Live Local Marin

Yours truly is hosting a tour of affordable homes this coming Saturday, 6/16. We will meet residents and management staff from beautifully designed properties developed by EAH Housing and BRIDGE Housing. Oh, and there'll be free breakfast.

Contact Melody Lopez at (415) 491-4731 to RSVP!

Affordable housing tour this Saturday | Live Local Marin [caption id=attachment_133 align=alignright width=300 caption=Drake's Way][/caption] Join us this Saturday, June 16, for a tour of affordable

Thanks to everyone who braved the heat this weekend at the Fairfax Festival and stopped by our table. Enjoy your fashionable Live Local reusable produce bag!

Last month, Greenbelt Alliance released its signature research publication, At Risk: The Bay Area Greenbelt 2012.

Click below to read about what lands in Marin are at risk for development and why it's important to protect these lands.

Marin County - Greenbelt Alliance Marla Fields and her husband moved to their home in Novato thirteen years ago, and now have two children, ages 10 and 12. They live near the San Francisco Bay Trail with views to the west of Marin’s permanently protected ridgelines. “I love going for family bike rides, hiking Mount Burdell, and walk...

You would not believe how much more you pay to live in a denser, walkable neighborhood than in a suburban home! The reason is simple- demand for that type of housing is exploding, and we're not building more of it. We need to change that here in Marin, if ever so slightly:

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2012/05/why-you-pay-more-walkable-neighborhoods/2122/

Why We Pay More for Walkable Neighborhoods New data points to the economic power of walkable neighborhoods – and the high cost of living in them.

Wanna have some fun while helping out Live Local Marin? We need a few more tabling volunteers at this weekend's Fairfax EcoFest. Let us know if you can join us: [email protected]

Thank you Sustainable Marin for yesterday's phenomenal breakdown of regional planning and its inherent value:

http://www.marinij.com/opinion/ci_20763982/marin-voice-planning-future-we-can-live

Marin Voice: Planning for a future we can live in - Marin Independent Journal WE of Sustainable Marin were puzzled at Sharon Rushton

Smart growth is one of the rare issues that speaks to the values of both liberals and conservatives- after all, it's about efficiency of resources and better choices for all. Here's more about why conservatives should love smart growth:

http://www.baconsrebellion.com/articles/2012/05/smart_growth_conservatives.html

Smart Growth for Conservatives Why does leapfrog development occur? It is not the result of the "natural" workings of a free market. There are two driving forces. The first is the willingness of state and/or local local governments to subsidize the road improvements needed to serve them with public funds. A political economy has ...

A great look at how affordable housing & income inequality are connected: "People get to veto their neighbors’ land use decisions, and they’ve used that power to effectively prohibit anyone poorer than themselves from living in their neighborhoods. When combined with geographically-based schooling, the result is to concentrate poverty and thereby exacerbate and perpetuate inequality."

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timothylee/2012/05/22/how-strong-property-rights-promote-social-equality/

How Strong Property Rights Promote Social Equality - Forbes In today's poetic justice news, Star Wars creator George Lucas is planning to take revenge on his meddlesome Marin Valley neighbors. For years, he's been trying to get permission to build a new studio in Marin County. But his neighbors wouldn't budge, insisting that it was a place for homes, [...]

Marin has more protected open space than any other Bay Area county- exciting news! Now it's time become truly sustainable by being the county with the highest % of its workforce living locally!!!
http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_20675770/report-marins-greenbelts-well-protected

Report: Marin's greenbelts well protected - Marin Independent Journal Marin has the highest percentage of land protected from development in the Bay Area, and should focus future development near Highway 101 and transportation centers, according to a new report by Greenbelt Alliance, a San Francisco-based advocacy group.

Thank you to everyone who came out last night for the Live Local Awards Banquet!

We had a great time and it was truly inspiring to see so many people dedicated to affordable housing in the same room together.

The Live Local Awards Banquet is tonight!!! We recommend you arrive 15 minutes early to leave time for parking and signing in.

See you all at Jackson Café!

Live Local Awards Banquet - Greenbelt Alliance To celebrate Affordable HousingHousing that can be purchased or rented by a household with moderate, low, or very low income, based on a household's ability to make monthly payments necessary to obtain housing. Housing is considered affordable when a household pays less than 30 percent of its gross ...

Happy Affordable Housing Week! The Live Local Awards Banquet is just around the corner (Tuesday to be exact!) and we are excited to announce our award recipients.

See you all next week! Stand Up for Neighborly Novato EAH Housing League of Women Voters of Marin County

And the winners are… | Live Local Marin Announcing the recipients of the Live Local Awards: Organization of the Year Stand Up for Neighborly Novato Outstanding Local Developer Community Land