FOUR IMPORTANT UPDATES SOON

The state has a vision of California -- and Marin -- that was not shared with the voters. This site has a lot of information on how this happened, what to expect, and how to work together to put a halt to it.

During 2020, while we were all distracted by covid, our state government was busy. The governor declared a housing crisis, and the legislature started passing a huge number of housing laws to eliminate any local procedures that slowed the pace of housing. Permits, traffic studies, public hearings, lot coverage limitations, CEQA (California Enivronmental Quality Act) ... all are now considered nuisances. The laws sidelined local zoning to streamline the process and incentivize builders.   

Then came the state housing mandates, to be strictly enforced. The Strategic Growth Council SGC https://sgc.ca.gov/vision/California helps set policy that informs the Department of Housing and Development (HCD) https://www.marincounty.org/depts/cd/divisions/housing/housing-element, which produces a Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) every 8 years to plan for population growth. 

Our current population is shrinking https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/may/02/california-population-decline-trend-covid, but the HCD has ordered the production of TWO AND A HALF MILLION new housing units to be built over the next 8 years.

Of the 441,176 housing units slated for the Bay Area, 14,405 went to Marin, distributed to cities and unincorporated areas by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG). Each city and the unincorporated area are required to produce a Housing Element (an identified list of properties that can hold the new developments) or face harsh penalties. Creating a certifiable Housing Elements cost cities and counties millions of dollars in consultants’ fees. 

Marin County paid $1.6 million to one consulting firm to help produce a Housing Element -- over 700 pages -- detailed enough to get certified. The response from the Califirnia Department of Housing and Community Development? A “positive” nine page letter describing further required reports. 

https://www.marinij.com/2022/04/14/marin-county-officials-approve-housing-site-list/

Failure to produce a certified Housing Element by the deadline can trigger a penalty called "builders remedy." Santa Monica missed their deadline, and all pipeline projects were automatically approved, as they were, without having to meet CEQA, setback requirements, zoning, parking provisions, height restrictions and more. They are now forced to accept 16 new projects of 10-15 stories each. 

Between the jumble of laws passed by the state and the Department of Housing and Community Development's (HCD's) goal of adding social justice and income equality into an overly legislated, rushed, complicated, and punishment-based process, a chaotic housing rush is now in play. Poor planning and ridiculous numbers discredited by audit created a mess that will destroy California as we know it, creating an endless sprawl of density that covers the state with concrete.     

The new laws look like they create low-income housing, but that goal is overshadowed by the amount of housing created for more affluent renters.   There is widespread agreement about the need for AFFORDABLE HOUSING, but this plan DOES NOT ENFORCE IT. 

The bulk of the new housing will be at or above market rate, built by private developers for a profit.      

None of the private developers are under obligation by law to produce the percentage categories demanded by HCD. (Very low income, low income, median income, above median income.) The median income in Marin is about $170,000.  The low-income categories represent about 40% of the HCD formula, but most development is for the upper ranges. 

LOW INCOME IN MARIN IS $110,000 to $140,000 depending on family size. So the rent can't exceed 30% of that, which cuts into income/profit of property owner. That's why as few units of low-income units as possible are created within a development. Developers have been negotiating well below 25% per project, to still receive bonuses.

SEE MAP HERE:

http://housing.abag.ca.gov/map    

Clear the map to show only two highest income categories. Start at 2014, then add 2015, 2016, 2017.  Now add in the lower incomes and see the tiny number of extra dots added each year. 

The HCD is requiring density in our neighborhoods to produce homes for the rich.  With Marin's lack of buildable land, if expensive projects are completed first, even with a few low-income units thrown in, there will literally be no land left for the number of low-income projects mandated in the Housing Element.     

A new department inside HCD was created to monitor and punish us if we didn't build fast enough. https://hcd.ca.gov/community-development/accountability-enforcement.shtml  

Now our local city councils and county Board of Supervisors are forced to produce "Housing Elements" (lists that show exactly where the housing could go). Our local officials fought it, but they lost, and now they are scrambling to put lists of land together, even if they have to resort to hazard areas and public properties. Rob Bonta's Strike Forece: https://californiacitynews.org/2022/03/states-housing-strike-force-goes-after-more-cities.html    

We resent the state intrusion. We are being forced into this process-- all stick, no carrot -- with harsh penalties for noncompliance.  The state puts an undue financial burden on cities to achieve the RHNA goals that is glossed over by the new laws, which keep coming every month. The new laws look like they create low-income housing, but that goal is overshadowed by the amount of housing created for more affluent renters. See: PROFITEERING (section coming soon)

City governments aren't in the business of building. But now they better make sure that someone does it. If even one builder slacks off and doesn't finish on time, we aren't certified, and the state takes over. They will rezone and force the housing into public land, parking lots, parks, golf courses (in Mill Valley the municipal golf course is a designated place of refuge in a fire emergency when evacuation isn't possible. A new law that would encourage 85% of it to be developed as housing just failed) 

Private businesses have ended up on lists of "underutilized space," even if they are not for sale. Will the state resort to eminent domain to get their numbers met?  Already our general plans have been overruled, and our long-range planning is in the trash. Areas have already been rezoned for us, as residential. Our permit process is now as simple as filing a piece of paper ("by rights and "ministerial review").       

Minimally the process should pause until the audit is complete. We need to act or watch Marin communities get developed into overly dense fire traps.

The Cities and County Board of Supervisors are all scrambling -- in fear of retribution -- to get their Housing Element lists together. They aren't pushing back. We need to act for them. They asked for reasonable numbers. We need to demand them.

If we get organized, maybe our local governments will have the courage to join us. 

There are lawsuits now for city councils to join. Let your city council know you'll support them.

WE NEED TO PUSH BACK AGAINST THIS STATE OVERREACH, OR YOU WON'T RECOGNIZE MARIN -- OR CALIFORNIA -- IN A FEW YEARS