Damon Connolly, Marin supervisor not sold on proposed solutions

Housing crisis plan discussed in luxury; Marin supervisor not sold on proposed solutions

In emails, Marin Supervisor Damon Connolly wrote that while the housing plan contains some good ideas, “there are significant problems with the approach.”(Robert Tong/Marin Independent Journal)

By RICHARD HALSTEAD | rhalstead@marinij.com | Marin Independent Journal
PUBLISHED: November 28, 2018 at 5:26 pm | UPDATED: November 28, 2018 at 8:50 pm


Metropolitan Transportation Commission board members, including Marin County Supervisor Damon Connolly, are meeting at the swank Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn this week to discuss a blockbuster new plan for addressing the Bay Area’s critical shortage of affordable housing.

The plan calls for generating $1.5 billion per year in new revenue over the next 20 to 25 years to achieve its goals. It would include new taxes and fees affecting property owners, developers, employers, local governments and taxpayers.

Marin critics of the MTC and its initiatives, such as Plan Bay Area, see the choice of venue as indicative of the commission’s hauteur.

“It smacks of decadence,” said Richard Hall of San Rafael. “While working to house people with low incomes, we have a group of politicians living it up at a wine resort in Sonoma.”

Some members of the commission will be staying overnight at the inn while attending the retreat, which cost the commission $29,000. Mission Inn’s amenities include a spa and a Michelin-rated restaurant; the Sonoma Golf Club is next door. The commission had Connolly on a list of attendees planning to spend the night, but he said Tuesday that was incorrect. See article HERE