Dick Spotswood: We need more ways to fund needed housing in Marin

Mill Valley Councilmember Stephen Burke and I were brainstorming the difficulty of building workforce housing in Marin. We acknowledged the question was not whether it needed to be built. The stumbling blocks are financing and identifying appropriate locations.

Financing is foundational. While the private sector can erect townhouses and apartments efficiently, “affordable” projects will always require a subsidy so that developments pencil out. Finding a source of that money is elusive.