Marin Environmental Housing Collaborative

MEHC is a partnership of affordable housing, environmental, and social justice advocates. MEHC works collaboratively to support policies and projects that advance affordable housing, environmental integrity, and social justice -- which are equally essential to a livable community.

Eighty-five percent of the land in Marin is preserved as open space, zoned for agriculture, or set aside in national and state parklands, and seven out of ten employees in Marin commute into the County for work. Innovative thinking must be done to address the pressing issue of affordable housing.

Affordable housing cannot be built in Marin without the strong support of the environmental community. In its founding, MEHC recognized that an organization comprised of environmentalist and affordable housing advocates who merely cooperated with each other was not sufficient. MEHC knew that to address the need for affordable housing, MEHC had to be based upon the principle of collaboration, in which each entity is committed to the other’s goals and values.

MEHC evolved out of a dialogue among a small group of housing and environmental activists over a six-month period in 2004-2005. By 2006 the group formally established itself as a “plenary,” meeting monthly with an agreed set of values and goals and modest funding.

In the fall of 2006, MEHC began working to influence the County’s General Plan. MEHC worked effectively with county staff on such matters as the housing overlay zone. MEHC hired its first paid Coordinator in February 2007. Also in 2007, MEHC began its practice of writing letters of support for polices and projects that support environmentally friendly affordable housing. Some highlights of our work –

• Housing at Northgate – we negotiated a development agreement between the City of San Rafael and the property owner in which the developer committed $20,000 to fund a traffic study that will evaluate the feasibility of affordable housing at Northgate Mall.
• Stand Up for Neighborly Novato – beginning in 2009, MEHC worked to build the Novato collaborative, supporting affordable housing as the city of Novato developed its General Plan. Stand Up for Neighborly Novato grew out of this effort.
• Square Table – in collaboration with the Marin Conservation League, the League of Women Voters, and the Sierra Club, we drafted a public policy document, Square Table 2009 that delineated the scope and limitations of where environmentally friendly affordable housing should be developed. These recommendations influenced the selection of sites in the County Housing Element.
• North San Rafael Station Area Plan – we worked with a group of neighbors and advocates in the process that resulted in the land use plan for the are around the Civic Center SMART station.
• Housing Planning -- MEHC sponsored a forum on the Housing Element, "Housing in Marin: Needs, Constraints, Opportunities," that was well received and attended by 130 people in May 2011. Co-sponsored by Marin Conservation League and the League of Women Voters, the forum provided basic information from public agency representatives, divergent perspectives from environmental and housing activists, and a lively Q & A session.
• Seminary Housing -- In 2011, MEHC focused on the proposal put forth by the Golden Gate Seminary for the redevelopment its property. MEHC met with key neighborhood leaders and County staff, became concerned with the lack of affordable housing in the project, and spoke against the proposal before the County Planning Commission, which ultimately rejected the proposal.
• Futures Forum -- In September 2012, MEHC sponsored a forum, "Choosing the Future We Want: Environmental, Equity & Climate Solutions for Marin,” in partnership with the Marin Conservation League, League of Women Voters, Sustainable San Rafael, Sustainable Marin and MarinTV/Ch.26. Well attended by 170 people, this forum presented various perspectives as Marin County prepares for SB 375, The Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008.
• Housing Elements – beginning in mid-2013, and running through May 2015, the county and the 11 cities and towns began work to update the housing elements of their respective General Plans. We rallied supporters and testified in favor of environmentally friendly affordable housing at hearings before the County Board of Supervisors and the city and town councils.

Today, we are building our organization. We have grown our Board from 6 to 14 members, recruiting from the environmental and social justice communities. Our new logo features an open door to convey our message of inclusiveness. Visit www.marinmehc.org.