The Point Reyes Station Village Association is launching a campaign to rethink the county’s plans for affordable housing and ensure that new development does not strain the community’s infrastructure.

The Point Reyes Station 2050 Initiative will consider the impact of housing on the village’s energy resources, water supply, septic capacity and traffic, among other issues, said Steve Antonaros, an architect and the association’s president. 

“The idea is to take a larger-scale step back and see what is the carrying capacity of this area?” Mr. Antonaros told the Light. “At some point out here, there’s a physical limit.” 

In partnership with the Community Land Trust Association of West Marin, the association received a $7,000 seed grant from the West Marin Fund that it will use in part to boost its online presence and recruit new members. It intends to raise more funds for the project from its membership, which it emphasizes is not limited to homeowners. Renters and representatives of local businesses and nonprofits can also join.

According to the grant proposal, the association hopes to include more diverse voices and “lead a process that welcomes new changes to the village while laying out strategies for how to manage and address the long-range impacts of future development.”

Because the association does not have nonprofit status, it teamed up on the grant application with CLAM, which is dedicated to developing affordable housing.

“We want to encourage a range of voices in the development of any housing plan,” said Pam Dorr, CLAM’s executive director. “The community has an intuitive sense of what works and what doesn’t work. That’s especially important in rural communities in environmentally sensitive areas.”

West Marin’s housing prices are among the highest in the country, and many local workers are priced out of the market. 

“It’s the village association’s families who are being displaced,” Ms. Dorr said. “They recognize the importance of affordable housing and understand that we can’t have robust businesses if we don’t have employees living in the community.”

The association’s grant application underscores its desire to expand its membership to reflect all elements of the community. “Maintaining community character in our coastal village also means ensuring that the area is an affordable place to live which welcomes diverse cultures and people,” it states.

In February, the county approved a new Housing Element, its plan for meeting a state-mandated target of adding 3,596 new housing units by 2031. The units would only be constructed if the property owners wished to develop them.

“Did they contact any property owners and see if they’re interested? No, they didn’t really do any of that. It was all done from somebody’s computer, using maps,” Mr. Antonaros said.

A viable plan requires community input, he added.

The village association fears the county will impose multi-unit designs that don’t suit the village’s rural character. It wants to come up with its own designs and coordinate with county planners to ensure that they will align county zoning requirements.

Sarah Jones, director of the Marin County Community Development Agency, declined to comment on the Point Reyes Station 2050 Initiative, saying she had not seen the association’s grant proposal.

The association’s roughly 75 members will volunteer their expertise in planning, architecture and relevant areas, Mr. Antonaros said, but they will need to hire one or two consultants to update their website, conduct surveys, assist with graphic design and help recruit members.

The community needs to prepare for the impact of several potential large projects in town, Mr. Antonaros said, including the possible renovation of the Grandi building, the Green Barn and the former Coast Guard development, which CLAM is planning to convert to affordable units.

“As a gateway community to a National Seashore which sees up to 2.5 million visitors each year, responding thoughtfully to the possible negative impacts from uncoordinated new development is one of the greatest challenges facing this small community,” the association wrote in its grant proposal.

The village association meets tonight and every second Thursday of the month from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Dance Palace Church Space. For more information about the group and a link to the meeting agenda, visit www.pointreyesstation.org.