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Marin County presents housing element progress: 67 permits issued in 2024, ADU growth part of RHNA strategy
Summary
County planners told the Board of Supervisors the 2023–2031 housing element cycle requires 3,569 units and reported 67 building permits issued in 2024 (48 ADUs and 19 single‑family). Staff said rezoning completed during adoption increased entitlement activity; board accepted the annual progress report and will submit it to the state.
Marin County staff on March 25 gave the board an annual update on the countywide plan and the housing element for the 2023–2031 RHNA cycle and asked the board to accept the required state annual progress report.
Aileen Tinelian and Jillian Ziger from the Community Development Agency said the county’s RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Allocation) for the current eight‑year cycle is 3,569 units: 1,100 very low‑income; 1,304 low‑income; 512 moderate‑income; and 1,323 above‑moderate units. For the 2024 reporting year staff counted 67 building permits issued (19 single‑unit residences and 48 accessory dwelling units) and recorded 42 certificates of occupancy (10 single‑family, 1 mobile home and 31 ADUs). The county reported 139 planning applications in 2024, representing an estimated 472 potential units in the pipeline.
Staff said the county can count a limited annual number of ADUs toward RHNA based on historical permit activity; that cap for Marin was set at 35 ADUs per year when the housing element was prepared, yielding an ADU allowance of 280 across the cycle. To date, staff said the county has permitted 105 ADUs that count toward RHNA, leaving 175 ADUs still available under that allowance.
Speakers and supervisors discussed the nonlinearity of housing production, the role of rezoning (the county rezoned several sites concurrent with housing element adoption), and the need to address permitting timelines and soft‑cost barriers. Supervisor Milton Peters and others pressed staff on conversion from application to permit and what process changes could speed production; staff said CDA has initiated process‑improvement efforts and is moving many permit functions online and coordinating with partner departments.
Jack Leebster and Jeremy Tejarian reviewed the Countywide Plan implementation status and reported that 83% of the plan’s programs are complete or partly complete. Staff highlighted specific initiatives including ADU Marin (an ADU assistance center), mapping tools for housing sites and SB 9 resources, and county efforts addressing farmworker housing feasibility.
The board unanimously approved a motion to accept and submit the annual progress report to the California Department of Housing and Community Development. The submittal is required by April 1 to preserve eligibility for certain state programs, including permanent local housing allocations and other funding tied to housing element compliance.
Board members asked staff to continue tracking conversion rates from entitlement to permits and to pursue both administrative improvements and advocacy for state adjustments (for example, counting some senior housing types) that supervisors said would better reflect local needs.
