Binford Road Homeless Community Update

MARIN COUNTY — The Marin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday said they are moving closer to moving unhoused people living in a large, controversial encampment into permanent housing.

The encampment sits along Binford Road, a county-maintained road parallel to U.S. Highway 101 just north of Novato. It is bordered by a protected open space preserve. The parked recreational vehicle and other vehicle-flanked road stretches and turns for at least 2 miles, an area in which unhoused residents are currently calling home. The ragtag encampment has also become a lightning rod for national pundits critical of California's response to homelessness, as it sits in the state's wealthiest county.

Supervisors on Tuesday approved new initiatives to bolster supportive services for individuals in the encampment "with the goal of identifying safe, permanent housing destinations without relocating occupants in need to other jurisdictions," the county said.

Supervisors also moved to protect sensitive habitat near the encampment.

According to the county, the encampment began with about a dozen recreational vehicles during the COVID-19 pandemic and ballooned into a space accommodating 101 people and 132 vehicles as of Dec. 1. The county said many people living there cannot afford Marin County's high rents, have lost their housing or job, or have experienced unexpected medical expenses. Critics have described it as a makeshift "shabby" neighborhood for drug users, as the New York Post wrote in May.

The Board of Supervisors was updated on the situation in August with a three-year plan to clear the area. The county now says that in the last 100 days, progress has been made.

According to the county, 10 people have been moved into housing, with 19 more "on a pathway to housing" with the help of social workers. More than two-thirds of the Binford population has been connected to a coordinated entry system for more stable housing. Eighteen vehicles have been removed, and vacated roadside parking spaces have been fenced off to prevent new arrivals.

Health upgrades are being implemented, such as biweekly sanitary pumping services, portable restrooms and hand washing stations. A slower speed limit in the area will also go into effect on Dec. 28.

To address concerns from local businesses, the Board of Supervisors approved prohibiting parking along the west side of Binford Road to allow more parking turnover.

Effective immediately, a new pilot vehicle buyback program has begun for people who are transitioning from their vehicle to stable shelter. The program will provide $175 per linear foot for occupied vehicles if the owner can demonstrate that they are relocating to permanent housing.

This program will expire in June, however.

"The community and businesses along Binford Road have raised valid concerns," said Supervisor Eric Lucan in a statement released by the county. "I will continue to advocate for acceleration of transitional housing and supporting measures to protect the sensitive environment along the water."

Money for the Binford Road project over three years is coming from a state encampment resolution grant in the amount of $1.6 million, which the county has matched with $600,000 per year.

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