Two years after the Community Land Trust Association of West Marin won its bid to develop the former Coast Guard property in Point Reyes Station, an update from the trust shed light on the long path to move-in day. CLAM now says new residents will move into the project’s 51 affordable units in 2026, two years later than its original estimate. But even that date will depend on a host of factors, some outside of the trust’s control.
“They said it would be years at the beginning, and they were right,” said Ken Levin, president of the Point Reyes Station Village Association, which heard an update from CLAM at its monthly meeting in April. Mr. Levin said he understood the importance of the planning process, adding: “They don’t want to have people moving into shoddy, low-quality housing.”
CLAM plans to submit a planning application to the county in July, after which the project will be in the county’s hands for at least a year. In the meantime, CLAM and its partner Eden Housing have their work cut out for them: redesigning the development’s sloping sidewalks and narrow staircases for accessibility, outfitting the old propane-fueled kitchens with electric appliances powered by rooftop solar panels, and developing an onsite wastewater recycling system.
In a newsletter this month, CLAM deputy director Stacey Laumann explained that “the devil is in the details” of planning and design. “At first glance, the Coast Guard neighborhood looks like it’s ready for use,” Ms. Laumann wrote. “But as we take a closer look, we see that almost every aspect requires upgrades.”
The first order of business, seeking the town’s ideas for a new name, is underway. Mr. Levin suggested “Coastal Gardens,” echoing the site’s Coast Guard history. The housing complex was built in 1972, providing 36 two-story townhouses for Coast Guard employees and their families and a dormitory for more than 40 enlisted ranks. At its peak, the facility housed about 185 people, most of whom worked at the Communication Area Master Station Pacific, which operated a receiver near Abbotts Lagoon that was decommissioned in 2015. In 2019, the county purchased the site after local advocates successfully lobbied for federal legislation to set it aside for affordable housing. CLAM and Eden Housing won the bid to develop it the following year.
For years, the federal government hauled wastewater from the housing units to the Coast Guard training center in Two Rock, and it pushed for Point Reyes Station to build a sewer system that would do away with the trucking expense. The town rejected the option twice in the 1980s and 1990s, with many fearing a sewer would open the door to rampant development. No sewer proposal is on the table for the CLAM development. Instead, the trust hired Sherwood Design Engineers to create a self-contained system that will treat wastewater from the 51 units and use it to irrigate fields around the property. Ms. Laumann said more details of the system will be available in the coming months.
None of the 36 townhomes comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Ms. Laumann said, and CLAM plans to make four fully accessible, along with the dormitory, which will become 15 one-bedroom units. These improvements will include accessible parking spaces, wheelchair-friendly sidewalks, wider doorways and new stairwells with handrails. A former maintenance building on the property will become a common space with a new community room, kitchen and library, all suggested at community meetings last summer.
Other planned upgrades include a stormwater drainage system for the parking lot, with retention basins that minimize harmful impacts to Lagunitas Creek. Better insulation will wrap the drafty houses and a solar panel arrangement will maximize the relatively small roof space. “We’re trying to have a highly sustainable project and our goal is to be net zero energy,” Ms. Laumann said. “Given the existing rooftops, it’s going to be potentially difficult.”
After the county reviews CLAM’s planning application, it will hold public hearings and ultimately grant a coastal permit and use permit to the project with a completed environmental review, likely in summer 2023. But before CLAM and Eden can begin construction in 2025, they’ll need more funding. The design funds have come from the Marin Community Foundation, the county, individual donations and Eden itself, which manages more than 10,000 units from San Diego to Healdsburg. But the affordable housing construction will be financed by a patchwork of federal low-income housing tax credits, state and county funds, and Section 8 subsidies, Ms. Laumann said. Those funds aren’t available until the environmental review is complete and the county grants the project full approval.
CLAM’s update came as the county searches for opportunities to rezone properties across unincorporated Marin to meet state housing goals and the urgent need for local homes. Most development opportunities divide West Marin, but the community has high hopes for the Coast Guard project. Mr. Levin said that unlike many of the sites on the county’s housing list, the project fits Point Reyes Station. “Maybe it could ease the pressure to put housing where it’s not appropriate,” he added.