Bay Area

Safety, Housing Plans Reach Next Stage in Update

Marin County Community Development Agency has completed a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Housing Element and Safety Elements updates to the 2007 Countywide Plan. The public comment period is open now through 4 p.m. on Nov. 21. Comments may be submitted by email.

Published

3 years ago

October 16, 2022

Oakland Post

Neighborhood resiliency and safety have been prioritized as the ominous realities of climate change have grown more apparent and intense in recent years.

Updated drafts and Environmental Impact Report available for review

Courtesy of Marin County

The work to update Marin County’s housing and safety elements of the Countywide Plan is continuing to advance. These elements focus on housing needs and conditions, and climate change adaptation measures including wildfire, sea level rise and flooding concerns. Two updated draft components are now available for public review and comment.

Environmental Impact Report

In addition, the public can provide oral comments at a DEIR hearing that will be conducted virtually by the Marin County Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Nov. 15 starting at 5 p.m. or thereafter.

Proposed Safety Element and Development Code Changes

The Draft Safety Element has been revised to incorporate direction from the Board and Planning Commission, edits from the State Department of Forestry, and public comments gathered in June 2022. The Safety Element is a section of the Marin Countywide Plan

The Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission will hold a joint virtual workshop on Oct. 11 at 5 p.m. to review and comment on those changes. In addition, the workshop will review and comment on a draft amendment to the Marin County Development Code to address sea level rise. The proposed Development Code amendments would modify the Bayfront Conservation Combining District standards to address sea level rise, as directed in the draft Safety Element.

The Countywide Plan serves as the guiding vision for the future of unincorporated Marin. Housing and safety updates to the Countywide Plan are mandated by the State of California every eight years and address how to meet the County’s housing needs at all income levels while addressing climate change resilience.

This is the first time County CDA has elevated the Safety Element into a separate document to discuss in public; previously the content was worked into other sections of the Countywide Plan.

Some sectors of Marin’s population are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. For instance, natural disasters could be much worse for those in isolated households that have less reliable communication service, those with language barriers, those with physical mobility limitations, those without financial means to add safety enhancements around the home, and those who are unhoused. Preparing the Housing and Safety Elements together is a deliberate strategy to address equity and make sure the County can meet its housing goals in a way that prevents vulnerable residents from being placed in harm’s way.

Neighborhood resiliency and safety have been prioritized as the ominous realities of climate change have grown more apparent and intense in recent years. The Safety Element touches on how Marin can grow and evolve in a way that promotes resilience and adaptation in the face of the coming changes to its climate. It is mostly about plans to prepare and protect residents from harmful impacts of natural disasters.

Learn more at www.marincounty.org/HousingSafetyElements.