1.1 Introduction

Located in Marin County approximately ten miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, the City of Belvedere has a unique physical setting. Surrounded by water in nearly every direction, it is flanked by Richardson Bay to the west and north, Belvedere Cove and Raccoon Straits to the south, and the Town of Tiburon to the east. The city has a total area of 2.42 square miles, containing 0.54 square miles of land and 1.89 square miles of water. (Source: City of Belvedere)

In addition to being surrounded by water, Belvedere has an interior lagoon and two land “bridges” which connect the largest portion of the city to the rest of the Tiburon Peninsula. Belvedere is, in fact, three distinct neighborhoods. The first neighborhood is Belvedere Island, which has the largest land area and is most varied in terms of topography and landforms. Belvedere Lagoon forms the second, flatter portion of the city which surrounds the interior waterway. The third neighborhood is formed on Corinthian Island, which shares a border with the Town of Tiburon to the east. Smaller, distinct neighborhoods are associated with streets and blocks, such as San Rafael Avenue and West Shore Road.

Because of these distinctive neighborhoods and geographic considerations, Belvedere faces unique challenges when it comes to planning for the future of the community while respecting and protecting its existing fabric.

Housing affordability in Marin County and in the Bay Area as a whole has become an increasingly important issue. Belvedere’s housing conditions are reflective of many area-wide and even nation-wide trends. Over the past several decades, housing costs have skyrocketed out of proportion to many people’s ability to pay, with increasing construction and land costs contributing to the rise in housing prices, and in the Bay Area in particular, he high demand for housing pushing prices even higher. As Belvedere looks towards the future, increasing the range and diversity of housing options is an integral component to its long-term success.

This 2023-2031 Housing Element represents the City of Belvedere's intent to plan for the housing needs of the Belvedere community while also meeting the State's housing goals as set forth in Article 10.6 of the California Government Code. The California State Legislature has identified the attainment of a decent home and a suitable living environment for every Californian as the State's major housing goal. The Belvedere Housing Element represents a sincere and creative effort to meet local and regional housing needs within the constraints of a fully established built-out community, limited land availability, and extraordinarily high costs of land and housing.

Pursuant to State law, the Housing Element must be updated periodically according to statutory deadlines. This 6th Cycle Housing Element covers the planning period 2023 through 2031 and replaces the City's 5th Cycle Housing Element that covered the period 2015 through 2023.

Per State Housing Element law, the document must be periodically updated to:

• Outline the community’s housing production objectives consistent with State and regional growth projections;
• Describe goals, policies and implementation strategies to achieve local housing objectives;
• Examine the local need for housing with a focus on special needs populations;
• Identify adequate sites for the production of housing serving various income levels;
• Analyze potential constraints to new housing production;
• Evaluate the Housing Element for consistency with other General Plan elements; and
• Evaluate Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing.