Body of News Release
Marin County, CA – The County of Marin is reporting solid progress on its goal to fulfill its primary planning document for housing and its goal of moving applications along toward permitting and breaking ground.
More than 700 homes within the unincorporated areas of Marin County are in the development review process, according to a March 10 update the Marin County Board of Supervisors received from its planners with the Community Development Agency (CDA). The majority of programs are on track according to deadlines in the 2023-2031 Housing Element of the Countywide Plan.
It was positive news because increasing affordable housing and alleviating homelessness are among the Board’s highest priorities.
Key housing developments cited in the staff’s update were the former theological seminary property in Strawberry, the Oak Hill Apartments on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard near the Larkspur city limit, apartments near the existing Marinwood shopping center, and two in unincorporated San Rafael just south of downtown: the Auburn Grove development on Woodland Avenue, and a complex on Albion Street in near the Cal Park Tunnel.
State law requires jurisdictions to submit progress reports on Housing Elements by April 1 each year. Scheduled report-outs open the door to potential funding for more housing and homelessness prevention projects.
The 2023-2031 Housing Element dictates that Marin must plan for 3,569 housing units within unincorporated areas. Of those, 1,100 fall into the household income category of very low income, which translates in Marin County to $96,700 for a family of four. An additional 634 were earmarked as low income, which is $154,700 for a family of four.
In the first three years of the current Housing Element cycle, 343 permits were issued over all income categories, including 117 in the 2025 calendar year. There were 83 accessory dwelling units (ADUs) permitted in 2025, suggesting that property owners are gradually accepting the concept of adding smaller housing units on their existing lots to bring in supplementary income and help alleviate the local housing crisis. Since 2019, the County has issued an average of 35 ADU building permits per year, proof that the program is going strong.
However, of all the housing permits issued in 2025, only 64 were in the very-low-income category in those first three years, and only 83 were low-income. The County, intent on increasing the availability of more affordable homes, still needs to issue 3,226 permits to achieve the Regional Housing Needs Allocation of 3,569. There are applications for 766 housing units in review, with permits not yet issued.
Although developers need to initiate projects for housing construction to start the County’s review process, the County has the mandated goal to at least plan for housing needs. Falling short of the regional goal at the end of the Housing Element cycle could lead to a withholding of state funding. To encourage progress, the County is taking steps toward development on County-owned parcels, strategizing to address farmworker housing in West Marin, assessing and increasing outreach to potential developers, and committing more County funds to keeping residents in their existing homes – especially when they are in an affordable unit.
The County maintains webpages for major housing projects in development and planning applications under review. More information about creating an accessory dwelling unit (ADU), applying for a building permit, and finding resources to help locate or maintain housing can be found on the main CDA webpage.