Marin County officials are seeking methods to either build or maintain affordable housing in this very pricey neighborhood of the San Francisco Bay, according to nationalmortgagenews. At a workshop on housing in the Chambers of the Board of Supervisors, there were many proposals from the overflow citizenry, but the county planning staffers drew the most applause when they suggested, instead of building more housing, preserve the existing affordable housing.

As MHProNews understands. they suggested buying market-rate homes for rental to low-income residents, and enacting rent control programs in unincorporated areas that could preserve up to 4,000 multi-family units. While this could have an immediate impact on rents, several supervisors expressed caution about the response from the landlord community.

We do need to keep rents stable, “but the way in which that is done requires careful consideration,” Supervisor Steve Kinsey said. Board President Katie Rice, noting rent control is no silver bullet solution to the problem of affordable housing, says the idea deserves a closer look.

Brian Crawford, head of the Community Development Agency, and planner Alisa Stevenson, in addition to buying market rate homes for conversion to affordable housing, they suggested reviewing down payment assistance for workers who live near a Marin workplace. They also suggested a subsidy or other incentives to landlords who rent to low-income tenants. ##

(Photo credit: Dan Heller–view of San Francisco from Marin County)

Article submitted by Matthew J. Silver to Daily Business News-MHProNews.