.
These residents are in their 70s. They are scared, angry and feel betrayed by their community. They do not match the stereotypes of the homeless. They are stable, healthy and high functioning. If Marin had any reasonably affordable housing, they would be fine. Instead, they are at risk of becoming homeless. They are not unique, as detailed in the Marin County Grand Jury Report, “Older Adults on the Brink of Homelessness: Time to Act is Now.“
READ THE FULL MARIN VOICE PIECE HERE.
As was expressed at the Westminster event, there are some bright spots: the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) is a regional public authority that works to create a Bay Area where there is enough safe, affordable and stable housing for all residents. BAHFA is working to bring immediate housing benefits to the region, including:
- A potential regional bond measure to generate $10 to $20 billion to build more affordable homes and help keep existing homes affordable.
- Current pilot programs and projects include: Doorway, an online affordable housing search and application portal that serves the nine counties, to simplify the process of finding affordable homes in the Bay Area.
- A rental assistance subsidy program in Napa to prevent extremely low-income seniors and people with disabilities from becoming homeless.
- One-time state grants for affordable housing preservation and production projects.
- A Bay Area affordable housing pipeline to provide a comprehensive inventory of affordable housing projects in pre-development in the region.
Silva noted that the County of Marin’s 2024 Legislative Platform provides the Board of Supervisors’ direction on Federal, State, and other intergovernmental legislative matters. That includes Homelessness and Affordable Housing Programs, which include:
- Protect/enhance funding for federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs, including Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Continuum of Care and Section 8 vouchers.
- Support all efforts to increase Marin’s housing voucher allocation, including flexibility to reallocate underutilized vouchers from elsewhere.
- Support efforts to simplify rent-setting and enhance housing mobility and choice for veterans, older adults, families, and those experiencing chronic homelessness.
- Support greater flexibility in using federal vouchers and rapid-rehousing funds to best meet the unique needs of individuals seeking stable housing.
- Support efforts to streamline NEPA review for affordable housing when appropriate and feasible to ensure timely permitting of much-needed new housing.