Corte Madera planners hold study session on 99‑unit affordable housing proposal at 240 Tamal Vista Blvd.

Corte Madera — The Planning Commission on Jan. 28 held a study session on a developer’s preliminary application under Senate Bill 330 for a six‑story, 99‑unit, 100% deed‑restricted affordable housing project at 240 Tamal Vista Boulevard, but took no action.

The project team presented a concept for a 72‑foot building with two levels of structured parking and four residential floors above, 163 parking spaces and 15,680 square feet of usable open space. Town planner Martha (name not specified) told the commission that the applicant is relying on the state density‑bonus law and SB 330 and that the commission’s role at the session was limited to providing feedback: “The commission will not be taking any action on this project,” she said.

Why it matters: The site is one of the town’s Housing Element rezoned sites and the project is proposed as fully affordable, which triggers an 80% density bonus under state law. That combination means the town’s discretion to impose conditions or deny waivers is tightly constrained; planners and the town attorney repeatedly told commissioners and the public that state law significantly limits local changes to a project that meets the statutory thresholds.

Project details and state law context

Planner Martha said the site sits in the HE‑2 housing element overlay and that rezoning adopted with the town’s 2023 housing element established a base density of 35 units per acre for the subarea; on the 1.5‑acre site that produces a base entitlement of 55 units. Because the applicant proposes 100% affordable units, the project is entitled to an 80% density bonus under state density bonus law, yielding 99 units.

Assistant Town Attorney Anne Danforth summarized the key state constraints. Danforth described SB 330 and the state density bonus law to the…