1. LEGAL REQUIREMENTS
The Housing Element is one of eight required elements of the General Plan, along with land use, circulation, open space, conservation, safety, noise and environmental justice.
It is essentially the Town’s plan for addressing local housing needs.
What is a Housing Element?
Key components of the Housing Element include:
• Inventory of available sites for housing in Fairfax
• A projection of the number of housing units that could realistically be accommodated on each site in view of past trends and local conditions • An assessment of local housing needs, potential constraints to housing production, and fair housing issues - which means any factors that impede access to housing for disadvantaged groups like the disabled, the elderly, or racial of linguistic minorities.
• A program of actions to address identified needs, constraints and fair housing issues.
What’s in our Housing Element?
By law, each city or town in California must update its Housing Element every eight years to plan for the next 8-year cycle and account for changing demographics and market conditions. Jurisdictions that fail to adopt a certified Housing Element may be subject to penalties and fines.
Why Update the Housing Element?
Under State law, each city and county in California must plan to accommodate its share of the regional housing need - called the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) - for the coming 8-year planning period. The State determines the estimated need for new housing in each region of California, based on population projections and other factors including rates of vacancy, overcrowding, and cost-burden. The various regional planning agencies then allocate a target to each city or town within their jurisdiction, considering factors such as access to jobs, good schools, and healthy environmental conditions. RHNA is split into four categories representing different levels of affordability, based on median income level in the county.
How Much Housing Does Fairfax Need to Plan for?
TOWN OF FAIRFAX | HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE PROJECT
8 required
elements
Income Level AMI Needed Units Percent of
Needed Units
Very-Low-Income 0-50% 149 30.4%
Low-Income 51-80% 86 17.6%
Moderate-Income 81-120% 71 14.5%
Above-Moderate Income >120% 184 37.5%
Total 490 100.0%
Fairfax Regional Housing Needs Assessment, 2023-2031
The penalties for non-compliance have increased in scope and severity over the past few legislative cycles, and they currently include:
• Limited access to State funding, including transportation funding for local roadway maintenance and capital improvement projects.
• Court imposed fines of up to $600,000 per month. The statute also allows the state to collect these fines by withholding state funding due to the Town. • Lawsuits: When community’s housing element is found to be out of compliance, its General Plan is at risk of being deemed inadequate and therefore invalid, opening the possibility for lawsuits.
What Happens if the Town Does Not Adopt a Housing
Element or if the Housing Element Does Not Comply
with State Law?
• Court mandated compliance - Courts can issue an order that a community bring its Housing Element into compliance. In extreme cases, State law allows a court to appoint an agent with all powers necessary to bring the Town’s Housing Element into compliance with State law.
• Court suspension of local control on building matters, freezing the community’s ability to issue building permits, zoning changes, etc. • Court approval of housing developments on behalf of the community Attorney fees associated with the lawsuit
• Over the past 20 years, cities and counties throughout the Bay Area (including Corte Madera, Pittsburg, Pleasanton, Alameda, Benicia, Fremont, Rohnert Park, Menlo Park, Napa County, and Santa Rosa) have faced legal challenges to the adequacy of their housing elements. In virtually every case, the city settled by amending their housing element and/or zoning ordinance to accommodate more housing and paid the plaintiffs’ attorneys fees. Each of these cases were filed prior to the most recent amendments to the state housing law which make it exceedingly more difficult for cities to win such cases.
Consequences of Lawsuits
If you have comments or questions,
email [email protected]
2. OVERVIEW OF THE FAIRFAX HOUSING SITES INVENTORY
A core component of the Housing Element is the inventory of sites available for housing, shown on the map at right and summarized on the table below. The inventory is accompanied by a series of implementing programs representing actions the Town will take to facilitate development of the sites on the inventory. Key programs are highlighted to the right of the map.
Amid the ongoing housing crisis in California, Fairfax is required by law to plan for at least 490 new homes by 2031, including 235 that would be affordable to households making less than 80 percent of the Marin County Area Median Income (AMI).
The Draft Sites Inventory shows capacity for a total of 583 new homes, including:
• 71 new single-family homes on vacant residential lots • 160 new ADUs and JADUs
• 352 multi-family homes in locations with good access to transit and services per State law
TOWN OF FAIRFAX | HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE PROJECT
Total Units
Low / Very
Low
(<80% AMI)
Moderate
(80-120%
AMI)
Above
Moderate
(>120% AMI)
Vacant Single-Family Sites 60 60
“Pipeline” Projects
School Street Plaza 175 35 140
Fairfax Market 8 8
Various Single Family 11 11
Town-Owned Sites 10 10
Underutilized Commercial Sites 159 129 30
ADU/JADU Projection 160 129 48
Total 583 270 78 235
RHNA 490 235 71 184
Buffer 93 35 7 51 Cascade Canyon
Loma Alta
Bald
Hill
Phoenix Lake
Watershed
White
Hill
Sir Fr an cis Drake Blvd
Center Blvd
Sir Francis Drake Blvd
Bolinas
Rd
FAIRFAX SAN
ANSELMO
UNINCORPORATED
MARIN COUNTY
UNINCORPORATED
MARIN COUNTY
UNINCORPORATED
MARIN COUNTY
SLEEPY
HOLLOW
UNINCORPORATED
FAIRFAX
Iron Springs Rd
Bothin Rd
Tamalpais
Rd
Scenic Rd
Azalea Ave
Spruce Rd
Broadway
Cascade Dr
Pine
Dr
Canyon Rd
Cascade Fire Rd
Cascade Dr
Hillside Dr
Cre st R d
Fr ancis Ave
Wood Ln
Porteou s Ave
Meernaa Ave
Forrest Av
D
e
oming a Ave
Frustuck Ave
Willow
Ave
Mono Ln
Gregor y
Dr
Oak Manor Dr
Manor View
Woodside Dr
Oak Manor Dr
Frustruck Ave
Cyp ress Dr
Cy pr ess Dr
Madrone Rd
San Gabri e l Dr
Taylor
Dr
Marinda Dr
Creek Rd
Forrest Ave
Sir Francis
Drake
Blvd
Glen Dr
Manor Rd
Ridgeway
A v e
Olema R d
Hickory Rd
Ta
m
alp ais Rd
Ri d ge
R d
L a u rel Dr
Sc en ic Rd
Scenic Trl
Redwood Rd
Iron Springs R d
Bolinas Rd
Meado w Club Rd
W Oak Knoll Dr
Stuyvesant D r
Wilder Rd
Timber Canyon Rd
Butterfield Rd
Income Level Category
Above Moderate Income
Low/Very Low Income
Town of Fairfax
Sphere of Influence
Parks and Open Space
0 0.125 0.25 0.5
Mil
Map 3-7 Sites Available for Housing
Sites Available for Housing
Clustered Hillside Residential Development (Program
2-D): There are a number of large hillside properties that might accommodate a clustered housing development
on relatively flatter portions of the sites, including
both attached and detached single-family dwellings
and accessory dwelling units. Through this program,
the Town will develop and adopt standards to permit
clustered housing on the sites while preserving large
areas of open space and protecting ridgelines.
Workforce Housing Overlay (Program 2-A):
Applicable to certain properties in the Town Center
and along Sir Francis Drake, this overlay would allow
property owners to develop with commercial uses as
under current zoning but would also provide the option
to develop with multi-family housing.
Workforce Housing on Town-Owned Sites
(Program 1-C):
Two adjacent Town-owned properties have been
identified as potential sites for housing to meet the
needs of restaurant employees, service workers,
teachers, public servants and others who work in Fairfax and earn less than 80 percent of the area median
income. Through this program, the Town would partner
with a non-profit developer to build 10 units. Because
the sites are Town-owned, the Town can control all
aspects of the project, including timing, design, and
other factors.
Implementing Programs
If you have comments or questions, email
[email protected]
3. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (EIR)
The Town of Fairfax will prepare a programmatic EIR for the Fairfax Housing Element Update, consistent with the requirement of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The EIR will provide a programmatic environmental assessment of the potential consequences of implementing the Housing Element, identify significant environmental impacts, and recommend feasible measures to mitigate those impacts.
The Town released a Notice of Preparation (NOP) for the EIR in August 2022, but since that time the sites inventory and capacity projections have been revised to the NOP has been re-released.
TOWN OF FAIRFAX | HOUSING ELEMENT UPDATE PROJECT
Air Quality The project could result in an increase in operational air emissions through new vehicle trips generated by additional housing. Emissions increases will be evaluated against Bay Area Air Quality Management District thresholds to determine significance.
Biological Resources The potential presence of sensitive biological resources within the Town will be reviewed as a basis to determine whether new development on one or more of the housing opportunity sites may have potential to affect such resources.
Geology and Soils Given the steep terrain in much of Fairfax, there is potential for landslides, particularly in wet weather months. Hillside areas in Fairfax have experienced landslides in the past. The development of housing in or adjacent to areas of geologic hazard could potentially result in significant impacts.
Transportation Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) forecasts will be developed for the Project to determine if Project VMT exceeds significance thresholds based on State guidance.
Water Supply The project is likely to result in a net increase in water demand. The EIR will quantify the projected change in demand and evaluate whether sufficient water supply may be available to meet that demand.
Wastewater The project is likely to result in a net increase in wastewater generation and may have potential to require new wastewater conveyance facilities, the construction of which may have environmental impacts.
Wildfire Almost all land within the Town limit is classified as a High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. Given the extent of wildfire hazard in and adjacent to Fairfax, this section of the EIR will address whether the project would substantially impair emergency response and evacuation or exacerbate fire risk.
Key Issues to be Studied in EIR
PUBLIC HEARINGS
CERTIFICATION OF
EIR
RESPONSE TO
COMMENTS AND
FINAL EIR
NOTICE OF
PREPARATION
(NOP)
ENVIRONMENTAL
REVIEW
= Opportunity for public input
PUBLIC COMMENT
DRAFT PERIOD
FOR DRAFT EIR
(45 DAYS)
DRAFT EIR
PUBLISHED
SCOPING PERIOD
(30 DAYS)
EIR PROCESS FLOW
= Where we are now
Consistent with the State CEQA Guidelines, the following environmental resource categories will be analyzed:
• Aesthetics
• Agriculture and Forest Resources
• Air Quality
• Biological Resources
• Cultural Resources
• Energy
• Geology and Soils
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Hazards and Hazardous Materials
• Hydrology and Water Quality
• Land Use and Planning
• Mineral Resources
• Noise
• Population and Housing
• Public Services
• Recreation
• Transportation
• Tribal Cultural Resources
• Utilities and Service Systems
• Wildfire
If you have comments or questions, email
[email protected]