One of West Marin’s few remaining trailer parks will continue to provide affordable housing in the San Geronimo Valley, unaltered by potential development.
After the owners placed the Forest Knolls Trailer Court on the market, county officials quickly stepped in to preserve the 20-unit park, a home to many seniors. On Tuesday, the board of supervisors capped off months of negotiations by unanimously voicing their approval of the 1.38-acre parcel’s purchase for $1,395,000. The money will be taken from a $10.9 million reserve account and is expected to be replenished with funds from an affordable housing trust fund—collected from fees market-rate developers pay in lieu of building affordable units or from impact fees property owners pay to construct or remodel single-family homes—within six months, a staff report said.
“This is a proverbial needle in the haystack chance to keep affordable housing,” Supervisor Steve Kinsey said. “It’s really important to keep a diverse community in Marin, and that’s what this opportunity provides.”
Most of the court’s spaces rent far below market rate, usually at $575 per month. Other trailer spaces in the county can run as high as $1,850 per month.
The county intends to turn management over to the San Geronimo Valley Affordable Housing Association, a nonprofit that operates senior housing up the road, by early December. Meanwhile the association hopes to review necessary infrastructure improvements and seek financing from the Marin Community Foundation.
The trailer park was bought from partners who had owned it for more than half a century. To sweeten the deal, the sellers also threw in some personal property: 12 fire extinguishers, 19 garden and tool sheds and electrical meters for each site, plus six spares.