County supervisors want to prioritize second units, voluntary rent guidelines, landlord incentives and acquiring housing to address the affordable housing crisis, but are wary of pursuing an ordinance to require just cause to evict renters, they said last Tuesday after a three-hour hearing on affordable housing. The hearing was intended to establish next steps after three public workshops were held in October, November and December. Staffers with the Community Development Agency assembled a report for the gathering that included a host of possible measures the county could take in three phases. They proposed streamlining junior second unit applications and seeking out properties to acquire and turn into affordable housing in the next six to eight months; creating landlord incentives, voluntary rent increase guidelines, a just-cause eviction ordinance and income protection for those who get Section 8 vouchers in the next eight to 12 months; and, in the next year to year and a half, easing permitting for second units, renewing a second unit amnesty program and regulating short-term rentals, among other possible programs. But the recommendation for a just-cause ordinance drew many landlords to the hearing last week; they argued that state law already prohibits retaliatory evictions and that it could become too hard to evict bad renters. Supervisors said they felt it would be better to focus staff time on fast-tracking second-unit issues than to tackle a controversial ordinance. Near the end of the hearing, Supervisor Damon Connolly said he was once again struck by the numerous people who showed up from West Marin to explain how short-term vacation rentals are gutting the community of housing. He proposed holding a meeting soon in West Marin to dig more deeply into the issue. Supervisor Steve Kinsey concurred. “West Marin likes action, not talk,” he said.