THE MARIN COUNTY Board of Supervisors approved their response to a county Civil Grand Jury report earlier this year that was critical of the slow speed of new housing construction.
They responded Tuesday saying state law only requires jurisdictions to make housing possible, not guarantee construction. Counties can build on unincorporated land, but cities are responsible for their own housing quotas.
The report released in June was called “The Worrisome Future of Marin Housing,” and the county response was required within 90 days. The response agreed with the grand jury’s finding that housing costs are unaffordable for public sector workers, like teachers and first responders, but it said much of the burden rests on cities.
Gary Besser, strategic projects manager with the Office of the County Executive, said that several findings and recommendations addressed both the county and the 11 municipal jurisdictions within Marin. The county responses only address those policies established by the county, he said, and cities and towns were requested to provide their own responses.
Each state housing cycle lasts eight years. The fifth cycle for Northern California counties began on Jan. 31, 2015, and ended on Jan. 31, 2023. During the fifth cycle, nine of 12 Marin housing jurisdictions met their jurisdiction-level housing goals, according to the grand jury report.
The three municipalities that failed to achieve their jurisdiction-level goal were Tiburon, Belvedere and San Rafael. San Anselmo and Sausalito met their overall goals but failed to achieve very low-income housing goals. In total, Marin achieved their overall fifth cycle goal of 2,298 by permitting 2,605 housing units.
However things changed dramatically in the sixth cycle, which began on Feb. 1, 2023, and ends on Jan. 31, 2031. The California Department of Housing and Community Development significantly increased the Regional Housing Needs Allocation numbers around the state.
Marin County is required to permit 14,405 units, an increase of 627% compared to the fifth cycle. The Civil Grand Jury report sites data by HCD that shows that Marin jurisdictions lag far behind their goals and need to permit an average of 1,800 housing units per year.
HCD may revoke compliance with the state’s housing element if local governments don’t act. Other risks of noncompliance include possible litigation, loss of permitting authority and court-issued financial penalties.
Jillian Zeiger, principal planner from the Marin County Community Development Agency, acknowledged that there are limits to building.
“We also have labor shortages and reduced state and federal subsidies that are all affecting the pace of development,” Zeiger said. “It’s important to clarify the distinction between housing element planning and actual housing construction. The housing element is a planning document, and our responsibility under state law is to make sure zoning, land use policies and programs are in place so that we can enable housing to be built. But the county cannot mandate construction. Housing production ultimately depends on the private sector, on developer interest, on finance availability, construction costs, labor and other market forces.”
The board’s response also defended its outreach to residents and developers, and it rejected the jury’s recommendation to submit quarterly progress reports, calling annual state-mandated reports sufficient.
The state maintains a housing accountability dashboard that tracks each county’s progress on housing plans and permits. Marin County’s can be viewed here.
