The Marin County Planning Commission on Sept. 15 denied an appeal and conditionally approved a coastal development permit and tentative map to convert eight affordable rental units and a commercial rental unit into eight deed-restricted affordable condominium units at 31 Wharf Road in Bolinas.

Planner Easton Ehlers summarized the project and the appeal, telling commissioners the proposal would not change the physical development previously authorized by the Board of Supervisors and that the deputy zoning administrator had found the tentative map consistent with applicable regulations and the county’s Local Coastal Program. Ehlers said the project has received approximately $2.6 million in funding and that building permits are imminent.

Appellant attorney Tom Lippe and appellant James Meyer argued the deputy zoning administrator had improperly relied on the 2021 entitlement and that under CEQA the county must compare the proposed project to existing conditions on the ground. Lippe contended the Bolinas Historic District is a presumptive historic resource and presented a consultant’s report that, he said, raises a fair argument that the project’s massing, scale and setbacks could materially impair the district.

County environmental coordinator Rachel Reid told commissioners that LCP historic surveys differ from the CEQA analysis required for historical resources, and that staff’s review concluded the project does not trigger the CEQA exception for potential substantial adverse change to a historical resource.

Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco CEO Maureen Sedona and Jeffrey Clapp, co-managing director of the Bolinas Community Land Trust, described the project’s affordable-homeownership model. Sedona said Habitat’s model uses 0% interest mortgages, caps monthly housing costs at about 30% of income, and includes a first right of repurchase so the nonprofit can preserve long-term affordability. Clapp said the project would more than double the number of deed-restricted homeownership units in Bolinas and that the Land Trust has some families ready to move forward.

Several neighboring property owners and residents urged the commission to reduce the project’s size, citing loss of parking, a driveway that has served adjacent property for generations, the project’s scale and impacts on downtown character. Attorney John Sharp and property owner Roland Crotts said the proposed building would significantly affect their property’s access and privacy. Other speakers, including former Bolinas fire chief Ralph Kamicha and longtime residents, said the project’s scale is disproportionate to Bolinas’ downtown.

Commissioners discussed the limited scope of the decision before them — the tentative map subdivision in the coastal zone — and whether that action required additional CEQA review. Several commissioners stated that the authorized physical development and the tentative map had been considered previously by the board and in the administrative record. After deliberation Commissioner Curran moved to deny the appeal and approve the tentative map and coastal permit; the motion carried on a roll-call vote (five ayes, zero noes). Commissioner Monroe did not participate due to a property interest and was recused.

The approval is conditioned on the findings and terms set out in the staff-prepared resolution. Staff said the tentative map and related building permits remain subject to ministerial and ministerially-noticed conditions required for coastal and building permit compliance.

The commission’s action leaves in place the underlying development approvals that authorized the building’s physical characteristics; the current decision addresses the subdivision/tentative map that would permit condominium ownership for the affordable units.

Commissioners and staff noted a continued need to balance housing production with community character and historic resources, and several speakers recommended smaller-scale alternatives or additional senior-oriented units. The applicant and the land trust said they are prepared to proceed to construction; staff reported building permits were near issuance. The transcript and administrative record contain the complete findings and conditions adopted with the resolution.