Barry Miller prepared the City of San Rafael’s 2023–2031 (6th Cycle) Housing Element. Initiated in September 2021, the update responded to a Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) of 3,220 units—more than three times the City’s prior-cycle obligation—and new State mandates to affirmatively further fair housing. The effort coincided with City initiatives related to equity, climate resilience, and closing the wealth gap between local renters and homeowners.

The Housing Element establishes a strategy for substantially increasing housing production in a built-out city with little vacant land. More than 100 housing opportunity sites were identified, many of them non-vacant properties, supported by detailed feasibility analysis addressing site size, infrastructure capacity, market conditions, and redevelopment history. The Element demonstrates that San Rafael can accommodate its RHNA without amending its recently adopted General Plan Land Use Map, relying instead on targeted zoning, policy, and program changes. It also incorporates new City-developed programs addressing rental assistance, displacement, homelessness, and preservation of existing affordable housing.

Public engagement was a defining feature of the update and included a 13-member Housing Element Working Group, community workshops, focus groups, surveys, and targeted outreach to underrepresented communities. The Housing Element includes 45 implementation programs with clear timelines and measurable commitments.

San Rafael was the second of Marin County’s 11 cities to receive a State compliance determination, achieving that milestone in June 2023.