The Marin County Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved the purchase of land in Point Reyes Station to place 14 temporary housing units on wheels for homeless people and West Marin’s displaced ranch families, with a long-term goal of building permanent affordable housing on the site.
The 1-acre lot located at B and Sixth streets in Point Reyes Station was purchased for $1.1 million through an agreement between the county and the Community Land Trust Association of West Marin.
Tuesday’s move comes after the supervisors voted in March to declare a shelter crisis, a three-year ordinance that allows the county to administratively bypass certain housing codes and create temporary dwellings on private and unincorporated land.
In January, the National Park Service revised its land management plan at Point Reyes National Seashore over the effects of cattle ranching on a dwindling tule elk population. Under the new agreement, cattle ranching was significantly downsized. Ninety tenants on ranches will cease operations in 2026.
Jarrod Russell, executive director of CLAM, said the nonprofit has held several meetings with the immediate neighbors of the lot at B and Sixth streets and has heard their concerns about parking and environmental impacts, specifically a septic system on a lot close to a wetland. Consulting with an architect and civil engineer, he presented a pre-permit estimate.
“There will be 26 bedrooms, 14 units and between 26 and 52 people,” said Russell at Tuesday’s meeting. “We will prioritize smaller families with the idea that larger families can go to other sites. And then we will also be working in partnership with West Marin Community Services and (the county’s) Health and Human Services for the broad continuum of care to ensure that these residents have a soft landing into interim and transitional housing.”
Neighbors question shelter designation
Public comment at Tuesday’s meeting included a letter from an attorney representing mixed-income seniors who live near the site. They argue that the county told them the project was for transitional housing for displaced ranch workers, but they are concerned about it becoming a homeless shelter.
The ranch families have until February 2026 before they must leave their homes. The letter from the law firm representing opponents said the ranchers are not yet homeless and they have received transition funds. The group purports that the use of an emergency shelter crisis law is unjustified.
“Last Friday, the county posted an announcement that it was eyeing the lot on B and Sixth Street to build a homeless shelter selected after a detailed community-led evaluation process,” said Elizabeth Matthews, a resident of the B Street cul-de-sac.
“The neighbors in our community, however, were not included in that process. In fact, we had a meeting with CLAM and representatives of the county only last Thursday.”
Matthews said the plan for the temporary transitional housing was presented, with photos of the prototype tiny houses, and she approved the idea. But the next day, she said the county announced that it plans to build a homeless shelter.
“Temporary transitional housing and homeless shelters are not the same things,” she said, asking the board not to approve of the land purchase until stakeholders learned more.
Marin County community development director Sarah Jones outlined the steps. First the property is acquired, she said. CLAM would then submit to the board for approval a lease agreement for the physical development of a homeless shelter, including the septic and grading plan, which would be decided by the county as allowed under the shelter crisis declaration.
Operational agreement requires approval
CLAM would also need board approval for an operational agreement, which outlines how the facility will be managed day-to-day, Jones said.
“That is the part that allows for making sure we’re really focusing on, and being responsive to, issues that the community has raised,” Jones said. “We do intend to make sure that there is total clarity around what is being proposed and what is been approved there.”
Several workers from the Martinelli Ranch, one of the ranches that is closing, pleaded with the supervisors to approve the deal. Some have lived on the ranches for 30 years and have children progressing through high school. One man named Enrique said he has lived at the Martinelli Ranch for 25 years.
“We are not indigents. We are good people, and the people there feel proud for having known us.” — Enrique, Martinelli Ranch worker
“We are the ones who are most affected,” Enrique said in Spanish through a translator. “We’ve even received these letters. Offering us money to get us to leave. That’s not legal, that’s not right. We’ve been here. We’ve been doing the labor in the community. We’ve given everything for the community. We are not indigents. We are good people, and the people there feel proud for having known us.”
Rosa Rodriguez has lived in the area for eight years and has a family of five.
“My husband and I are workers. We’ve never missed a day of work. We’re responsible every day,” she said. “We need you to buy this land for temporary residence as soon as possible. Dignity is for everybody.”