Posts Tagged ‘Equity’

About 14,700 people live in 6,600 homes in city limits, said city planner Danielle Staude. New housing is a challenge and costly in Mill Valley because the city doesn’t have many available parcels, and most of what is available is on irregular lots and hillsides, which add costs to developers. Apart from church- or city-owned properties, only two lots are suitable for an apartment of 20 or more residences.

“As a community, the challenge we have is accepting more housing and accepting more density of housing, and to not have that development to be all based on the automobile,” said Greg Hildebrand, a member of the commission. “This is in a perfect place to walk everywhere. You can get to everything in this location. It’s right downtown. We’re going to need to add housing. Even if it’s housing of any scale, we need more units. This is one of these projects that Bruce Dorfman noted, this is kind of the future of how to develop a site to get as much housing as possible without having a building and extra land to park cars.

The definition of employee housing includes hosting five or more employees, being privately operated and having living quarters provided in connection with any work, regardless of whether rent is involved. It does not include government-owned and -operated migrant worker facilities. “I think the effort made to cross reference and simplify a fairly convoluted, complex set of issues and regulations is a difficult task,” said Ernest Cirangle, vice chair of the commission.

As of 2020, 56% of the city’s emissions come from transportation, most of it from passenger vehicles. The built environment, which includes residential and commercial buildings that use natural gas, makes up 33% of the emissions. The electricity, water, waste and off-road sectors make up a small portion of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions.

In a Planning Commission Study Session earlier this month designed to allow commissioners and applicants to have a back-and-forth exchange without yet committing to a public hearing and thus a verdict on the proposal from the commission, Geiszler learned that his target is a moving one. “You’re the guinea pig,” Commissioner Jon Yolles said.

When locals encourage Fairfax Mayor Barbara Coler to fight back, she said she points to the community’s sheer need for extra places to live. “What I tell folks is, ‘Who do you think is waiting on you in the restaurant? Don’t you want them to live here?’” Coler said.

The Mill Valley Planning Commission, led by Senior Planner, Advanced Planning Danielle Staude, began the re-zoning process this week. The lengthy hearing saw the commission take action to recommend adoption the of the re-zonings in the ordinance and to establish regulations for their housing overlays. The commission will further discuss objective design standards at the Feb 13th Planning Commission hearing. 

“Tiburon completed its rezone, and HCD is evaluating for compliance with the housing element,” Murillo said. “Mill Valley has indicated to HCD that it is in the process of completing its rezones.” Mill Valley planning and building director Patrick Kelly said the city Planning Commission will consider the zoning changes on Jan. 23.

“We have been really careful, and I have been proud of our staff and our council and city attorney on our process of public engagement that has gone on throughout this process,” Cusimano added. “There are no new goals or policies being implemented in the latest update to the plan. The changes that staff are recommending are administrative and technical in nature,” and quite limited.

The linchpin of the Housing Element, at least initially, is the 1 Hamilton plan, which goes before the Planning Commission on Tuesday, November 28th at 6:30 pm at City Hall. The Planning Commission will be asked to take action to recommend approval to the City Council regarding final actions on the project.  Also, during this hearing the Commission will review and provide input on the Draft Environmental Impact Report.