We’re so grateful to be part of a community that works together to end housing precarity and prevent homelessness. Thank you for your leadership Sarah Jones!
Marin is making a difference on rural homelessness. The Board of Supervisors declared a shelter crisis last year, setting the stage to purchase a one-acre vacant lot in Point Reyes Station. The Community Land Trust Association of West Marin (CLAM) stepped up to provide housing for over a hundred people of all ages displaced from ranches at the Point Reyes National Seashore or living in several substandard conditions on ranches elsewhere in the area. CLAM secured 11 properties that could be used to house these members of our West Marin communities. One of them is this one-acre property at 6th and B in Point Reyes Station bought by the County and leased to CLAM - the only property of the 11 that was vacant and needed to be developed from the ground up. A mere fifteen months from the shelter crisis declaration this property contains 14 "tiny homes" on wheels and the residents have moved in. They're fully certified 400-square foot units. CLAM developed permanent infrastructure on the site, including a septic system, that will stay in place when permanent homes are built here a few years down the road. The shelter crisis allowed this density and configuration of interim units, and accelerated move-in by eliminating the requirements for planning entitlements or environmental review. One approval this project didn't need because of the shelter crisis was a coastal development permit. While there's a perception that the Coastal Act is a barrier to solutions for vulnerable residents dire housing needs, our experience in Marin working with Coastal Commission staff has been to the contrary. Much gratitude to CLAM, West Marin Community Services, West Marin Fund, Marin Community Foundation, Legal Aid of Marin and all the donors and supporters who made this possible. And thanks to County Executive Derek Johnson, our Board of Supervisors Mary Sackett, Brian Colbert, Stephanie Moulton-Peters, Dennis Rodoni, and Eric Lucan for unflagging support and courage. And gratitude also to two outstanding groups of people: our County of Marin staff who engaged with such dedication to work swiftly and creatively in the face of huge need, and the residents of these homes whose persistence, courage and voice were at the root of all of this. As Supervisor Rodoni said at this event: "This is the best of government." #westmarin #affordablehousing #displacement #sheltercrisis #marin https://lnkd.in/g_2fEppq
