Marin County Housing and Safety Elements Environmental Impact Report

The proposed Project consisted of amendments to two elements of the Marin County General Plan, as described below.

Housing Element:

Marin County’s Housing Element is part of the Countywide Plan (the County’s General Plan). The County updated the Housing Element for the eight-year period of 2023-2031 to accommodate its regional housing need allocation (“RHNA”) of 3,569 housing units. The RHNA is determined by the California Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD).

The County prepared an update to the Housing Element that would facilitate development of up to 5,124 new housing units during the eight-year period. This number meets the County’s RHNA as well as additional units for applicants requesting a density bonus and a buffer to ensure that the County maintains adequate sites at all income levels. Sites for potential housing are distributed throughout the unincorporated areas of the County. The Housing Element Update includes rezoning of some sites to enable development of these new housing units. It also presents programs and policies to meet the overall housing needs of unincorporated Marin County.

Safety Element:

Marin County updated the Safety Element in the Countywide Plan (the County’s General Plan) to address climate change resilience. State law Senate Bill (SB) 379 requires all counties and cities to review and update their general plan safety elements with climate change adaptation measures. The update occurred in conjunction with the Housing Element update, and in coordination with the update of the Marin County Multijurisdictional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan.

Environmental Review:

An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was prepared under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to consider the potential environmental effects of the County of Marin's update to the Housing and the Safety Elements of the Marin County General Plan (also referred to as the 2007 Countywide Plan).