Marin Is Adding Density. Voters Should Understand How School Parcel Taxes Work.

Marin’s Housing Is Changing. School Tax Structure Has Not.

For most of Marin’s modern history, housing growth meant subdivisions. Land was divided into individual lots. Each lot became its own assessor’s parcel. Each parcel generated its own tax line. When school districts levied flat parcel taxes, the math worked cleanly. More homes meant more parcels. More parcels meant more revenue. Growth and school funding moved in the same direction.

That era has ended.

The housing Marin is building today looks very different from the neighborhoods that defined the county for decades. To meet its state-mandated housing targets, Marin must permit more than 3,200 additional homes. In Novato alone, nearly 1,000 units have been entitled in the last two years. San Rafael, Mill Valley, and unincorporated communities are advancing major multifamily projects.

The growth coming to Marin is not tract housing. It is apartments, stacked flats, townhomes, and mixed-use buildings, often dozens or even hundreds of units on a single assessor’s parcel.

At the same time, four Marin school districts have parcel tax measures on the ballot this June. In Novato, Measure G would add $249 per year to the existing $251 Measure A levy, bringing the total to $500 per parcel. Under that structure, a small condominium pays the same $500 as a single-family home. A 168‑unit apartment complex sitting on a single assessor’s parcel also pays $500. In effect, today’s model shifts the financial burden toward single-family homeowners while discounting large-scale developments that add hundreds of new residents. Most voters do not realize this is a design choice, not a legal requirement.

Two Legal Structures

California law allows school districts to structure parcel taxes in more than one way. The most common model is flat per parcel. Every taxable parcel pays the same dollar amount, regardless of the number of units or the size of the building.​

The alternative is a building-based model, where the tax is calculated per square foot of building space at a uniform rate. Every property owner pays the same rate per square foot. Larger buildings pay more in total because they contain more space. Smaller homes pay less.

In 2023, the California Court of Appeal upheld this approach in Traiman v. Alameda Unified School District, confirming that a uniform per‑square‑foot parcel tax complies with state law. Alameda’s Measure A, for example, set a rate of $0.265 per building square foot with a maximum per‑parcel cap, and the court held that structure met the “uniformity” requirement. The principle is simple: the same rate applied to the same type of property is permissible, even if total dollar amounts differ by size.

This is not theoretical. Marin agencies already use square‑foot‑based assessments for fire protection and emergency services. The assessor tracks building size. The billing infrastructure already exists.

Density Changes the Math

Under a flat parcel tax, the more units placed on a single parcel, the less each household effectively contributes. A 200‑unit apartment building on one parcel paying $251 works out to about $1.25 per unit. The family next door in a single‑family home pays the full $251.

A building-based tax changes that equation.

Using Novato Unified as an example, converting the existing $251 levy into a per‑square‑foot structure would equate to roughly $0.10 per square foot, assuming an average 2,400‑square‑foot home. The average homeowner would pay about the same as today. But large multifamily and commercial buildings would contribute in proportion to their size.

At approximately $0.12 per square foot, a building‑based structure could generate roughly $7 million to $8 million annually for the district, compared to about $4 million under the current flat model. That difference grows as density increases.

This Is Not Theoretical

Consider two projects currently moving forward.

In Novato, 250 Entrada Drive proposes 101 rental townhomes totaling more than 223,000 square feet on a single parcel. Under a flat parcel tax, the entire development would pay $251 per year. At $0.12 per square foot, it would contribute more than $26,000 annually.

In San Rafael, 555 Northgate Drive proposes 200 units totaling roughly 239,000 square feet, also on a single parcel. Under a flat tax, the parcel would contribute only a few hundred dollars per year. At $0.12 per square foot, it would pay more than $28,000.

Between those two projects alone, more than 300 new households would generate under $500 in combined flat parcel tax revenue. Under a building-based model, those same parcels would contribute more than $55,000 annually. The families living in those units will use school facilities and public services.

As Marin adds density, the gap between flat taxation and the fiscal reality of growth widens.

Why Has This Not Changed?

Flat parcel taxes have a long history. They are familiar. They poll predictably. They have been successful at the ballot box. When districts face a two‑thirds vote threshold and the stakes involve classroom funding, caution is understandable.​

A building-based model requires new financial modeling and voter education. But as housing patterns change, the old design produces new consequences.

The issue is not whether schools should be funded. They should be. Marin’s schools require stable and reliable revenue. The question is whether the structure of that revenue reflects the way Marin is growing.

What Voters Should Understand

First, state law permits per‑square‑foot parcel taxes, and courts have upheld them. Second, Marin agencies already administer square‑foot‑based assessments. The administrative system exists. Third, as housing shifts from single‑family parcels to multifamily density, the revenue and equity implications of tax design become larger every year.

Marin is not growing the way it did in 1975. Our school funding structures were built for that era. As we add density to meet state mandates, we should have an informed conversation about whether our revenue models reflect today’s housing reality. These structural questions do not stop at the school district boundary. They affect housing policy, infrastructure planning, and long‑term fiscal stability across the county.

Marin is growing. Its school funding structure should evolve thoughtfully with it.

Marc Hunter Lewis is a community policy advocate based in Novato