Ross adopts housing element for state analysis

The Ross Town Council has adopted its housing element for state review.

The unanimous vote was cast at a special council meeting on Wednesday.

The session, which concluded within 30 minutes, was the final step the council needed before shipping the housing plan to the Department of Housing and Community Development for certification.

“It’s been a long process,” Mayor Beach Kuhl said after the vote.

Under the state’s housing mandate, Ross must permit 111 new dwellings in the 2023-2031 planning cycle. The town has to accommodate 34 very-low-income households, 20 low-income households, 16 moderate-income households and 41 above-moderate-income households.

The town does not have to build the housing, but it must lay down the zoning and policy framework to reach its quota, known as the Regional Housing Needs Allocation.

With few vacant lots, Ross, one of the smaller municipalities in Marin, is relying heavily on the creation of in-law apartments, or accessory dwelling units, to meet the state housing mandate.

The town housing element proposes an average of 10 new ADUs a year. That would give the town 80 new residences toward its target over the course of the planning cycle.

The latest iteration of the plan was fine-tuned after a meeting earlier this month at which the Town Council agreed on a few changes. Most of the edits were in response to a letter from the state housing department asking for more detail on how the town aims to achieve the goals it outlined.

The council discussion resulted in removing the post office at 1 Ross Common from the list of potential housing sites. Six apartments were proposed for the site. Now, three apartments have been added to the planned civic center campus remodeling project, where officials had planned for six apartments already.

In addition to the civic campus, planners have identified seven other lots for potential development. The list includes Branson School at 39 Fernhill Ave., where 10 residences could be built.

After other adjustments, the plan shows a buildout capacity of 135 residences, which is five fewer than the earlier version.

“Overall the inventory maintains the capacity to meet the RHNA obligations at all income levels with a buffer,” said Andrew Hill, a consultant working on the project.

The council also certified an environmental impact report on the housing plan.

Hill said the housing element will remain viewable on the town’s website for seven business days before it is sent for state review.

Through the ongoing discussions with the state housing department, the state has “confirmed we are on the right path,” Hill said.