Author: Jackson

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IJ: Dick Spotswood: Marin’s ‘Housing First’ model needs an element of ‘housing now’

Dick Spotswood: Marin’s ‘Housing First’ model needs an element of ‘housing now’

By DICK SPOTSWOOD | [email protected]

October 31, 2023 at 10:30 a.m.

In a departure from the ‘Housing First’ model, steps are underway to provide emergency housing for farmworkers in Bolinas. An imaginative approach and speedy action on the part of the nonprofit Bolinas Community Land Trust resulted in a first-rate temporary solution that is already up and running.

Housing First is a concept designed to move those who are unhoused or poorly housed to permanent supportive housing. It’s primarily designed for the homeless population suffering from the double diagnosis of psychiatric illness and substance abuse. That’s where the “supportive” component comes in.

Supportive housing is the ultimate and proper goal for homeless people dealing with mental health issues and/or addiction. It’s expensive, costing close to $1 million per unit. Building supportive housing is slow, as is any housing in California. That reality leaves most of Housing First’s targeted beneficiaries living in squalor on the streets or on fire-prone hillside camps.

Not all unhoused and poorly housed people require the full wraparound services associated with permanent supportive housing. Some simply have very low or no income. For multiple reasons, including bad life decisions or illnesses, they lack sufficient cash to rent a home in one of America’s most expensive regions.

For the most part, the people living in old trailers and recreational vehicles along Novato’s Binford Road fit into this category.

In Bolinas, the intended residents are hardworking Latino farmworkers and their families. For decades, they’ve lived in rudimentary cabins on the Tacherra Ranch on the Bolinas Mesa without proper water, sewage or electrical connections.

The Bolinas Community Land Trust saw the need. Wasting no time, it devised and implemented a solution. It’s a model for how to expedite the process and provide temporary housing for those in need. Their idea is to lease and place 27 recreational vehicle trailers on a 20-acre parcel located at 130 Mesa Road.

The concept honors the sign at Bolinas’ outskirts: “Entering a socially accomplished nature-loving town.” Coincidentally, it’s adjacent to another sign declaring, “Hometowns need homes.”

Last weekend, I drove out to the Bolinas Mesa. To my amazement, the RVs are all in place. Each has a water and electricity connection. A mound septic system is planned. Frequent trash pickups leave the site pristine with none of the debris that makes Binford Road an eyesore.

Given the interminable delays that government projects often experience, it is startling to see a nonprofit essentially complete a project of this magnitude in a matter of months.

The estimated $2.59 million needed to fund the temporary housing comes from the Marin Community Foundation, $622,000 from the County of Marin and the balance from private donations. More contributions are sought. This temporary solution is a quarter the cost of permanent housing.

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Call to Action – Post your Comments!

Editorial: Marin public must share opinions about Novato wetlands

There is no mention of the Rush Creek Wetlands in this editorial which is ~3.5 miles from Bell Marin Keys. Please demand the immediate restoration of the Rush Creek area!

Post your comments here –> https://bit.ly/3PDXnTc

Snipped from the IJ Editorial below:

The proposed addition of 2,000 acres of Novato wetlands to the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a sign of the North Bay’s success in restoring and protecting its baylands.

Marin’s congressman, Jared Huffman, has joined forces with Reps. John Garamendi and Mike Thompson in drafting legislation to add 7,000 acres to the refuge. The proposal would add the Hamilton and Bel Marin Keys wetlands to the federally protected wetlands.

They are currently seeking public comment via Garamendi’s website – bit.ly/3PDXnTc. A Dec. 12 deadline has been set for those comments.

The refuge, created in 1974, has grown to 19,000 acres, including much of the wetlands that border Highway 37.

The last time it was expanded was in 2011.

Its preservation is important to the health of San Pablo and San Francisco bays and to migrating birds for whom the area has historically been their winter stop.

Huffman says the Hamilton and Bel Marin Keys baylands are “the perfect candidate” to be added to the refuge.

Since its creation – the turning of the old Hamilton military airfield runway back into wetlands – the area has become a prime spot for local birders.

The Bel Marin Keys wetlands includes 1,610 acres owned and managed by the California Coastal Conservancy, which has been involved in restoration work there since 2019.

The Conservancy’s longstanding hope has been that management of Hamilton and Bel Marin Keys acreage could be turned over to the federal Fish and Wildlife Service.

In advancing the legislation, the congressmen and agency leaders need to be forthright in providing information regarding what changes the transfer and federal refuge designation might bring to current uses or to neighboring properties.

Providing for public comment on the legislation should also make possible ramifications clear upfront.

The overall goal is a sound one, one that Marin voters have backed with their tax dollars.

In 2016, Bay Area voters approved a $12-per-year parcel tax devoted to restoring and protecting baylands, improving public access and flood control work. Marin voters led the way, with a whopping 73.5% majority endorsing the measure.

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Important! FOIA Request

Toni Shroyer made a FOIA request on our behalf to determine where the money is being spent by the County to relocated the Binford rd encampment.

The exact request was:

“I am requesting via the FOIA, proof of all taxpayer funds (Federal, state and county) spent on Binford Rd since January 2023. This includes the recent state funds allocated specifically for Binford Road. Of said funds spent, I need them itemized with trailing documentation.”

The County provided 80 documents, some data had been redacted and we are making them available to you here.

The analysis shows that the majority of the money is being spent on trash pickup and hauling.

Much less than 10% is being spent on determining who is living there, if they are actually homeless or mentally ill, and getting them moved to a location that is not impacting the Wetlands.

Details of our analysis are here. Please draw your own conclusions & let us know if we missed anything.