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Town of Fairfax
Housing Element
Update Project
Town Council Hearing on Draft Housing Element
December 13, 2023
Process Recap
• Statutory deadline for adoption of Housing Element (past due) • Public Review Draft Housing Element Released
• 90-Day HCD Review Complete
• Draft EIR Released
• EIR Public Review Period Ends
• Revised Draft Housing Element Released
• Public Hearings on Draft Housing Element and EIR
• Statutory deadline for adoption of zoning amendments
Jan 31, 2023
Mar 31, 2023
Aug 11, 2023
Sept 26, 2023
Nov 13, 2023
Nov 28, 2023
Nov and Dec 2023
Jan 31, 2024
Presentation Outline
• Housing Element Overview
• Legal Requirements
• Sites and Strategies
• Environmental Impact Report
• Purpose and Need
• CEQA Requirements
• EIR Process
• Overview of Impacts and Mitigation
• Summary of Public Comments
• Conduct Public Hearing
• Commission deliberation and recommendations
Meeting Objectives
1. Provide overview of Housing Element and EIR
2. Hear public comments
3. Town Council actions, if appropriate:
o Certification of the EIR; and
o Adoption of the Housing Element
Housing Element Overview
What is a Housing Element?
• State-mandated element
• Town’s plan for addressing local
housing needs
• Updated on an 8-year cycle
• Subject to statutory
requirements
• Mandatory review by Dept.
Housing & Community
Development (HCD)
required
elements
8 Housing Element Update Project Town of Fairfax
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Key Housing Element
Components
• Inventory of available sites for housing
• Projection of realistic capacity
• Assessment of housing needs, constraints,
and “fair housing” issues
• Action Plan of implementing programs
2023 - 2031 RHNA Allocations
• Fifth Cycle RHNA
was lower than
previous cycles,
accounting for
Great Recession
• Sixth Cycle RHNA
significantly higher
due to new State
laws
Fairfax 149 86 71 184 490
Penalties for Non-Compliance
• Town is legally required to adopt a Housing Element that complies with State law
• Failure to do so can result in lawsuits, fines and penalties:
• Limited access to State funding, including for local roadway maintenance and capital improvements
• Court imposed fines of up to $600,000 per month
• Court mandated compliance
• Court suspension of local control on building matters • Court approval of housing developments, with payment of plaintiff attorney fees mandated
Revised Sites Inventory
Total Units Low/Very Low Moderate Above
Moderate
Vacant Single-Family Sites 46 46
Pipeline Projects
School Street Plaza 175 35 140
Fairfax Market 8 8
Various Single Family 11 11
Town-Owned Sites (002-123-
17/144-01)
10 10
Underutilized Commercial Sites 188 137 52
ADU/JADU Projection (@20/yr) 160 96 48 16
Total 598 278 100 221
RHNA 490 235 71 184
Buffer 108 43 29 37
• Inventory demonstrates capacity for
598 new housing units
• Sufficient to meet RHNA with a 22% buffer
• Buffer needed to ensure compliance with
“no net loss” provisions of State law
Vacant Residential Parcels
• Projected capacity for 57 new singlefamily homes on vacant residentially zoned parcels
• 11 pipeline projects currently under
review or recently approved
• Develop and adopt standards to permit
low impact clustered housing on large
sites while preserving large areas of open
space and protecting ridgelines (Program
2-D)
• Draft Element does not propose any
change to land use designation or
increase in permitted density on large
single-family lots
Low Impact clustered
residential standards
for large sites
Pipeline Projects
• 11 single-family residential projects currently under review or recently approved
• 8 multi-family apartments on northern portion of the
Fairfax Market site
• 175 multi-family units on School Street Plaza site
• Program 1-B: School Street
• Establish objective design and development standards
• Meet quarterly with the property owner
• Work with the property owner to identify incentives for affordable housing onsite
• Accommodations for residents of existing live/work units Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
• ADUs and JADUs can count toward RHNA
• State guidance allows projection based on the annual
rate of permits issued since 2018
• Projections are not site specific
• Town has permitted 11 units/year since 2018 on
average
• With a strong suite of programs in the Action Plan,
projection of 20 ADUs and JADUs per year through
2031
Underutilized Commercial
Properties
Cascade Canyon
Bald
Hill
Phoenix Lake
Watershed
Drake Blvd
Center Blvd
Sir Francis Drake Blvd
Bolinas Rd
FAIRFAX SAN
ANSELMO
UNINCORPORATED
MARIN COUNTY
UNINCORPORATED
MARIN COUNTY
HOLLOW
UNINCORPORATED
FAIRFAX
Iron Springs Rd
Bothin Rd
Tamalpais Rd
Scenic Rd
Azalea Ave
Spruce Rd
Bro adway
Cascade Dr
Pine Dr
Canyon Rd
Cascade Fire Rd
Cascade Dr
Hil side Dr
Cre st R d
Fr an cis Ave
Wood Ln
Porteou s Ave
Me rnaa Ave
Forrest Av
D
e
oming a Ave
Frustuck Ave
Wil ow Ave
Mono Ln
Gre g
Woodside Dr
Oak Manor Dr
Fru st ruck Ave
Cyp ress D r
Cy pr es 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
Olem a R d
Hickory Rd
Tamalp ais Rd
Ri d ge R d
L a u rel Dr
Sc en ic Rd
Scenic Trl
Redwood Rd
Iron Sp rings R d
Bolinas Rd
Meado w Club Rd
W Oak Knol Dr
Tim b er Canyon Rd
Income Level Category
Above Moderate Income
Low/Very Low Income
Mixed Income
Town of Fairfax
Sphere of Influence
Parks and Open Space
0 750 1,500 3,000
Feet
0 0.125 0.25 0.5
Miles
Sources: MarinMap, 2022; Town of Fairfax, 2022; Dyett & Bhatia, 2022 • Projected capacity for 371 multi-family homes on
underutilized sites, primarily in Town Center and along Sir Francis Drake
• Sites in locations with good access to transit and
services per State law
• New State law (AB2011/SB6) already allows for housing development on commercial and office sites, subject to
design standards set by the State
• Program 2-A would create a Workforce Housing
Overlay to provide the option to develop with multifamily housing • Because certain sites must be reused from 2015
Housing Element, they must be rezoned to allow
housing "by right"
Workforce Housing Overlay Sites
Sites Reused from Prior Inventories
Workforce Housing on Town-Owned Sites
• Two adjacent Town-owned sites
identified for workforce housing
(APNs 002-123-17; 002-144-01)
• Total site size: 0.5 acres
• Current zoning: RS-6 Single Family
Residential
• Objective: provide housing for
restaurant employees, service
workers, teachers, public servants and
others who work in Fairfax and earn
less than 80% AMI
• Program 1-C: Partner with a nonprofit developer to build 10 units Housing Element Update Project Town of Fairfax
Housing Action Plan – Goals
1. Increase the range of housing options to meet the housing needs for all economic segments of the community.
2. Address housing affordability by addressing regulatory, process, and market factors that limit housing production and preservation in Fairfax.
3. Promote suitable and affordable housing for special needs populations, including housing for lower income households, large families, single parent households, the disabled, older adults, and people experiencing homelessness.
4. Foster equal housing opportunity for all residents of Fairfax, regardless of race, religion, sex, marital status, ancestry, national origin, color, or ability.
5. Monitor the effectiveness of housing programs to ensure that they respond to housing needs.
EIR Overview
Housing Element and EIR Update Town of Fairfax
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What is an EIR?
• Environmental Impact Report
• Housing Element EIR is programmatic =
evaluates the broad policy direction of
a planning document, but not potential
site-specific impacts
• Informs public and decision-makers of significant
environmental effects of proposed plans
• Identifies ways to minimize those effects
• Describes reasonable alternatives to those
projects
Housing Element Update Project Town of Fairfax
CEQA Requirements: Resource Categories
• 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
Housing Element Update Project Town of Fairfax
Environmental Review Process
Notice of
Preparation
(NOP)
Scoping Period
(30 Days)
Environmental
Review
Draft EIR
Published
Public Comment Period
for Draft EIR
(45 Days)
Public Hearings Certification of
EIR
= opportunity
for public input
= where we
are now
Final EIR
Preparation
Housing Element Update Project Town of Fairfax
Summary of Draft EIR Findings
• Majority of impacts are less than significant
• Seven significant impacts under 4 categories would be reduced to less than significant with mitigation:
• Air Quality
• Biological Resources
• Cultural and Tribal Cultural Resources
• GHG Emissions
• Three impacts under 2 categories were significant and unavoidable • GHG Emissions
• Transportation
• No cumulatively considerable impacts
Housing Element Update Project Town of Fairfax
Summary of Draft EIR Findings
• Even after all feasible mitigation, the Housing Element would result in significant and unavoidable impacts related to:
• GHG Emissions
• Transportation
• Not uncommon for a long-range development plan
• Town can approve the project based on overriding
considerations, such as housing production and compliance with State law
VMT = Vehicle Miles Travelled
• VMT is total length of all trips,
measured in miles
• Car dependency = high VMT
• Locating housing near jobs, shops
and other destinations reduces
VMT
• CEQA metric = per capita VMT
Housing Element and EIR Update Town of Fairfax
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Impact: VMT
Housing Element would not achieve the
15% per capita reduction target for
vehicle miles travelled under buildout
conditions.
• Implementation would achieve approximately a
10.4% reduction in home-based VMT.
• While the Project would result in an improvement
in per capita VMT, the reduction would still exceed
the threshold.
Housing Element Update Project Town of Fairfax
Mitigation: Transportation
• Potential measures available to reduce VMT include:
• Infill intensification
• Parking demand management
• Employment-based transportation demand management
• Non-motorized transportation incentives
• Transit service enhancement
• The Project either already incorporates these strategies, they are not applicable, or they would not substantially lessen impacts in Fairfax. • As such, there is no feasible mitigation available, and the impact is significant and unavoidable.
Housing Element and EIR Update Town of Fairfax
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Impact: GHG Emissions
Fairfax Climate Action Plan (CAP) establishes a
target of net zero emissions by 2030 and
Governor’s Executive Order N-82-20
establishes a statewide target of carbon
neutrality by 2045
• Compliance TC 15.05 would ensure that emissions
from stationary sources would not conflict with
targets
• However, total emissions would conflict with the
statewide GHG targets for 2030 and 2050
Housing Element Update Project Town of Fairfax
Mitigation: GHG Emissions
• MM GHG-2: Update the Fairfax Climate Action Plan 2030. • The updated CAP shall include community emissions forecasts that incorporate the changes in population and number of households under the Project.
• However, as this update has not yet been completed and the specific measures have not yet been identified, the impact would conservatively remain significant and unavoidable.
Housing Element Update Project Town of Fairfax
Public Review of Draft EIR
• Public comment period ran from September 26 – November 13 • 14 comment letters and 167 unique comments
• Key themes:
• Biological resources
• VMT/Transportation
• 615 Oak Manor Settlement Agreement
• PCAs and hillside development
• MTCC Site
• Landslide risk
• Wildfire and evacuation
Housing Element Update Project Town of Fairfax
Biological Resources
• CDFW requested a checklist for subsequent project review, and additional mitigation for northern spotted owls and bat species of special concern
• Project-specific analysis checklist as Appendix G to EIR • Mitigation measures BIO-1 and BIO-3 enhanced to strengthen protections for northern spotted owls and bat species of special concern Housing Element Update Project Town of Fairfax
Transportation
• Caltrans requested consideration of additional mitigation measures to reduce VMT.
• Draft EIR considered all potential mitigation strategies related to infill development, employment-based TDM, parking demand management, non-motorized transportation incentives, and transit service enhancements. • The Housing Element already incorporates infill strategies and other mitigation measures to do not represent a feasible option for the Town.
Housing Element Update Project Town of Fairfax
615 Oak Manor Settlement Agreement
• Several comments question whether development is feasible at 615 Oak Manor given a settlement agreement for a 1991 lawsuit.
• Agreement established term of 2 years (until Sept 1990) for Phases A-C of the project and 3 additional years (to 1993) for Phase D, pursuant to Subdivision Map Act • Town would have had to approve a tentative vesting map within those terms if an application had been received
• No application was received
• No evidence of Town Ordinance extending the terms
Housing Element Update Project Town of Fairfax
Open Space Preservation
• Several comments asserted that development would not be consistent with local open space regulations or would conflict with designated Priority Conservation Areas (PCAs).
• General Plan Land Use and Zoning permit housing on inventory sites • Housing Element Program 2-D: Low-Impact Clustered Residential Development • Would not increase base density, but allow for clustered development • Would require preservation of 75% of the site as open space Priority Conservation Area
• Plan Bay Area 2050 does not define
boundaries of PCA in Fairfax
• 2016 TAM staff report states that no
map of the PCAs existed at that time
• No regulation or easement in place that
would preclude residential development
on the privately-owned site
• Environmental and infrastructure
constraints are the primary limiting
factor
Housing Element Update Project Town of Fairfax
Marin Town & Country Club Site
• Several comments advocated for housing at the MTCC site and believe the Mixed Use Development Alternative should be identified as the environmentally superior alternative.
• No project alternative is the environmentally superior alternative because it would result in the fewest impacts; however, it would be infeasible • Mixed Use Alternative (MTCC site) is next choice, but it would slightly reduce significant unavoidable impacts; however, it would increase some impacts and be infeasible
• Ballot measure needed to change zoning; uncertain that development at the site would result within planning period
Housing Element Update Project Town of Fairfax
Landslide and Wildfire Risk
• Several comments were concerned about landslide risk and its impacts on new and existing developments.
• Compliance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements and local Town Code and General Plan regulations would reduce landslide impacts to the extent practicable.
• Several comments questioned how construction would minimize wildfire risks and impact evacuation safety with an increased population. • A Fire Protection Plan would be required for construction in fire hazard areas as well as compliance with CBC requirements which reduce wildfire hazards. • Increased development would increase traffic on SFD; however, there is a robust framework of emergency preparedness and evacuation actions in place to facilitate evacuation.
Strategies range from local planning efforts to emergency response and evacuation plans.
Planning Commission
Summary
Housing Element Update Project Town of Fairfax
Planning Commission Questions
• Source of data for wildfire hazards
• Reference in State law regarding "default density"
• Source for in-commute data
• How property owner interest was confirmed
• Consequences for non-compliance with Housing Element law • What project AQ mitigation applies to
• Timing for update to other General Plan elements
Housing Element Update Project Town of Fairfax
Planning Commission Comments
• Identified clerical errors that have been corrected
• Town needs to focus on implementing measures that
can reduce VMT, such as those in the
2016 Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan
Next Steps
Timeline to Finalization
• PC Hearing on Draft Housing Element and EIR
• Resubmit Housing Element to HCD
• TC Hearing on Draft Housing Element and EIR
• PC Hearing on Zoning Amendments (low impact clustered) • PC Hearing on Zoning Amendments (workforce overlay)
• TC Hearing on Zoning Amendments
• Statutory deadline for adoption of zoning amendments
• Technical “clean up” in response to HCD, if any
Nov 28, 2023
Dec 5, 2023
Dec 13, 2023
Dec 14, 2023
Jan 10, 2024
Jan 24, 2024
Jan 31, 2024
Administrative
Housing Element Update Project Town of Fairfax
Recommended Order
1. Clarifying questions from Town Council
2. Public Testimony
3. Resolution 23-59. Town Council Certification of EIR
o Questions / Comments / Discussion
o Recommendation
4. Resolution 23-60. Town Council Adoption of a General Plan Amendment to Update the Housing Element for the Period of 2023-31 o Questions / Comments / Discussion
o Recommendation
Interview for San Bruno Zoning Code Update Dyett & Bhatia Questions and
Comments
Back Up
615 Oak Manor Site
• Draft Element assumes 10 single-family homes,
consistent with current zoning
• ADU projections are not site-specific, consistent with State law and HCD guidance
• Property owner submitted a concept diagram
illustrating 7 single-family homes, 7 ADUs, and
20 multi-family apartments
• Property owner concept not permitted under
current zoning
Staff response:
Site could be added as a ”pipeline project” if the property owner provides a letter expressing intent to submit an
application to subdivide the property and rezone a portion of the site along Sir Francis Drake for high density housing Hillside Development and Open Space
• Commenters
expressed concern
for development on
ridgelines and open
space
• Pointed to
community values
enshrined in the
General Plan