Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
Appeal below
See below
Much more Marin City info below
Lawsuit filed
See below
The Rev. Rondall Leggett of First Missionary Baptist Church:
“We’re tired of you telling us that your hands are tied and there is nothing you can do. This project is abusive..."
SB 35s are punishment for cities that did not make their RHNA mandates. The law was passed in 2017, authored by Senator Scott Wiener. Marin County unincorporated areas were 11 units off last cycle (meaning no one built those units, even if they were approved) and that opened the door to developers' ability to plunk down developments with huge density bonuses, no CEQA, height, or setback restrictions, etc. 74 units, 23 parking places. No public input has to be considered. The developer chose Marin City, the densest locality in Marin, with a high fire danger rating, and only one road in/out for access.
'Shit show' hearing ends with county letting down Marin City residents again | Pacific Sun
“This is Marin City,” Moulton-Peters said. “They have the most multi-family housing in any area in the county. This was not where we were supposed to make up our RHNA numbers. It was to happen in other parts of Marin County that have not produced the housing they should have. And I’m angry about this, and the community is angry about this, and they have told us this today.”
---Supervisor Stepanie Moulton-Peters
Marin supervisors reject pleas to halt Marin City housing project (marinij.com)
"Asked during Tuesday’s meeting if the supervisors could deny authority’s request to approve the bonds, Washington hedged his response.
“Generally you have broad discretion to make decisions,” Washington said. “You can’t abuse that discretion. You have to have a bona fide rationale for your decision. There are factors here that I think limit the range of discretion more so than typical discretionary hearings.”
Wiener bill would kick elected officials out of critical land-use and housing decisions - 48 hills
"The mandate is absurd, because cities can approve projects, but they can’t compel developers to pull building permits on projects that have been approved. Builders are not going to build if they can’t make a profit; that’s why in San Francisco right now, tens of thousands of approved housing units are not getting built.
In a further absurdity, the allocations themselves, especially the low-income numbers, are so enormous as to be unrealizable. SB 35 sets up cities to fail."
SB 423 would not only keep SB 35 from sunsetting, It eliminates CEQA, and also reduces the percentage of affordable units mandated in a project -- less affordable housing -- and overrides the Coastal Commission, allowing building where it has been tightly regulated for environment impact and public good.
Supervisor Mary Sackett,: “I wish Scott Wiener were in the room today to hear how this plays out in real life.”
Supervisor Stephanie Moulton-Peters: “I’m angry about this, and the community is angry about this. This is not the outcome that was anticipated with SB 35.”
YES, the law allows this. 712 new apartments, 16% (113) affordable. 599 luxury units, 15,000 square feet of retail space, bike parking, and a car basement. It's on sand, so...
Wiener, the Yimbys, and the 50-story tower - 48 hills
Renderings show 55-story condo tower proposed for S.F.’s west side (sfchronicle.com)
A lawsuit has been filed against Marin County over community plans and CountyWide Plan inconsistencies.
https://www.marinij.com/2023/05/04/lawsuit-challenges-marin-countys-housing-element/
https://www.marinij.com/2023/01/14/editorial-housing-plan-rejection-shows-complexity-of-mandates/
WEEKLY: Tuesday Evening Community Meetings. 6:30 pm
Plenty of legitimate outrage. Discussion of possible solutions.
URGENT!!!! To OBJECT to this monstrosity of a building, and the safety and traffic impacts, attend the Appeal filed by Vikram Seshadri (the San Rafael City Council Meeting at 1400 5th Avenue this Monday, May 8th) in person or on Zoom. EMAIL: city.clerk@cityofsanrafael.orgby 4pm Monday May 8th your concerns about this oversized, luxury 8 story building, which would be wrong for the West End neighborhood of 1- 2 story buildings.
https://www.marinij.com/2023/04/26/san-rafael-resident-appeals-162-apartment-mega-project
https://www.marinij.com/2023/04/14/san-rafael-planning-board-approves-162-apartment-project/
On city donated land, affordable housing development by EAH.
Started out at 22 units, now 45, units adjacent to heavily used parkland, fire station, police station.
Neighborhood group Hauke Park:
https://www.haukepark.org/so/56OUktfW2?languageTag=en&cid=a8071263-31ba-4360-8264-3b767c293d26
https://citizenca.org/mill-valley
The Democrats in our state, from Newsom, the senate, assembly, and Attorney General , have blindly passed these 70+ laws that will destroy California. They need a wakeup call, and to start thinking about the results of this terrible legislation. It isn't creating affordable housing, its breaking down our local governments and alienating citizens from any due process.
There is an alternative: REGISTER IN THE COMMON SENSE PARTY. Tell your Governor, Senator, and Assemblyperson why. Vote as you like, but enough of us changing party should make them take notice.
Common Sense Party | How We're Different (cacommonsense.org)
SB 423 would make SB 35 permanent, and additionally reduce affordability requirements to 10%, inclusion, eliminate CEQA, and allow building on the coast to overrule the Coastal Commission. AB 1287 modifies state density bonus laws that apply to coastal development.
AB 1287: ADDITIONAL DENSITY BONUS: This bill would modify the State Density Bonus Law to supersede the California Coastal Act of 1976. This bill would also allow up to an additional 50% density bonus for projects that (1) maximize the very low income, low income, or moderate-income units permitted under the current State Density Bonus Law and (2) provide up to 15% additional moderate-income units. Projects that utilize this additional moderate-income bonus would also receive up to six incentives or concessions.”
OurNeighborhoodvoices.com is in process of gathering signatures needed to get an initiative on the 2024 ballot. They need funding and volunteers.
More info and registration at that link.
Meetings Every Wednesday at 6 p.m. for Online Volunteer Training Sessions:
20 units: 16 market rate, 4 affordable
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article275023421.html?ac_cid=DM799712&ac_bid=-1352989869
City fights back against Bonta’s Strike Force
You don’t think of the typical Californian giving in to a mantra of “there’s nothing we can do” or “our hands are tied.”
But the threats of a “strike force” coming from Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office; intimidating letters from the Housing and Community Development Department chastising communities for what department considers inadequate housing elements; and well-funded, corporate-serving agencies like the pro-housing group Yes In My Back Yard, as well as it’s legal arm YIMBY Law, are having a stifling impact.
So it may not be surprising that many of our elected officials are using this rhetoric when their constituents plead with them to make decisions on behalf of the neighborhood and community.
The Marin County Board of Supervisors recently caved into threats from the state and Senate Bill 35 over a housing project in Marin City (“Marin supervisors reject pleas to halt Marin City housing project,” March 25). They approved project financing rather than express indignation, imagination or courage to stand with their constituents.
In the article, the Rev. Rondall Leggett of First Missionary Baptist Church is quoted as telling the supervisors, “We’re tired of you telling us that your hands are tied and there is nothing you can do. This project is abusive.”
While current elected officials may not feel empowered to lead, constituents from across the state aren’t waiting. Claiming their authority as former elected officials, citizens, taxpayers, neighborhood leaders, Republicans and Democrats, people from as far south as Riverside and from throughout the Bay Area traveled to Sacramento on April 11 to participate in housing policy “lobby day” organized by Catalysts for Local Control.
Event coordinator Leon Huntting is a former member of the Sausalito City Council and a past president of the California Association of Mortgage Brokers. He isn’t buying into the idea that his hands are tied.
Huntting set up 26 meetings with state legislators or their aides who sit on Assembly or Senate housing, governance or audit committees.
Why would Huntting, Charles Head (president of the Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods) or former city council members Michael Barnes, Stephen Scharf, and Ken Bukowski from Albany, Cupertino, and Emeryville, respectively, dedicate a spring day to travel to Sacramento?
“We’re seeing the worst housing policy in my 50 years of community service,” Huntting said.
Four Catalysts teams (with four or five people per team) spoke with a common theme. Like state legislators, we also want housing that is affordable. It’s unacceptable, however, for legislators to favor investor interests over the wishes and needs of constituents and communities.
From the 30,000-foot level, legislation is being passed despite flawed analysis of the housing needs and the reliability of Regional Housing Need Allocation numbers.
Evidence shows that housing needs are exaggerated and RHNA targets are unrealistic and unreliable. The Embarcadero Institute and a state emergency audit, along with several other studies by individuals, have shown the RHNA targets are suspect.
From the 10,000-foot level, we know that when the basic assumptions and numbers are questionable, the housing bills that emerge are likely flawed for residents, while favoring investors and developers.
SB 423 would permanently extend the housing policy of SB 35 into perpetuity without meeting the need for housing that is affordable. It relies on streamlining and ministerial approval, which harms the environment and neighborhoods. SB 423 would expand SB 35 to nearly all cities, including those in the coastal zone.
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