Novato housing plan gets key support

City, county panels clear path for 126-residence development

A proposal for 126 residences on a 38-acre parcel in northern Novato has gained critical support from city and county planning commissioners.

The Novato Planning Commission

adopted a resolution Monday recommending that the City Council approve the environmental analysis of the Valley Oaks project required by the California Environmental Quality Act. The commission also recommended the council approve a general plan amendment, a master plan amendment, a precise development plan and the design.

The project plan includes 20 condominiums on the southwest portion of the property, which is constrained by mixed oak woodland hills and steep slopes. Another 61 attached and detached homes would be located on a portion of the property farther to the north.

“Twenty percent of the units will be affordable to low- and moderate-income families,” said the developer, Michael Hooper, owner of Campus Property Group.

Hooper said 16 affordable dwellings would be distributed evenly among the condos and detached homes. Novato's affordable housing ordinance mandates that at least 20% of the residences be designated as affordable and be deed-restricted at certain affordability limits. Low-income households earn about 65% of the median income for Marin County, and moderate-income households earn about 90%.

The proposal was listed as a pipeline project in the housing element that Novato recently got approved by the state. According to the housing element, 64 of the residences will be priced for above-moderate-income households.

Forty-nine of the single-family homes would include junior accessory dwelling units.

“Those JADUs won't be deedrestricted, but they will be more or less affordable to very-low or