Fairfax

Centrally located on Broadway in Downtown Fairfax, this approximately 2-acre site is adjacent to Contratti Field and within easy walking distance of shops, restaurants, Fairfax Market, and transit services. The property owner has had pre-application consultations with Town staff regarding a high-density, mixed-income residential development with an affordability component. Through this program, the Town will: • Establish objective standards for workforce housing in high-density residential developments, including design criteria and affordability requirements. • Meet quarterly with the property owner to help advance site planning. • Work with the property owner to identify incentives (such as reduced common open space requirements in view of park adjacency and shared parking provisions) that can be offered to facilitate provision of affordable housing units onsite. • Ensure that the residents of the 13 existing live/work units onsite have first right of refusal on new units, including rental or sales price concessions, and/or receive relocation assistance, consistent with the requirements of State law.

175 new housing units by 2028, including 35 affordable units

Shopkeeper units are dwelling units that are physically separated from a commercial space used for a business operated by the occupant of the associated residential unit. The commercial spaces are typically ground-floor retail or office spaces below living spaces where commercial spaces can only be leased to occupants of the residential spaces. Amending the Zoning Code to allow shopkeeper units as a type of residential use will provide an opportunity for those who want to live in proximity to their place of work. The Town will amend the Zoning Code to allow shopkeeper units on designated streets in all commercial districts subject to objective standards, density/intensity limits, and parking requirements to ensure that the residents of units will not be subject to adverse impacts from surrounding non-residential uses and that the residential use will not interfere with commercial establishments on the same or surrounding properties.

Five shopkeeper units by 2031

Home-sharing and tenant matching programs pair existing homeowners with renters in need of space. Home Match Marin, based in San Rafael, runs a Home Sharing Program that matches Home Seekers and Home Providers and offers supportive services such as background checks, applicant interviews/screening, and facilitation of living together agreements. These programs make efficient use of existing housing stock and provide affordable rental rates without the need for new construction. Home sharing can be a particularly effective tool to support independent living for seniors and disabled residents while also increasing local housing opportunities for lower income earners who work in Marin County. Through this program, the Town will promote participation by Fairfax homeowners in the Home Match Marin Home Sharing Program by providing information via the website, Town newsletters, and public contact events, referring interested parties to Home Match Marin.

10 home sharing matches over the planning period

The Town will initiate a program to inform the public about benefits and incentives offered, with the objective of promoting the development of ADUs and JADUs in Fairfax. The program will include the following elements: • Townwide email blasts and newsletter articles advertising incentives and resources available to interested homeowners. • Pop-up presence at events around town to raise awareness and answer questions. • Community seminars providing advice and information to interested homeowners.

Outreach, including newsletters, pop-ups, and seminars, will be conducted quarterly following program inception with the aim of issuing 20 ADU/JADU construction permits annually over the planning period

The Town already offers homeowners interested in ADUs/JADUs an array of information and tools through ADU Marin, a partnership between ten Marin County jurisdictions formed to facilitate ADU/JADU construction. These tools include a step-by-step workbook and interactive website with sample floor plans, a calculator to estimate construction costs, and inspirational stories from Marin residents who have already built an ADU. The Town will complement these resources by establishing a program of technical assistance that could include: • An ADU/JADU application checklist. • Informational handouts on cost-saving building materials and construction techniques. • A list of licensed architects, landscape architects, civil engineers, and other design professionals with experience in Fairfax and Marin County. • Site assessment and referrals to categories of design professionals. • Consultation on applications and processing.

Construction of 20 new ADUs/JADUs in Fairfax annually over the planning period

ADU/JADU design and construction involves a significant up-front investment from the homeowner. The Town will create a program offering additional assistance to help homeowners willing to commit to making an ADU/JADU available to Moderate or Lower Income households identify and access funding and grants. Through this program, the Town will connect homeowners to grant opportunities, such as the California Housing Finance Agency ADU Grant Program which provides up to $40,000 towards pre-development and non-recurring closing costs associated with ADU/JADU construction. The Town will also identify local mortgage companies, credit unions, and other institutions that can offer low-interest loans and connect interested homeowners with those institutions. This program of additional assistance will be available to Fairfax homeowners who commit to making the units available to households with incomes less than 80 percent of the Marin County annual median through a recorded deed restriction for a minimum term of 55 years.

Creation of 32 new ADUs/JADUs for lower income households over the planning period

California Assembly Bill (AB 2011) of 2022 provides a streamlined ministerial approval pathway for multifamily projects on commercially zoned land that pay prevailing wages for construction work and meet specified affordable housing targets. The Town will adopt Zoning Code amendments in the form of a Workforce Housing Overlay District, to implement these provisions and provide an alternative to AB2011 as a means of promoting the construction of housing for teachers, restaurant and service workers, firefighters, police officers, and others employed in Fairfax and Marin County. The overlay will apply to properties shown on Map 3-5 in the CL, CH, and CC zones, providing property owners with the option to redevelop their land with housing or mixed use projects should they elect to do so. Two subzones are envisioned: one for high density workforce housing in the downtown area, and another for medium density workforce housing along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. The workforce housing overlay will: • Allow for mixed use development and 100 percent residential buildings on commercial properties within the overlay, with at least 50 percent of the floor area in a mixed use development required to be for residential uses; • Establish a “by right” maximum base density with a minimum percentage of affordable housing (40 units per acre in downtown and 20 dwelling units per acre along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard); • Permit additional density above the maximum base on larger sites that provide additional on-site amenities and designs with transitions to adjacent lower density uses; • Create a sliding scale that provides bonus density in exchange for a greater commitment to affordability; • Provide a ministerial approval process for developments in which at least 20 percent of the units are affordable to lower income households during the planning period, consistent with Government Code 65583.2 (h) and (i); and • Incorporate objective design and development standards to accommodate higher density development and ensure appropriate buffering of adjacent residential land uses. Additionally, as part of these zoning amendments, the Town will amend the base zoning for overlay sites to establish a minimum density of 20 dwelling units per acre when residential uses are proposed. Additionally, the Town will prepare a memo documenting procedures and steps in the application process for developments in the Workforce Housing Overlay, including that ministerial approvals are not subject to CEQA; that design review is done at the preliminary review stage; and that developments in which at least 20 percent of the units are affordable to lower income households shall be placed on consent at any public meeting for confirmation that the application complies with the applicable objective design standards. As a matter of policy, the Town is already implementing full by-right processing for projects in which at least 20 percent of the units are affordable to lower income households, consistent with Government Code 65583.2 (h) and (i). Such projects are subject only to the objective design and development standards established in the Workforce Housing Overlay, and will be placed on any public meeting.

159 moderate and lower income RHNA units by 2030

This program commits the Town to adopting objective design and development standards for multi-family residential or mixed-use development. Fairfax is one of 285 California communities subject to SB 35 streamlining provisions that offer an expedited approval process for residential and mixed use projects in urbanized areas proposing to provide at least 10 percent of their units as affordable housing. As such, this program also includes codifying the administrative review requirements for projects pursuant to SB 35, which requires ministerial approval for projects meeting adopted objective design and development standards.

Design and development standards that fully comply with the requirements of State law including the Housing Accountability Act.

California's Density Bonus Law (Government Code Section 65915) gives housing developments with below market rate housing the right to additional density, to waivers of local standards that preclude development, to incentives that reduce affordable housing costs, and to reduced parking requirements. Even though the law applies to any proposed residential projects that are eligible for density bonuses and other incentives or concessions regardless of whether a jurisdiction has codified the requirements, amending Title 17 of the Fairfax Town Code to include these regulations and specific provisions for City officials to administer them will help to ensure that applicants and Town officials are aware of these requirements. As part of this program, the Town will provide additional bonuses for projects that will help to achieve key housing objectives such as facilitating the development of workforce housing for individuals and families earning between 80 and 120 percent of the Areawide Median Income (AMI), which is not eligible for most of the existing government subsidies. This program also involves preparation of project checklists and public information materials to be available at the counter and on the Town website to help inform the public and potential developers of the new regulations.

Zoning consistent with State law

As is typical in communities throughout California, residential projects proposed in Fairfax require a combination of reviews that may include zoning compliance, conditional use permit, design review, and building permit plan checks. Some projects may also require approval or modification of a development plan, master plan, and subdivision map or parcel map. In 2012, in order to streamline planning reviews, the Town Council eliminated the separate Design Review Board and combined design review with the Planning Commission responsibilities. Nevertheless, the Town Code stipulates some additional review requirements that can contribute to the time and cost required to develop residential projects. These include the requirements for traffic impact permits (Chapter 17.056), ridgeline scenic corridor permits (Section 17.060), floodplain development permit (Chapter 17.068), and hill area residential development permit (Chapter 17.072). These requirements typically require applicants to hire special consultants and pay additional fees for review by staff or an outside consultant, which increase the time and cost of producing housing. This program involves amending the Zoning Code to establish requirements for Minor Use Permits approved by the Planning and Building Director, to identify the uses that could be approved with such permits, and to allow multi-family projects with up to four units to be developed by right subject to compliance with new objective development standards. The adoption of objective standards pursuant to Program 2-C will provide a basis for reducing the time and cost of processing residential projects establishing standards that include requirements applicable to projects now subject to these additional permits.

Facilitation of 78 moderate-income units and 235 above moderate income units during the planning period.