Marin County is proposing updated standards for street and infrastructure design in new housing developments, prompted by a surge in housing proposals and state requirements for clearer approval processes.
The Marin County Board of Supervisors on August 25 received a staff presentation on proposed updates to the county's Offsite Objective Design and Development Standards. The standards establish requirements for street and infrastructure improvements associated with new development. The proposal followed the county's adoption of its 2023-2031 Housing Element, which has led to a significant increase in housing development proposals.
The update was driven in part by changes in state housing laws that require local governments to use clear, objective standards when reviewing housing projects.
The first phase of the proposal focuses on street design standards for development in city-centered and baylands corridors on the county's eastern side, where most housing opportunity sites are located. The proposed standards establish objective requirements for street classifications and features, including travel-lane widths, sidewalks, on-street parking, planting strips, bicycle facilities, and public frontages.
For new collector and arterial streets, the standards generally include a Class I shared-use pathway for bicycles and pedestrians, separated from vehicle traffic, on one side of the street and a pedestrian sidewalk on the opposite side. Slower-speed residential and main streets would use Class III bicycle facilities, where bicyclists share the travel lane.
The standards also identify minimum requirements intended to avoid specific adverse health and safety impacts, including minimum sidewalk widths, landscape buffers, and bicycle facilities on collector and arterial streets.
During the workshop, supervisors expressed support for allowing flexible street standards where roads will remain privately maintained. Board members also emphasized the importance of creating safer conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists and coordinating with transit providers and utility districts.
Later phases of the update are expected to address rural roadway design, intersections, crosswalks, landscaping, utilities, lighting, stormwater conveyance, and grading. The standards are expected to return to the Board for a hearing and potential adoption after supervisors' feedback is incorporated.