In anticipation of its purchase of the Coast Guard property in Point Reyes Station, Marin County is exploring numerous affordable housing concepts for the 36-home complex, including set-asides for agricultural workers.
A county-appointed working group comprised of representatives from local schools, affordable housing groups and other businesses and organizations has been discussing visions for the property since last fall. The group will present on the site’s constraints and opportunities at a public meeting at the West Marin School on April 30 at 6:30 p.m., when attendees are welcome to weigh in. (A Spanish-language meeting was held last night.)
Residents successfully advocated for the passage of legislation to require that the property be sold to the county for use as affordable housing after the Coast Guard designated the facility as surplus in 2014.
The property remains under federal ownership while the county negotiates a purchase, which is expected to be completed late next year or in early 2020. (Because of required environmental review and needed rehabilitation, it will be several years before families can move into the homes.)
Leelee Thomas, the planning manager for the county’s Housing and Federal Grants Division, said the possibility of using the site, or some percentage of it, for ag worker housing was raised by members of the working group.
“It’s a dire need right now,” Albert Straus, of Marshall’s Straus Family Creamery, said. “Workers aren’t able to find housing that’s affordable in the area. Without stable housing, our workforce is unstable and that risks our farms.” Mr. Straus said local housing is especially important for dairies, with around-the-clock work, though it’s a priority for all industries in the area.
Terry Sawyer, owner of Hog Island Oyster Company, said he surveyed the 83 employees that report to his Marshall location and found that less than a third live between Tomales and Bolinas.
Though Mr. Sawyer offers gas reimbursement for employees who carpool, he remains concerned about the issue. “The numbers I put together provide a pretty sad commentary about where people have to live to travel out here to work.”
The last time the county surveyed the state of housing for agricultural workers was in 2011. Of Marin’s estimated 500 farm workers, 172 responded to that survey, which was commissioned by the Marin Community Foundation and administered by the California Housing Development Corporation. Virtually all of the respondents reported at least one defect with their home. Twenty-nine percent, for example, cited insects, mice or other pests; 38 percent reported bad mold or mildew.
In 2012, the Marin Community Foundation announced a plan to fund the construction of or improvements to 200 units of local ag worker housing over the course of five years. The foundation set aside $1 million for the project, but it never went forward with plans after additional funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s on-farm housing program fell through.
In 2013, supervisors approved a $250,000 grant to help a collaborative project working to replace, improve and maintain dilapidated ag employee housing on the coast, enabling the replacement or construction of 20 units on 12 volunteering ranches.
The program, run in conjunction with the Marin Community Foundation and the Marin Workforce Housing Trust, provided engineers, technical consulting and helped get access to funds for private land in unincorporated West Marin. But the expected help of 1-percent-interest loans by the U.S.D.A. fell through, and ranchers ultimately financed the large part of the development cost.
Thomas Peters, president and C.E.O. of the community foundation, said conditions and contingencies required by federal agencies like the U.S.D.A. don’t mesh well with the small-scale, family operations in West Marin. As far as the idea of exploring the Coast Guard property for ag uses, Mr. Peters said, “I love it.” “We stand absolutely at the ready either in advocating for it or helping to put together the consortium of funding it would take to bring it to life.”
Ms. Thomas was more conservative. “For the Coast Guard property, the next step is to really hear from the community,” she said. “For ag workers, we would want to make sure that there is enough demand. Our first step, if we were to apply for funding, would be to do a study to determine what the demand in our area is.”
She explained that the county must consider a host of federal and state fair housing laws when considering uses for the property. Earmarking the housing for just locals, for instance, would likely conflict with those laws, given Marin’s skewed racial demographics.
Set-asides of some of the homes for either ag workers and their families or people coming out of homelessness could be easier avenues under those regulations, though Ms. Thomas said another good option is to open the homes to any low-income household.
A meeting on April 30 about affordable housing development on the former Coast Guard property starts at 6:30 p.m. in West Marin School small gym.