Marin Independent Journal
From the article:
Citing fears that packing their communities with new neighbors will hurt the quality of life — and possibly result in injury, illness or even death — residents protested county plans for affordable housing zoning in unincorporated areas across Marin.
Many among about 75 citizens who turned out for a Planning Commission hearing Monday repeated arguments made at an initial hearing last month, some contending that affordable housing was fine — but not appropriate in their neighborhood.
Marinwood and Lucas Valley residents balked at plans to rezone Grady Ranch as a site for 30 units per acre, a designation also proposed for sites in Marin City, Strawberry and St. Vincent's-Silveira Ranch lands. Tam Valley residents registered disgust at adding more dwellings to a community in which many agreed traffic is intolerable.
Planning Commission Chairman Wade Holland made clear no development was up for approval, and that another meeting would be held before zoning changes are recommended and passed on to county supervisors for review.
"Nobody's proposing building any housing," Holland said, adding that all the county is doing is "demonstrating to the state it would be possible for a private individual ... to develop the housing."
The state contends Marin hasn't done a good job of providing housing for the poor, and officials fear the county will lose grant money if it doesn't pave the way for projects that expand neighborhoods or create new ones.
Grady Ranch is one of four properties planning staffers propose for intense 30-unit-per-acre zoning. Other sites include 3.5 acres at the St. Vincent's-Silveira Ranch lands in San Rafael, 2 acres at the Golden Gate Baptist Seminary in Strawberry and a half-acre at Oak Hill School on Drake Avenue in Marin City. Other sites across the county also would be targeted for housing development.
At the same time, the county is pushing legislation that could allow it to skirt state demands for high-density zoning.
Planning Commissioner Don Dickenson, noting that current policies already allow the overall residential development potential that the new affordable zoning would allow, asked "why we're rezoning these properties when it doesn't appear we have to." Staffers noted the new zoning promotes more efficient "compact" projects and provides a clear signal to the state the county is opening the door to affordable projects.