Facts and Fiction - resist disinformation and get informed.

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Like all cities, counties, and towns in California, Fairfax is required by state law to plan for more housing to address the state's housing crisis. Every eight years, each jurisdiction is required to submit a document called a “Housing Element” to the State’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). All Marin jurisdictions are complying with state laws related to the Housing Element. In accordance, the town identified sites for the period of 2023-2031 across all income brackets. (62% of which fall between Very Low to Moderate Income).  

Prior to the submitting the Housing Element plan to the HCD (the State) Councilmember Hellman requested the town Appeal the RHNA allocation of 490 housing units Fairfax was required to plan housing for.  Fairfax's Appeal (and 9 other appeals from neighboring Marin towns) was denied by the State.  As a community member Blash voiced public support for the Appeal.

An unfortunate truth:  Over the past several years literally dozens of housing laws have been passed reducing local control. Under ministerial approval, a local government’s role is reduced to verifying that the proposed development complies with objective standards, such as zoning, design, and building codes. 

Why is Compliance with the State laws important to Blash and Hellman (and the Town)? 

A non-compliant Housing Element may bring severe consequences including:  

• Courts can fine jurisdictions up to $100,000 per month, and if unpaid, multiply that by a factor of 6;
• Subject the town or create vulnerability to litigation from housing rights’ organizations, developers, the State / HCD (Housing and Community Development);  
• The court may suspend the town’s authority to issue building permits or grant zoning changes, variances, or subdivision map approvals and;
• Courts may appoint an agent with all powers necessary to remedy identified  deficiencies and bring the jurisdiction’s housing element into substantial compliance with housing element law. 

As part of the Housing Element requirements, the Town was required to rezone various parcels, including allowing mixed-use development in some prior commercial-only areas. 

During the Housing Element process. Mr. Azazi, the owner of School Street Plaza communicated to the Town his desire and intent to develop his property, and that property has been rezoned to accommodate residential uses.

The town received an initial and incomplete pre-application in November 2024, indicating that the proposed development would be much larger than originally anticipated. Mill Street, the property owner's developer partner, proposed to develop 243 units on the site.  The final application is expected by June 2025.

What we know from the the pre-application proposal:      

• 6 stories: 2 for parking, 4 for residential, with some retail space.      
• 25% of units designated as affordable to low-income households.      
• A 50% density bonus under the State Density Bonus Law.      
• State Density Bonus Law (Government Code §65915) grants developers a density bonus if they include a percentage of affordable units. Additionally, SB 330 limits local government restrictions to expedite housing development.  

This project raises many questions, including questions about ministerial approval and CEQA compliance.  Blash, Hellman and the Town have formally requested a community input session.  

Blash and Hellman are shocked by the scope of the current proposal.  Multiple requests have been sent to Mill Street, the developer for a community input forum. We are committed to hearing community concerns and ideas about the design, size, safety implications, and more.  

The encampment behind the Pavilion has been a major concern for many residents for years. The Town Council formed a two-person subcommittee to explore policy approaches to this issue. The subcommittee was able to get additional services from the County for some encampment residents. However, because of a federal court ruling based on the 8th amendment, clearing the encampment was not legal or possible. During this time, the County provided services to encampment residents in coordination with the Town. 

The Supreme Court overturned the lower court ruling late June 2024. The subcommittee submitted a report recommending an anti-camping ordinance in October 2024.

In December 2024, the Fairfax Town Council voted 3-2 in favor of a  town-wide anti-camping ordinance.  When the ordinance came up for a vote, Vice Mayor Hellman voted "yes" and Mayor Blash voted “no”. Mayor Blash felt there was was another, more tailored, way to approach this issue and had become increasingly concerned that this move would result in costly litigation, which it has. Explaining her vote, Hellman stated: "While I do not view unsheltered individuals as criminals, the situation had deteriorated to an unacceptable state. Supporting this ordinance was the hardest vote of my five-year tenure, and it weighs heavily on me."

An encampment resident recently brought a case before the federal court, and the judge has prevented the Town from enforcement at least through April 2025. 

(Find out more: https://www.townoffairfax.org/fairfax-town-council-homelessness-subcommittee-report/)

Mayor Blash and Vice Mayor Hellman have encouraged financial transparency and are fully in support of the Town's annual independent audits. 

Despite statements to the contrary, Fairfax remains on solid financial footing. Like all organizations we will be watching what happens with the trade policy (tariffs), inflation, interest rates but again - 

Facts matter:

 ✅ Our independent financial audits consistently receive the highest ratings.

 ✅ Town reserves have ranged from 27–40% over the past five years.(Reserves are a percentage of taxpayer funds set aside in the budget for 'just in case' scenarios, ensuring financial stability in unexpected situations.)  

 ✅ Fairfax’s budget operates on a predictable cycle, with the majority of our revenue arriving in two primary tranches—June and December—when property tax payments are distributed. This means that while our expenses remain relatively consistent throughout the year, our cash flow fluctuates, creating periods where spending may appear to exceed revenue.  This is NOT deficit spending —it’s a normal and expected part of municipal budgeting. During months when revenues have not yet arrived, it may appear that there is a shortfall. However, once property tax revenues are received, the budget balances as planned. 

Our financial planning accounts for this cycle, ensuring the town remains on solid fiscal footing throughout the year. This is why mid-year financial reports and year-end audits provide the most accurate picture of our budget health, rather than looking at any single month in isolation. For more details, check out our Mid-Year Budget Report: https://storage.googleapis.com/proudcity/fairfaxca/2025/02/Item-1.-Midyear-Budget-Report.pdf

The deterioration of our roads occurred long before Vice Mayor Hellman was  elected in 2019 and before Mayor Blash  was first  elected in 2022. Addressing road repairs has been one of our top priorities. We directed staff to do extensive research into our budget and road conditions and hosted four public presentations from Pavement experts on proposed solutions.     

We learned through neighboring towns like Larkspur, which faced very similar circumstances, that it will require at least $20M to fix our roads. Our operating budget is well under <$15M and the roads become exponentially more expensive to fix every year they are left to deteriorate. The Council voted to put a Roads bond on the ballot.  Measure J would have raised $18 million for the road repair backlog. While a majority (62%) of residents voted for this measure, it did not hit the required 67% to pass. 

While we may be able to find some funding through budget cuts, we will NOT be able to find  the $20 million plus+ (the minimum amount needed per the pavement experts).  See Pavement Condition Index report: https://storage.googleapis.com/proudcity/fairfaxca/uploads/2023/02/Item-10-PTAP-23-and-Reso-agrment-re-paving.pdf
The report shows just how much money the extent of the deferred maintenance is. It's supporting the notion that the condition of the roads is not a matter of moving things around in the budget. Perhaps we should revist the bond?  Tell us your thoughts.

In the meantime, we are very proud of the Public Works Department -they do an incredible job work managing the day to day and responding to storms and keeping us safe AND  to the unexpected events including sinkhole(s), crumbling retaining walls, landslides, and more.

Citizen engagement has been a top priority for both Hellman and Blash. We have worked to make town council meetings more accessible, including refusing to discontinue the Zoom option even when other cities were abandoning it due to harassment issues. Everyone receives the same amount of time to speak, regardless of their political views, and every viewpoint is taken into consideration. 

Some community members have expressed that fear and intimidation prevents them from attending Fairfax town council meetings.  This was evidenced at March 5, 2025 meeting, where “regulars” indicated that people who had not previously attended meetings in person were unwelcome. In order to increase public participation in these meetings, we need to make them a safe space for all residents to express their ideas. 

Blash and Hellman want to hear from a broad audience of residents. This includes everyone regardless of your viewpoint. For too long  the loud and angry voices have dominated.   We hope you will find courage and show up to voice your point of view on any and all topics.

Don't believe the narrative that new electeds are being blocked.

• Mr. Ghiringhelli and Mr. Egger have been successful in putting items on the agenda—including a discussion of Charter Cities. 
• Mr. Egger has pulled items off of the consent calendar for discussion. 
• Egger, Hellman, and Ghiringhelli voted for the anti-camping ordinance. 
• Egger, Ghiringhelli, Hellman, and Coler voted to allow the dispensary to move to a new location on SFD, despite community protest. 
• All council members recently worked together to develop annual goals.
• All council members voted to appoint an interim town clerk and treasurer after both resigned early rather than go to a costly special election. There will be an election for clerk and treasurer at the regularly scheduled November 2026 election. 

Today’s cities and towns need to deliver services and follow regulations that were not even conceived of a few decades ago. Most local governments hire outside experts to help with their work. 

There are three main reasons cities and towns hire consultants 

1. to provide specialized skills, expertise, and equipment that our current staff do not have 
2. to supplement existing staff, who might not have enough time on top of their regular duties to finish special projects, and 
3. to get an objective second opinion from an outside source.

Examples:

• Fairfax, like every town and city in Marin, hired consultants to help develop the hundreds of pages of our Housing Element, which required detailed research and analysis to meet the requirements of the State of California. Some larger cities have more in-house planning staff to work on this, bringing the consulting cost down because more of the cost is reflected in staff time.
• Fairfax hires an independent auditing firm to provide an objective, outside assessment of our financial processes and budget.
• Fairfax hires a consulting firm which conducts research on pavement conditions and helped develop our 5-year pavement plan. Fairfax also hires contractors to conduct major road repair (while regular maintenance is completed by town staff).

Fairfax has a very small staff of  32 people— and 21 of these work in the police department.

A town with such a small staff cannot realistically handle all the necessary work each year. Creating a permanent, benefited position with a pension for a role only needed every few years is impractical. Effective management includes knowing when to bring in consultants to meet specific needs efficiently.