Marin seeking court extension, compromise on revisions to housing policy

Marin County will ask a judge for more time to revise its eight-year housing roadmap to ensure it protects local community plans while also abiding by state mandates.

Under court orders, Marin has until Nov. 12 to make changes to its 2023-2031 housing element and the encompassing countywide plan after a judge earlier this year ruled the county had illegally used “precedence clauses” to elevate the countywide plan over the 24 local community plans that help control land use and development in unincorporated areas, like Strawberry.

In response, county planning staff removed the clauses but also sought new language regarding the development of multifamily housing, arguing that many of the community plans do not allow for dense enough multifamily housing. Staff expressed concerns that omitting such language could result in the county’s housing element being decertified by the state Department of Housing and Community Development, but the move that drew criticism from both Corcoran and the county Planning Commission, which said staff should simply remove the precedence clauses as ordered and leave it at that.

The proposed changes also failed to win over the Marin Board of Supervisors at its Oct. 29 meeting.

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