The displacement of low-income Marin residents is a “pressing reality that threatens the fabric of the community,” according to a new report commissioned by county supervisors.
“Particularly concerning are the racial and economic disparities evident in the data,” the report said. “Communities of color, especially Black and Latinx households, are disproportionately affected by these displacement pressures, facing higher rates of housing instability and economic vulnerability.”
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The Board of Supervisors allocated $200,000 last year to pay the Community Planning Collaborative, a Berkeley-based firm that specializes in housing policy, to produce the 117-page document.
The county’s Community Development Agency and Community Action Marin, a San Rafael nonprofit organization, are communicating the report’s findings to the public with a series of public meetings. The first of four sessions was held on Thursday in Point Reyes Station.
“The ‘Rooted in Marin’ report is a starting point and a call to action,” said Jillian Zeiger, a county planner. “The report presents data and a menu of options for reconciling displacement.”
The county and most cities and towns in Marin included anti-displacement programs and policies in their housing elements in response to a state-mandated requirement to affirmatively further fair housing. During the Obama administration, the federal government issued a rule that to “affirmatively further fair housing,” jurisdictions receiving federal grants had to take active steps to integrate communities. This rule was later incorporated into state law.
The report states that between 2017 and 2023, Marin County lost 6,548 residents. During a county budget workshop in February, however, budget director Josh Swedberg presented more current numbers. Citing data from the state’s Department of Finance, Swedberg said Marin’s population declined 0.8% to 252,844 between 2019 and 2024 and is projected to lose 10,893 more residents by 2028.
According to the new displacement report, Marin households earning less than $75,000 a year have been “disparately impacted with a net migration rate of 33.5 per 1,000 households” in 2023. The report adds that “46% of the county qualifies as low-income, with Black and Latinx households representing higher proportions of low-income residents relative to their population size.”
Given those facts, one might assume that African Americans and Latinos are being displaced from the county at higher rates than White residents, but the report says no. The total share of the county’s White population decreased by 6% between 2017 and 2023, while Latino residents’ share increased by 4%, and Black residents’ share remained constant at 2%. During the budget workshop, Swedberg reported similar numbers.
“We are becoming a more diverse community,” Swedberg said.
The displacement report cites U.S. Census Bureau and 2023 American Community Survey data as evidence that the county has a top-heavy count of older adults and a significant deficit of working-age, younger adults and families, particularly between ages 25 and 44. It states that this leads to workforce shortages that require 64% of workers to commute from outside the county and declining school enrollments.
In addition to data, the report provides a detailed look at various anti-displacement policies that could provide protections to Marin renters. Many of the policies are already contained in Marin County’s housing element, including rent control; just cause for eviction; relocation assistance for no-fault eviction; right to return for tenants evicted because of renovations; and right to purchase when tenants are evicted for a condominium conversion.
“The next steps for the process are to present the Rooted in Marin report at city councils and the Board of Supervisors,” Zeiger said, “then cities, towns and the county may contemplate ordinances aimed at addressing displacement.”
The report did not receive positive reviews from representatives of county property owners.
Michael Sexton, director of Marin Residents, a nonprofit composed of homeowners, housing providers and renters, wrote in an email that “Rooted in Marin is an organization created to help bring in extra rent control and other restrictive, costly measures in order to address housing in Marin.”
Sexton said many of the people who served on the Rooted in Marin advisory committee advocated for rent control measures that Marin voters rejected in the Nov. 5 election. Four measures on the November ballot would have imposed or strengthened rent-control laws in Larkspur, Fairfax and San Anselmo. All four failed to garner the support needed to pass.
“It is unfortunate that this biased ‘report’ was created,” Sexton wrote. “It does not address the basic economic argument that excessive rent control measures decrease housing options and help drive up rents.”
Joby Tapia, president of the Marin Rental Property Association, said, “County government is pushing this stuff forward that has been roundly rejected by the voters. Rent control is a terrible Band-Aid that does nothing to address the root cause of displacement, which is the lack of housing.”
“Once again they’re attempting to demonize the housing providers as being greedy,” Tapia said. “The vast majority of mom-and pop housing providers are struggling to keep properties rolling because of the taxes and increased expenses.”
Housing supporters view the report differently.
“The policy-level recommendations and feedback from the focus groups look spot on to me,” wrote Mark Shotwell, chief executive officer of Ritter Center, a San Rafael nonprofit that provides services to homeless people. “Focusing on the key areas identified are essential to improve housing outcomes and reduce/end homelessness in Marin County.”
Jennifer Silva, chair of the Marin Environmental Housing Collaborative, wrote in an email, “Many issues that concern Marinites, including recruiting workforce and teachers, financial challenges for school districts and traffic on 101 all tie back to the workforce displacement that is in process. We need a community-based approach, and the county’s partnership with Community Action Marin is critical to reaching as many people as possible.
Curt Ries, co-chair of the Marin County chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and a member of the Rooted in Marin advisory committee, said, “The report is going to provide really useful local data for policymakers and the public to consider when addressing the housing issue in Marin.”
“We have to do something about this affordability crisis,” Ries said. “Otherwise, Marin is going to turn into a hyperaffluent, exclusive retirement community.”