San Rafael Mayor Kate Colin and Assemblymember Damon Connolly will discuss state housing policy with residents during a public Zoom forum Oct. 14.

The Point San Pedro Road Coalition and the Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods are co-hosting the 6:30 p.m. virtual meeting, according to a save-the-date notice posted by the coalition on Sept. 13. The forum's central question: how can California cities and counties band together to reform state housing mandates while still growing affordable housing stock?

After the policy discussion, Colin is scheduled to give residents an update tied to the April listening session she held at the Falkirk Cultural Center.

That April 22 session at Falkirk drew more than 60 people, according to a Federation of San Rafael Neighborhoods newsletter from June. Attendees raised concerns about the effects of tall buildings on health and wildlife, unsafe paths and streets, the need for a historic preservation commission, working-class housing and a proposed Gold Hill area development. The newsletter said organizers expected "to circle back to the Mayor this fall for updates on these issues."

The Oct. 14 forum comes as Marin County lags behind its state-mandated housing targets. The county's current eight-year Housing Element cycle, which began Jan. 31, 2023, requires local jurisdictions to permit a combined 14,404 new units. Marin had not reached 10 percent of that goal as of April, according to the housing advocacy group Call Marin Home. San Rafael and Novato were the only Marin cities that had approved housing on a meaningful scale, the group reported.

The gap is wide.

San Rafael's City Council has held two special housing study sessions so far in 2026, on Feb. 2 and June 4, reviewing potential changes to the city's housing policies and development review procedures.

Connolly, a Democrat who represents San Rafael in the state Assembly, formerly served on both the San Rafael City Council and the Marin County Board of Supervisors. In a Sept. 9 Marin County press release announcing $27 million in tax credits for the Tamalko Homes affordable housing project in West Marin, Connolly called the project "an example of what private and public partnerships can accomplish for our communities."

No Zoom link or registration page for the Oct. 14 meeting had been posted as of Sept. 14. Residents can check sprcoalition.org for updates.