Marin County Development Code Changes Available For Public Review

MARIN COUNTY, CA – Marin County planners are in the process of updating the county's development code.

Staff from the Marin County Community Development Agency is drafting amendments to the code to be presented to the Marin County Planning Commission at the Jan. 22 public hearing. The commission will later make recommendations to the Marin County Board of Supervisors, which will eventually pass the final document.

The county typically updates its development code every two to three years due to the changing needs of residents and the ever-changing state and federal mandates.

Most of the amendments are expected to relate to meeting state and federal mandates, establishing environmental safeguards, and addressing temporary activities such as educational tours and pop-up restaurants. Planners are also creating a new section related to disaster response and recovery.

"There are a lot of immediate needs that come up in the wake of a disaster, such as emergency response centers and temporary shelters," said Jeremy Tejirian, Marin County Community Development Agency's planning manager. "As it is now, our zoning restrictions do not have the flexibility they will need after a major disaster. We are proposing to build more flexibility into our code so that assistance can be offered without delay."

The Community Development Agency recently launched a new webpage with information about the proposed changes, including a preliminary public review draft of the amendments.

Public comments on the preliminary draft received through Jan. 4, 2019, will be reviewed. The draft will then be revised to create a Planning Commission review draft.

Public comments and involvement are welcome and encouraged throughout the process. Comments can be submitted through the webpage.

Bay City News Service and Kristina Houck/Patch contributed to this report.

Photo: Marin County Civic Center. Photo via County of Marin