An eight-unit Stinson beach apartment complex could soon become the first permanently affordable housing in the village, if the Community Land Trust Association of West Marin succeeds in purchasing it for roughly $3 million.
County supervisors gave CLAM $1 million from its Affordable Housing Trust Fund, half as a grant and half as a loan, for the project on Tuesday. With a $1.35 million loan and a $500,000 grant from the Marin Community Foundation, the remaining $200,000 must come from donations—and at least $100,000 has already been pledged by anonymous donors.
“If all goes as planned,” county planner Leelee Thomas said during a hearing at the Civic Center on Tuesday, the sale could close in August. The property is in the midst of an appraisal and inspection.
“We’re hoping beyond hope that this works out in our favor and we can afford to stay local. I’ve never worked outside Stinson or Bolinas in 40 years,” Wendy Clark, an in-home hospice worker who lives at the complex, said outside her home last weekend.
The purchase would be a boon to West Marin’s affordable housing stock—particularly in Stinson Beach, where there are no permanently affordable housing units. The complex currently houses the only two Section 8 voucher holders in the town.
The price tag for the units—seven one-bedrooms and a studio—may seem steep to some. And currently the county’s housing trust holds just $5.2 million. But Supervisor Steve Kinsey said the apartments comprised 2.5 percent of housing units in the village.
“I think it’s fair to say that sometimes we have to swallow hard at the prices we have to pay…[but] this is community housing that will provide for people who live there, work there, contribute to the community in ways that are really important,” he said.
The county’s financial backing follows a series of three workshops last winter that zeroed in on Marin’s affordable housing crisis. Supervisors declined to pursue some options like rent control, but they directed staffers to focus on strategies that included the conversion of existing housing stock.
“This is a reflection of our board’s commitment…to place a high priority on acquisition,” Mr. Kinsey said.
Last year, the county funded the acquisition of a 20-unit mobile home park in Forest Knolls. It also worked with CLAM and Rep. Jared Huffman on federal legislation passed in January requiring the Coast Guard to sell a 36-unit housing complex in Point Reyes Station to the county, which plans to turn it over to CLAM. An environmental review of the site is underway.
The Stinson project would mark CLAM’s first acquisition outside Point Reyes Station, where it owns a four-unit apartment building , and Inverness. The purchase would also double the number of rentals the nonprofit operates.
Thomas Peters, the president and CEO of the Marin Community Foundation, said the foundation jumped at the chance to fund the project, given a general commitment to affordable housing and the particular difficulty of developing it in West Marin. “There are very few viable projects to support in West Marin. We are excited to help make this happen,” he said, noting that the pledged funds from the foundation would mark its largest contribution to CLAM to date.
The two-story apartment complex at 21 Calle del Embarcadero, a cream-colored building with light blue trim surrounded by a high wooden fence, is mere steps from the beach. It has been owned for well over a decade by Mill Valley couple Paul Goldsmith and Carin Garland.
Mr. Goldsmith, a lawyer who said he invests in real estate, said he has improved the complex over the years, rebuilding the deck, installing a new water heater and rebuilding a garden with a drip system, for instance.
The couple keeps one unit for their personal use and he said he has enjoyed getting to know the residents. “The people there all pretty much have community ties,” he said. Of the eight units, six are occupied full-time.
But as the couple nears retirement, they decided it was time to sell. “We’ve never made money really on the apartments. We’ve enjoyed providing housing,” but as retirement looms, “we couldn’t continue to have a nonperforming property.”
Ms. Thomas said that a sale would probably have spelled the end for the Section 8 voucher holders, if not others.
According to her, Chris Harrington, a realtor with Oceanic Realty in Stinson, has for years been keeping tabs on local properties with the potential to become affordable housing. Last summer, a group of residents spearheaded by Mr. Harrington learned of the plans to sell the complex and coordinated a meeting with the owners and the county.
Kim Thompson, the executive director of CLAM, said she could not elaborate on the project, but in an email she praised the community for its activism. “This is a work in progress and due to the current negotiations we are limited in what we can say,” she wrote. “But the fact that we—a coalition of partners—have reached this point is due to the tremendous efforts of the Stinson Beach community, shepherded by Chris Harrington. They have pursued every avenue in their passion to create local, affordable homes in Stinson—including aligning the funding. What they need from CLAM is an affordable housing organization to acquire and manage the property.”
Recently Mr. Goldsmith said he told the county that he wanted to finalize a sale this year. He is hopeful that it will go smoothly. “It’s something we believe would benefit the community… We love our tenants, and I’d love to see some security. But as with any real estate sale, it’s not done until it’s done,” he told the Light.
Ms. Thomas said the units would be reserved for full-time residents who qualify as low income or very low income, per a planned deed restriction on the property. Current full-time residents would not be forced out if they do not need the income requirements, she said, but when rentals become vacant, new residents would need to meet the rules.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Bolinas resident and former fire chief Kevin Hicks praised the project, noting that the residents were important community members. One worked on health clinic projects in Bolinas and Stinson. Another has cooked for the community for decades, he went on. “They’re essential to the town,” he said.
Supervisor Judy Arnold emphasized that the project highlights one crucial element in addressing affordable housing: community engagement and activism. “We need eyes on the ground to identify properties,” she said.