The Marin County Board of Supervisors will consider declaring a “shelter crisis” at its March 11 meeting, a move that, partnered with changes to the building code, will enable the addition of emergency shelter such as for removable cabins or recreational vehicles.
The crisis designation would be in place for three years and would allow a wider range of solutions for temporary shelter. Projects on County property could bypass local zoning requirements and environmental review.
The additional tools provided by the designation will reduce the barriers to developing temporary emergency shelter. During the declared shelter crisis, an emergency shelter established on property owned or leased by the County would not be required to comply with local permitting procedures or with state housing, planning and zoning, or safety standards.
To use this opportunity, the Board must adopt new building code standards for emergency shelter developed during the declared shelter crisis, pursuant to California Government Code section 8698. These new tools allow for a wide variety of temporary shelter types. For example, current County building codes do not allow buildings without a permanent foundation, which is a significant barrier to temporary solutions that are relatively easy to put in place and later remove.
No funds would be attached to this specific action to build temporary emergency shelters or emergency housing units, and the declaration would apply only to the unincorporated areas of Marin County.
“While the County does not have specific projects planned that would go forward under this designation, the changes to the building code would create the possibility for private property owners to legally add safe and sound emergency shelter without a permanent foundation,” said Sarah Jones, Marin County’s Community Development Agency director. “The goal is and always will be permanent housing. We want to make it possible for people to live in improved conditions while housing is coming online.”
The designation of a shelter crisis could benefit, among others, the Point Reyes National Seashore ranch and dairy tenants being displaced by a recent settlement to end most ranching operations.
Marin County has created a cross-departmental team to address the housing and economic crisis created by the Point Reyes National Seashore legal agreement.
“I am deeply concerned about the impact of the Point Reyes National Seashore decision on our schools, workforce, housing and local economy,” said Marin County District 4 Supervisor Dennis Rodoni, who represents residents of West Marin. “This decision by the Board of Supervisors could provide powerful tools to help with this crisis by keeping these residents in the community with adequate temporary measures. That is what make this vitally important.”
The County last declared a shelter emergency in 2018 as a way to access state housing funding. The new declaration does not provide state or local funding but eases the approval of temporary housing.
Since 2017 the County has housed 829 chronically homeless individuals through permanent supportive housing and connected almost 1,500 additional individuals to housing. Additionally, the County has developed 151 units of permanent supportive housing. Although the County has sheltered nearly 2,600 individuals and provided transitional housing to 318 individuals, and new temporary emergency shelter can help, the solution to homelessness is always a permanent housing destination.
“This shelter crisis designation provides us with one more tool to help those living on the street or in a vehicle,” said Gary Naja-Riese, director of the County’s Homelessness and Coordinated Care division. “More tools for developing emergency shelter gives people a chance to get the additional services they need that can be truly life-changing and lifesaving.”
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