Homekey 2.0

Given the success of Project Homekey, in January 2021, Governor Newsom's proposed Fiscal Year 2021-22 budget included another $750 million in allocation for "Project Homekey 2.0".

At their regular meeting on April 27, 2021, the Novato City Council received a Homekey 2.0 presentation from Opening Doors Marin and the County of Marin regarding the potential second round of funding for Project Homekey.

View Staff Report
Homekey 2.0 Presentation

During weeks of April 12 & 19, Opening Doors Marin, in partnership with the County of Marin, hosted a series of ten community information sessions about the potential Homekey 2.0 program funded by the State. The goal of these sessions was to provide an overview of Homekey 1.0, describe what Homekey 2.0 might looks like and solicit community feedback about both the process and possible projects.

Watch Recordings of Homekey 2.0 Info Sessions

Marin County Health & Human Services has issued a Request for Information seeking property owners and operators who are interested in potentially selling a property to the County of Marin and/or its development partner.

Additional information about Homekey 2.0, including a list of Frequently Asked Questions is available at marincounty.org/homekey.

Project Homekey Background

Building on the success of Project Roomkey, Homekey is the next phase in the state's response to protecting Californians experiencing homelessness who are at high risk for serious illness and are impacted by COVID-19. In July 2020, the state launched this $750 million program with the aim of helping local public entities purchase and rehabilitate housing - including hotels, motels, vacant apartment buildings, and other properties - and convert them into permanent, long-term housing for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

By the end of 2020, the program had resulted in the acquisition of 94 projects, representing 6,029 units of permanent housing for individuals experiencing homelessness.

Project Homekey: Marin County

In 2020, the County of Marin applied for Project Homekey funding for three different sites in Marin - America's Best Value in Corte Madera (19 units), 3301 Kerner Boulevard in San Rafael (44 units), and Inn Marin in Novato (70 units). Of these three potential sites, Marin County received approximately $8.6 million to aid the purchase of 60 new units of permanent supportive housing in San Rafael and Corte Madera.

Novato's Inn Marin

On Tuesday, November 10, 2020, the County permanently withdrew its attempt to purchase Inn Marin, and advised that, in light of not being able to reach an agreement with the seller on price, the Board directed the County's negotiators to no longer pursue the property. The Board President further directed the Clerk to cancel the public hearing on the proposed purchase previously scheduled for November 17, 2020, and to cancel any remaining publication of notices for the November 17 hearing on this matter. Marin County Board of Supervisors November 10, 2020 meeting minutes.

On October 27, 2020 the Novato City Council received a presentation from Marin County staff regarding their intent to purchase Inn Marin located at 250 Entrada Drive, Novato (APN: 160-161-21) to potentially house local unsheltered residents through the State of California's Homekey Program. While the County's application process did not include the City's vetting of this project, and the Novato City Council did not have the authority to vet it through the City's normal land use process, the purpose of this presentation was to inform the community and Council about this project and allow an opportunity for the community to share input to County staff. Council received over 300 written and verbal comments from community members on this proposed County project, as well as provided their own individual comments to County staff.

Please see the Marin County Project Homekey website for additional information.

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