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Over the last three months. members of the Canal Community Resilience Council have met with their government representatives, learned about the power of public advocacy in influencing government decisions, and have practiced effective advocacy–all in a virtual format. In February, the CCRC met with local leaders Maika Llorens-Gulati, San Rafael City Council member and district…
Many environmental and social justice advocates in Marin – as well as hundreds more seeking redress and respect – have stories about their own personal relationship with Jimmy. That’s the power of his spirit as our community mourns his passing on March 27. Jim was everywhere that people were being sidelined, their voices squelched, their rights infringed….
All across California, local planning departments are gearing up for a new set of “RHNA” numbers and revising their “Housing Elements” for 2023-2030. You will be hearing about this from here on out. But, what is a “Housing Element” and what is “RHNA,” and why should you care? MEHC has created a handy-dandy HOUSING ELEMENT PRIMER…
On January 29, Governor Newsom signed legislation extending the State’s eviction moratorium through June 2021 and implementing a rental assistance program designed to help renters pay rent and property owners receive rental income.
On Tuesday, February 16, the San Rafael City Council took a final vote on updating its inclusionary zoning ordinance. In late 2020, City staff recommended that San Rafael decrease from 20% to 10% the percentage of units market rate developers are required to set aside as “affordable.” Research by city staff suggested that the 20%…
In addition to the high hurdle of public opposition, a significant barrier to creating new affordable housing, especially in Marin, is the high cost of land. In our January newsletter, we discussed California’s Surplus Lands Act, which makes affordable housing one of the top priorities for the sale of surplus public land. This month, we…
Canal Community Resilience Council Update January 2021 In January, the CCRC learned more about emergency preparedness with an engaging presentation from Quinn Gardner, Emergency Manager with the City of San Rafael. Quinn gave a detailed presentation on how to prepare. She noted that an emergency is different from a disaster. An emergency is something like…
Check out our Annual Report for 2019-2020
UPDATE San Rafael, Novato & County: On January 19th, the City of San Rafael City Council adopted a temporary “rent freeze” ordinance for tenants residing in certain residential units through December 31, 2021. The temporary moratorium solely applies in two designated US Census Tracts, Tract Nos. 1122.01 (Canal Neighborhood) and 1122.02 (Southeast San Rafael and Canal neighborhood), which have been…
While cities and towns are required to plan for a certain number of affordable units—getting those units built has been a struggle. With the demise of redevelopment agencies (and funding) in 2012, jurisdictions have been forced to rely upon private for-profit and non-profit developers to create that housing. Along with public opposition, the high cost…