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Marin Countywide Plan Update
Marin County is in the process of updating its Countywide Plan. By
California state law, every city and county must have a general plan.
Marin's general plan, called the Countywide Plan, will serve as the blueprint for growth and development on county unincorporated land. The plan also influences how development takes place within the cities of Marin.
As the Countywide Plan is updated only about every ten to fifteen years, this is a critical opportunity to shape the future of Marin County.
The update will incorporate sustainability as a guiding principle in the plan. This focus on sustainability offers a chance to address one of Marin's most serious environmental issues: its shortage of affordable housing. The shortage of homes people can afford in Marin pushes development out onto open space and forces people to make long commutes, increasing traffic, air pollution, and water pollution.
The County is proposing to address this issue by creating an affordable housing overlay zone. The overlay zone would designate certain urbanized areas on county land for more affordable homes, and would encourage the creation of affordable homes in these areas, with certain incentives:
- One incentive would be a housing bank, which trades a reduction in development on environmentally sensitive areas—such as the bayshore and the hills of western Marin—in return for allowing increased building in the overlay zone, as long as affordable housing is included.
- Another incentive would be density bonuses, which allows for the creation of more homes if density is higher. This helps to accommodate more people without sprawling out onto open space.
What's at Stake
Affordable housing is one of the prime environmental issues in Marin today. Because of a shortage of affordable housing in Marin, many workers must commute in every day from surrounding communities. This increases traffic, contributes to air and water pollution, and keeps people from spending more time with their families and communities. It also puts serious development pressure on unprotected greenbelt lands on the outskirts of the region.
The draft Countywide Plan, released in August 2005, includes an affordable housing overlay zone in the Community Development Element. This is a very positive step, with the potential to create much-needed homes for local workers and residents. The draft Countywide Plan also suggests rezoning a considerable amount of land within cities that is now zoned commercial to allow for a mix of residential and commercial development. This would provide the homes Marin needs, and would also help to meet the need for housing driven by the creation of new jobs in the commercial space.
As the Countywide Plan moves forward, it is important to make sure these policies are drafted and implemented in a way that will be effective, creating as many homes as possible that are affordable to the families who truly need them.
The Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) and the updated
draft of the Countywide Plan were released in January 2007. The Planning
Commission deliberations began at that point, and continued through late
July 2007.
What You Can Do
Campaign Update
November/December 2007
The Countywide Plan was adopted by the County Supervisors unanimously.
Despite this strong support from the elected body, the Plan policies
addressing the creation of affordable homes are still too weak to ensure
an adequate amount of homes for the many people who work in Marin and
cannot afford to live in the community that they serve. Greenbelt
Alliance will continue to work throughout Marin to ensure that stronger
policies are adopted by the County and the cities to create homes for
the whole community.
September 2007
Hearings before the County Supervisors on the Marin Countywide Plan have
begun and will continue through mid-October. At the Planning Commission,
policies on affordable housing were weakened, making it more difficult
to build affordable homes, particularly in the smaller communities of
the
county.
The Commission made changes due to pressure from people who did not want
more development near them. Greenbelt Alliance will continue to work
with
local partners
to advocate for stronger
policies in the plan.
August 2007
The Board of Supervisors must hear community support support
for the creation of affordable homes. Due to the lack of affordable homes
in Marin County, many people who work in Marin cannot afford to live
there. This causes traffic that clogs up our highways and worsens the
quality of life for everyone. Unfortunately, the Countywide Plan policies
are not strong enough to ensure that an adequate number of affordable
homes
will be built. Greenbelt Alliance
continues to advocate for policies that will create homes we can all
afford.
Residents can download
the staff report on the Countywide Plan and view upcoming events at the
County's website.
July 2007
The Planning Commission has completed deliberations on the Countywide
Plan. County staff will be finalizing the draft Countywide Plan, and
bringing it before the Board of Supervisors in late summer 2007. Stay
tuned for upcoming dates for hearings.
June 2007
Hearings before the Planning Commission on the Marin Countywide Plan
are wrapping up. The Final Environmental Impact Report has been released,
and the last hearings before the Planning Commission will take place
in June.
March 2007
Hearings before the Planning Commission on the Marin Countywide Plan
are currently taking place. The Commission has recommended that the
Baylands Corridor be expanded to protect a larger portion of the interior
coast. Using Bay Conservation and Development Commission maps on potential
sea-level rise, the Commission has recommended removing high-density
development potential from areas subject to future oceanic flooding.
The Commission is currently hearing public input on agricultural home
zoning, and will hear public comment on zoning for affordable homes
on April 9. Greenbelt Alliance is working to increase understanding
about the environmental reasons to support the creation of affordable
homes in Marin, and to organize support for reasonable housing options
for the community.
December 2006
The schedule for the Countwide Plan proceedings has been updated.
See below:
To check for more schedule updates, go here.
- December 11, 2006
Refresher workshop on Countywide Plan for Planning Commission
- Jan 12, 2007
Release of updated draft of Countywide Plan, and Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR)
- February 12, 2007
1st hearings before Planning Commission: Countywide Plan – afternoon; DEIR – evening
- March 12, 2007
60-day comment period on DEIR closes
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