A long-awaited affordable housing development in the center of Bolinas is set to break ground in October after the Marin County Planning Commission unanimously rejected an appeal this week that sought to waylay the project. On Monday, commissioners approved a condominium map for 31 Wharf Road, a project of the Bolinas Community Land Trust and Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco. The action allows the condos to be sold as individual units, enabling eight families to purchase permanently affordable homes rather than rent them. Commissioner Leila Monroe recused herself from the vote because she co-owns Smiley’s Saloon next door to the property. The plan calls for four three-bedroom townhomes, four two-bedroom townhomes and two ground-floor commercial spaces, one of which will be used as an office for the land trust. “I understand that change is disturbing, but this does not seem out of keeping with what’s found on that street there in Bolinas,” Commissioner Peggy Curran said. The appeal was brought by James Meyer, a Petaluma resident who grew up in Bolinas and argued the building’s scale, roofline and setbacks would erode the historic character of downtown and that the subdivision should trigger environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act. County staff countered that design and scale issues were resolved in 2021, when the commission first approved the building. A neighbor appealed the project at the time, but the Board of Supervisors denied it, and the California Coastal Commission declined to intervene. Rachel Reid, the county’s environmental planning manager, noted that downtown Bolinas has never been evaluated for listing as a historic district, though the project was reviewed under the Local Coastal Program’s historic checklist. “We’re kind of talking apples and oranges,” she said, adding that subdividing a parcel “does not constitute a substantial adverse change” to a historical resource. The county has awarded $3.5 million to the project, about a quarter of its total estimated cost. After six years of planning and permitting, developers say construction is ready to begin within weeks. Maureen Sedonaen, chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco, said the homes will carry zero-percent mortgages capped at 30 percent of income. Eligible buyers must earn between 50 and 80 percent of Marin’s median income, or roughly $87,000 to $140,000 for a family of four. She accused the appellant of spreading misinformation to stall the project. “We ask the planning commission to see through these well-established NIMBY tactics,” she said. “As everyone in this room knows, we are in the middle of a housing crisis. Habitat’s mission is to work to address that crisis.” Mr. Meyer may still appeal to the Board of Supervisors. “I think it’s safe to say we are all for housing—it is a real and immediate need, it’s easy to rally behind,” he told commissioners. “But it is also easy to put blinders on and forge ahead without looking where we are truly going. A rich history preserved by slow growth is the Bolinas vibe.”