See the full Board of Supervisors meeting for October 16, 2012 video: http://marin.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=33&clip_id=6396
Days later on October 27, 2012 Susan Adams meet with Bridge Housing and the community at Mary Silvera School to discuss the Marinwood Village plan with the community. Supervisor Susan Adams makes no mention that Marinwood Village is the her solution for the HUD settlement to achieve diversity in all of Marin County. In fact, 70% of all affordable housing for unincorporated Marin is located within the Marinwood-Lucas Valley and the Dixie School district. It appears that the Board of Supervisors are trying to achieve "diversity" by building some of the largest affordable housing complexes in the county and concentrating these warehouses of "diversity" in 5.78 square miles.
It is a fast food solution to a complex problem. Wouldn't it be better for integration goals if diversity was spread evenly county wide instead of "big box "developments?
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If you watch the video it explains the Westchester County case that is the basis of the HUD deal signed by the county of Marin. Arnold explains it a little, but basically it is the case that HUD won that requires that affordable housing be spread out geographically, not be concentrated in one area. Benign, on the surface, and probably a good idea really. BUT what that means is if one area (Santa Venetia) already has affordable housing or a lower income population, the County must place the units in another area that is less diverse (i.e., Lucas Valley), or face being sued by HUD and not receiving funds. This is an obligation the County took on by signing the HUD deal in 2011.
The HUD deal the county signed in 2011 requires that affordable housing be placed in areas that are less diverse and have good school districts, etc. Amazing that the HUD deal was signed without much, if any, disclosure and that it has not be brought up at all in the current land use debate. Anyway, it appears from this video that Susan Adam's advocates Marinwood Plaza as a site for affordable housing. This was at about the same time that Bridge announced a possible proposal. There had been NO community input at that point. the Bridge proposal was presented as a done deal. The 2007 County Wide Plan requires community input. It is arguable whether the Collaborative from 2008/2009 constitutes community input (Collaborative was County appointed members of the community that were supposed to come up with a plan for the plaza from community input), but even if you assume community input at that point, the development plan at that time was for a for profit developer to build townhouse/condo style units with only 20% affordable.
The current plan has not been vetted by the community and Susan Adams appears from the video to advocate for use of the Marinwood Plaza for affordable housing without community input and in compliance with HUD.
For those that do not have the documents, attached is the HUD deal the county signed and a one page snapshot of some pertinent language. This is a link to the web page where you can read the planning process for the Collaborative in 2008/early 2009. Notes and Ground Rules from the Collaborative reveal small in home meetings, restrictions on what can be disclosed to the public by members of the Collaborative, etc.
Here is a detail of a deal the County entered into with HUD in 2011: http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/BS/Main/sups/sdistr1/Marinwood_village.cfm
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