HomeMy WebLinkAboutCM Canal Policy Working Group____________________________________________________________________________________
FOR CITY CLERK ONLY
Council Meeting: 11/02/2020
Disposition: Resolution 14867
Agenda Item No: 5.a
Meeting Date: November 2, 2020
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
Department: City Manager
Prepared by: Cristine Alilovich,
Assistant City Manager
City Manager Approval: ______________
TOPIC: CANAL POLICY WORKING GROUP
SUBJECT: RESOLUTION TO PURSUE BOLD, COLLABORATIVE SOLUTIONS THAT PLACE
EQUITY AT THE FOREFRONT OF OUR EFFORTS TO ADDRESS THE
DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACTS THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IS HAVING ON OUR
MOST MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES, LOCAL BUSINESSES AND PROPERTY
OWNERS
RECOMMENDATION:
Adopt a resolution to pursue bold, collaborative solutions that place equity at the forefront of our efforts
to address the disproportionate impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on our most marginalized
communities, local businesses, and property owners.
BACKGROUND:
On August 14, 2020, a coalition of organizations led by the Canal Alliance, Community Action Marin, and
Legal Aid of Marin and representing community, health, education, and business sectors sent a letter
(Attachment 2) to the elected officials of the City of San Rafael and the County of Marin that highlighted
the disproportionate impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the low-income Latinx community
in San Rafael and across the County, and urged officials to take swift action to address this crisis. The
letter emphasized that, from the state to national level, studies have identified the inequitable impacts of
COVID-19 and its effect on critical issues such as housing, employment, debt, economic stability and
food security.
The coalition stressed that many of those who have been most disproportionately impacted by COVID-
19 are essential workers and that the recovery and long-term resilience of these communities are
inextricably connected to the recovery and resilience of the local business sector, the non-profit sector
and the public sector. Only by also emphasizing local business recovery can we viably stabilize our
region. Furthermore, building the capacity of communities across the County to recover from the
pandemic is also an opportunity to build capacity for the next community emergency, whether an
earthquake, fire, flooding, or a new pandemic. The coalition invited the City and County to work
collaboratively with staff and leaders to address these urgent challenges and to work swiftly towards a
path to recovery that puts equity front and center.
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 2
On August 17, City and County elected officials and staff from both jurisdictions met with representatives
from the coalition to discuss opportunities for rapid, collaborative action. Following this meeting, members
of the coalition developed a set of specific recommendations for elected officials (Attachment 3) in the
policy areas of health, housing and supporting the recovery of local businesses. In addition, they also
recommended the creation of a Policy Task Force/Working Group.
On September 18, the Canal Policy Working Group (CPWG) convened for the first time. The CPWG
includes Vice Mayor Kate Colin, Cristine Alilovich, and Catherine Quffa, City of San Rafael; Supervisor
Dennis Rodoni, Lorenzo Cordova, and Angela Nicholson, County of Marin; Omar Carrera and Ricardo
Huerta Niño, Canal Alliance; Chandra Alexander, Community Action Marin; and Steffanie Haffner, Legal
Aid of Marin. Since then, the CPWG is meeting on a weekly basis to further explore the health, housing
and local business policy initiatives. In addition, staff from all the agencies represented on the CPWG,
are working together collaboratively toward researching, analyzing and developing specific actionable
solutions for consideration by the County Board of Supervisors and the City of San Rafael City Council
in the near future.
ANALYSIS:
The CPWG’s initial focus is to prioritize the coalition’s recommendations and to identify what could be
done quickly, while working in parallel on more long-term solutions. The CPWG wants to ensure that our
efforts build upon, rather than duplicate, existing initiatives. Additionally, the CWPG is also focusing on
policy solutions that would provide broad and long-lasting benefits to those most disproportionately
impacted by COVID-19. On October 26, the coalition sent a follow up letter (Attachment 4) that
summarizes recent activities and progress to date.
The CPWG members expressed the urgency of having both the City and County leadership swiftly and
formally articulate their support and commitment to these efforts. To that end, the CWPG members co-
created the attached Resolution (English and Spanish versions found in Attachment 1) for consideration
by both the San Rafael City Council and the Marin County Board of Supervisors.
This resolution represents the commitment to address this crisis with urgency, however, recognizes that
any policy-level changes would take some time to properly develop, vet, and move through the
approval process.
The Resolution recognizes that the history and contemporary manifestations of racial injustice have
resulted in deeply unequal access to quality housing, employment, healthcare, education, resources, and
opportunities, resulting in pockets of communities woefully susceptible to the deepest impacts of this
unprecedented pandemic and economic crisis. As a result, the COVID-19 pandemic is having a
disproportionate impact on our historically marginalized and under-resourced communities of color, who
are least able to overcome the deep challenges. Further, it recognizes that the recovery and resilience
of our most impacted communities is closely linked to the recovery and resilience of our local businesses,
non-profits, and the public sector.
The Resolution affirms City Council’s commitment to supporting our historically marginalized residents
who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and to working collaboratively to build longer-
term solutions for recovery and resilience. It also articulates City Council’s commitment to protect housing
for our essential workers, preserving the ability for many community members to stay in their homes in
San Rafael. An important tool to supporting this work is the allocation of Community Development Block
Grant (CDBG) CARES ACT Coronavirus funds, which is mentioned in the Resolution and is also
presented in more detail in another staff report on the November 2nd City Council meeting agenda.
SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT / Page: 3
By adopting this Resolution, the City Council is formally demonstrating its commitment to finding bold,
collaborative solutions that address the disproportionate impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having
on our communities, businesses and property owners. Although the immediate focus of this work is to
address the emergency crisis brought on by COVID-19, it is not a stand-alone initiative, nor a long-term
solution to address systemic racism. It will take continuous bold action by all sectors to truly make lasting
change happen and put an end to racial injustices in this country.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no immediate financial impact to this action.
OPTIONS:
The City Council has the following options to consider on this matter:
1. Adopt a resolution in support of bold, collaborative solutions to address the disproportionate
impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. Adopt resolution with modifications.
3. Direct staff to return with more information.
4. Take no action.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Adopt a resolution to pursue bold, collaborative solutions that place equity at the forefront of our efforts
to address the disproportionate impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on our most marginalized
communities, local businesses, and property owners.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution (English & Spanish versions)
2. Latinos and Pandemic Letter, August 14, 2020
3. Marin County Pandemic & Latinos Policy Task Force Letter, September 4, 2020
4. Update on Marin County Pandemic & Latinos Policy Task Force, October 26, 2020
Page 1 of 5
RESOLUTION 14867
RESOLUTION OF THE SAN RAFAEL CITY COUNCIL TO PURSUE BOLD,
COLLABORATIVE SOLUTIONS THAT PLACE EQUITY AT THE FOREFRONT OF
OUR EFFORTS TO ADDRESS THE DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACTS THE COVID-19
PANDEMIC IS HAVING ON OUR MOST MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES, LOCAL
BUSINESSES AND PROPERTY OWNERS
WHEREAS, in Marin County and its jurisdictions, as with the nation, racial
injustices and unequal access to housing, employment, healthcare, education, and
resources have culminated in an unprecedented economic and public health crisis that
disproportionately impacts people of color; and
WHEREAS, the City stands in solidarity with our community to acknowledge and
address the structural racism that exists in our nation and in all aspects of society; and
WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted our
historically marginalized and under-resourced communities of color in Marin County,
and whose contributions are critical to the success of our local and regional economies
as they serve as our essential workers and clients to our local businesses; and
WHEREAS, as of October 15, 2020, the Latinx population makes up 16% of the
County’s total population but 67% of its COVID-19 cases; and
WHEREAS, the COVID-19 Disaster Relief Program, funded by the County, was
designed to provide support to the low income residents in the County that have or are
likely to have COVID-19; as of October 15, 2020, that program provided support to 689
residents, 89% of which were also primarily Spanish-speaking; and
WHEREAS, in April 2020, the County administered a rental debt relief program;
within the first month the County received 1,500 requests for rental support, and paid
$3,059,359 to Marin residents in the greatest need; and
WHEREAS, the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19, demonstrated by the
statistics above, have only reaffirmed the racial inequalities that exists in our County
and have highlighted the urgent need to pursue bold, collaborative solutions that place
equity at the forefront of our actions; and
WHEREAS, the data shows that the Latinx community in the San Rafael Canal
neighborhood has been the epicenter of Marin’s COVID-19 outbreak and the resulting
economic impacts, yet the issue of equity and disparate impacts affects communities
Countywide; and
WHEREAS, the initial efforts will be on addressing the economic and public
health crises in the Canal neighborhood in San Rafael; this is a deliberate approach to
provide a rapid response in the Census tracts where the COVID-19 outbreak has been
the most severe; and
Page 2 of 5
WHEREAS, the City supports the County’s efforts towards ensuring that all Marin
communities that are suffering from the disparate impacts of COVID-19, especially
communities of color, will benefit from these actions.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL
RESOLVES as follows:
The City Council affirms our commitment to:
1. Stand in solidarity with our community to acknowledge and address the structural
racism that exists in our nation in all aspects of society such as health care,
education, employment laws, housing, immigration, financial systems, criminal
justice, prosecution and sentencing practices, and so much more. We recognize
that supportive words are not enough to catalyze the healing, social change and
racial equity needed to overcome decades of systemic racism. Work has been
done to this end and it will continue; however, we need to do much more – and
we need to do it now.
2. Take bold action for social justice and work together across our community to do
our part in what is needed to both heal and to co-create solutions to address
systemic racial injustice that pervade our society and community; elected officials
have the perfect opportunity through their leadership positions to address the
racial disparity in the County;1 and
3. Support our historically marginalized residents in Marin County, who have been
most impacted by systemic racism, disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19
pandemic, and are also facing an urgent economic crisis of historic proportions;
and
4. Protect housing for our essential workers and consider implementing additional
programs that would support renters and other policies that will preserve the
ability for many community members to stay living in their homes; and
5. Continue working with our community partners in a highly collaborative and
expeditious manner to build longer-term solutions for recovery and resilience
within our most disproportionately impacted communities and to develop and
implement policies that address this crisis over the coming few months; and
6. Develop a methodology that allocates the majority of the new/supplemental
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding, recently received from
the State in the amount of $1.7M, toward providing additional rental assistance
and business support to our most historically marginalized communities and local
businesses, which have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19
pandemic.
1 2017, Race Counts: Advancing Opportunities for All Californians, www.racecounts.org/wp-
content/uploads/2017/11/Race-Counts-Launch-Report-digital.pdf.
Page 3 of 5
I, LINDSAY LARA, Clerk of the City of San Rafael, hereby certify that the foregoing resolution
was duly and regularly introduced and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of said
City held on Monday, the 2nd day of November 2020, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS: Bushey, Colin, Gamblin, McCullough & Mayor Phillips
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: None
LINDSAY LARA, City Clerk
Exhibit A: Spanish Translated Resolution
Page 4 of 5
RESOLUCIÓN
RESOLUCIÓN DEL AYUNTAMIENTO DE SAN RAFAEL APOYANDO LA BÚSQUEDA DE
SOLUCIONES COLABORATIVAS QUE COLOCAN LA EQUIDAD AL FRENTE DE
NUESTROS ESFUERZOS PARA ABORDAR LOS IMPACTOS DESPROPORCIONADOS
QUE LA PANDEMIA DEL COVID-19 ESTÁ TENIENDO EN NUESTRAS COMUNIDADES,
NEGOCIOS LOCALES Y PROPIETARIOS MÁS MARGINADOS
CONSIDERANDO QUE, en el condado de Marin y sus jurisdicciones, al igual que en la
nación, las injusticias raciales y el acceso desigual a la vivienda, el empleo, la atención médica,
la educación y los recursos han culminado en una crisis económica y de salud pública que afecta
de manera desproporcionada a las personas de color; y
CONSIDERANDO QUE, la Ciudad de San Rafael se solidarizan con nuestra comunidad
para reconocer y abordar el racismo estructural que existe en nuestra nación y en todos los
aspectos de la sociedad; y
CONSIDERANDO QUE, la pandemia de COVID-19 ha afectado de manera
desproporcionada a nuestras comunidades de color históricamente marginadas en el condado
de Marin, y son fundamentales para el éxito de nuestras economías locales y regionales, ya que
sirven como nuestros trabajadores y clientes esenciales para nuestros negocios locales; y
CONSIDERANDO QUE, desde el 15 de octubre de 2020, la población latina representa
el 16% de la población total del condado, pero el 67% de los casos de COVID-19; y
CONSIDERANDO QUE, el Programa de Ayuda de Desastres de COVID-19, financiado
por el Condado, fue diseñado para ofrecer apoyo a los residentes de bajos ingresos en el
Condado que tienen o pueden tener COVID-19; desde el 15 de octubre de 2020, ese programa
brindó apoyo a 689 residentes, el 89% de los cuales también eran principalmente
hispanohablantes; y
CONSIDERANDO QUE, en abril de 2020, el condado desarrolló un programa de alivio
de la deuda de la renta; durante el primer mes, el condado recibió 1,500 solicitudes de apoyo
para los inquilinos y a pagado $2,751,173.88 a los residentes de Marin que más lo necesitaban;
y
CONSIDERANDO QUE, los impactos desproporcionados de COVID-19, demostrados
por las estadísticas anteriores, solo han reafirmado las desigualdades raciales que existen en
nuestro condado y han resaltado la necesidad urgente de buscar soluciones audaces y
colaborativas que coloquen la equidad al frente de nuestras acciones; y
CONSIDERANDO QUE, los datos muestran que la comunidad latina en el vecindario
del Canal de San Rafael ha sido el epicentro del brote de COVID-19 en Marín y los impactos
económicos resultantes; sin embargo, el tema de la equidad y los impactos dispares afectan a
las comunidades de todo el condado; y
CONSIDERANDO QUE, los esfuerzos iniciales estarán dirigidos para abordar las crisis
económicas y de salud pública en la comunidad del Canal en San Rafael; este es un enfoque
deliberado para proporcionar una respuesta rápida en las pistas del censo donde el brote de
COVID-19 ha sido el más severo; y
Page 5 of 5
CONSIDERANDO QUE, es necesario garantizar que todas las comunidades de Marin
que están sufriendo los impactos dispares del COVID-19, especialmente las comunidades de
color, se beneficien de estas acciones.
AHORA, POR LO TANTO, EL AYUNTAMIENTO DE SAN RAFAEL RESUELVE lo
siguiente:
EL AYUNTAMIENTO DE SAN RAFAEL, en colaboración con el Condado de Marin, afirma
su compromiso a:
1. Solidaridad con nuestra comunidad para reconocer y abordar el racismo estructural que
existe en nuestra nación en todos los aspectos de la sociedad, como la atención médica,
la educación, las leyes laborales, la vivienda, la inmigración, los sistemas financieros, la
justicia penal, las prácticas de procesamiento y sentencia. y mucho más. Reconocemos
que las palabras de apoyo no son suficientes para catalizar la curación, el cambio social
y la equidad racial necesarios para superar décadas de racismo sistémico. Se ha
trabajado con este fin y continuará; sin embargo, debemos hacer mucho más, y debemos
hacerlo ahora.
2. Tomar medidas audaces por la justicia social y trabajar juntos en toda nuestra comunidad
para hacer nuestra parte en lo que se necesita tanto para sanar como para co-crear
soluciones para abordar la injusticia racial sistémica que invade nuestra sociedad y
comunidad; los funcionarios electos tienen la oportunidad perfecta a través de sus
posiciones de liderazgo para abordar la disparidad racial en el condado; y
3. Apoyar a nuestros residentes históricamente marginados en el condado de Marin,
quienes han sido los más afectados por el racismo sistémico, afectados de manera
desproporcionada por la pandemia de COVID-19, y que también enfrentan una crisis
económica urgente de proporciones históricas; y
4. Proteger las vivienda para nuestros trabajadores esenciales y considerar implementar
programas adicionales que respalden a los inquilinos y otras políticas que preserven la
capacidad de muchos miembros de la comunidad para permanecer viviendo en sus
hogares; y
5. Continuar trabajando con nuestros socios comunitarios de una manera sumamente
colaborativa y rápida para construir soluciones a largo plazo para la recuperación y la
resiliencia dentro de nuestras comunidades más afectadas de manera desproporcionada
y para desarrollar e implementar políticas que aborden esta crisis en los próximos meses;
y
6. Desarrollar una metodología que asigne la mayoría de los fondos nuevos / suplementarios
de la Subvención para el desarrollo comunitario (CDBG), recibidos recientemente del
estado el la cantidad de $ 1.7 millones, para ofrecer asistencia adicional para los inquilinos
en nuestras comunidades históricamente más marginadas y empresas locales, que se
han sido afectadas de manera desproporcionada por la pandemia de COVID-19.
APROBADO Y ADOPTADO EN UNA REUNIÓN ORDINARIA DEL
AYUNTAMIENTO DE SAN RAFAEL CELEBRADA EL DÍA ____ DE ___________
2020, POR EL SIGUIENTE VOTO:
August 14, 2020
Mayor Gary Phillips Via Electronic Mail
Members, San Rafael City Council
Members, Marin Board of Supervisors
Re: Request for Action on Coronavirus Pandemic’s Impact on Latinos in Marin County
Dear Esteemed Elected Officials:
In the current coronavirus pandemic, Marin County has the largest disparity by race in the Bay Area among
COVID-19 positive individuals. While Latinos are just 16% of the population, they account for approximately
80% of coronavirus cases.
We, the undersigned leaders of community organizations in Marin County, respectfully request your immediate
and full support to ensure appropriate action is taken to address the dire conditions that the COVID-19
pandemic has created for the low-income Latino community in San Rafael and across the County. We are
committed to working with you, your staff, and agency leaders to address these matters with the urgency they
require. As the present letter explains in further detail below, the Latino community in our County is
experiencing an alarming and disproportionate impact because of the pandemic and related economic factors.
Various recent reports and studies across the state and nationally have identified disparate effects in terms of
COVID-19 cases, hospitalization, mortality, and the concomitant impact on already critical issues such as
housing, employment, debt, economic stability, and food security.
We recognize the many existing efforts and appreciate the resources that have already been deployed. However,
the growing number of cases and the severity of the impact has caused us to reach out to you for your leadership
in devising a focused effort to address the inequitable impact on the most affected: low-income Latinos.
Given the clustering of so many of the county’s cases in the Canal District, we strongly urge County and City
leaders to begin by first declaring a state of emergencyi for the neighborhood. This will allow for coordinated,
expedited implementation of critically needed policies to get the outbreak under control. It will also help to
provide the necessary support for recovery and stability. This crisis requires a collaborative effort, and we
believe that a task force created, guided, and supported by City and County elected officials will help us arrive
at better outcomes. We want quick action to develop an understanding of the conditions in the Canal and to
determine priorities for short-, medium-, and long-term actions that must be taken.
As you know, the majority of adults in our Latino communities work in essential industries and sectors, and as
such, our resilience and recovery will rely on their well-being and ability to weather the health and economic
impacts of the pandemic. We ask that you move now to help lead us toward actions taken in partnership across
the community to support our families, friends, and neighbors. We look forward to working with you to ensure
that these pressing issues are addressed and respectfully request a response as soon as possible but no later than
August 21, 2020.
Sincerely,
Omar Carrera Stephanie Haffner Chandra Alexandre
CEO Canal Alliance ED Legal Aid of Marin CEO Community Action Marin
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CC:
California Assemblymember Marc Levine
California State Senator Mike McGuire
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi
U.S. Senator Kamala Harris
U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein
U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-California
Regional Director of Northern California, Office of the Governor, Elmy Bermejo
Marin County Public Health Director, Matt Willis, MD, MPH
San Rafael Community Development Director, Paul Jensen
San Rafael City Manager, Jim Schutz
Department of Health and Human Services for the County of Marin Director, Benita McClarin
Statement of Impact and Need: Action on Pandemic’s Impact on Latinos in Marin County
Latinos across California are suffering disproportionately from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, at
alarming rates, including high rates of co-morbidity and mortality. The context and characteristics of the Latino
community in Marin County complicate our ability to fully understand the dynamics involved in these
disparities as well as the necessary actions needed to effectively address these conditions. In order to develop
effective solutions, and deploy the appropriate resources, and involve the relevant agencies and entities, we
need an assessment to provide a comprehensive analysis of what happened and what the solutions are. To
address the severe public health impact COVID-19 has had on our community and the related catastrophic
economic hardships, we also request the special consideration be given to helping mitigate that impact on
access to food, healthcare, affordable housing, job-related services and economic support, now and through our
community’s recovery.
Deep and Disproportionate Impact
Documentation of the disproportionate impact on San Rafael’s low-income Latinos can be found in local news
headlines such as, “Nearly 80% of Marin County COVID-19 cases are Latino, largest racial disparity in Bay
Area” and includes the following data:
• Latinos make up 16% of Marin County's population, but account for almost 80% of coronavirus cases – the largest
racial disparity of any Bay Area County.ii
• Over half of Marin County’s cases are concentrated in the Canal.
• The Canal has a positivity rate of 20% -- roughly three times higher than Marin County's average.
• Lucia Martel-Dow, director of immigration and social services at the Canal Alliance, quoted in the press noted that
20% to 30% of tests in the community are coming back positive — far higher than the 7% rate countywide.iii
• The socioeconomic factors that put Latinos at greater risk include lack of access to healthcare, low income, the
inability to stop working, preexisting health conditions, and the dense living conditions.
• The local community support network is overextended: “Over the past few weeks, all of the Canal food pantries have
seen an increase of at least three times the usual number of participants.”iv
• An estimated “14,000 to 15,000 undocumented people live in Marin” meaning that “thousands of people … are not
eligible for federal financial programs.”v Even when eligible, many are too afraid to risk seeking help, fearing
deportation or the risk of losing the opportunity for immigration status in the future.
Best Practices and Models
A recent PolicyLink report, calling for increased housing support for those impacted by the pandemic, notes that
Alameda County acted to protect tenants “from most evictions through September, with a 12-month grace
period to pay back rent without threat of eviction.”vi Community action in Massachusetts won “one of the
strongest eviction and foreclosure moratoriums in the nation.” Other state and national examples can help Marin
County and the City of San Rafael craft innovative and reliable responses to secure protection and recovery. We
know that what is most critically needed is the support and leadership of federal agencies and the current
administration. Tragically, we also know we can’t count on that help to be timely, sufficient, reliable, or
sustained. We must rely on the leadership of state, local, and municipal governments to take on the immense
and unavoidable challenge of devising locally-responsive models of action. As the PolicyLink report
notes: “Ultimately, we need policies that value people over property. We value people by guaranteeing
affordable, safe, and high-quality housing for all regardless of income. We do this by investing in public
housing, community land trusts, and housing cooperatives.”vii
i Definition of Local Emergency: “The duly proclaimed existence of conditions of disaster or of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the
territorial limits of a county, city and county, or city, caused by such conditions as ... epidemic ... or other conditions, ... which are or are likely to be beyond the
control of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of that political subdivision and require the combined forces of other political subdivisions to combat…”
Cal. Gov. Code Section 8558(c).
ii ABC7. 7/22/2020.
iii San Francisco Chronicle “Richer, whiter Bay Area cities got coronavirus testing quickly. Low-income areas didn’t.” 7/26/2020
iv Marin Independent Journal. “For Marin’s Latino communities, pandemic intensifies poverty.” 4/25/2020.
v Ibid.
vi Jamila Henderson. 2020. “Prioritize People over Profits, and Ban Evictions.” PolicyLink.
vii Ibid.
Signatories:
Ralph Gonzales, MD
Chief Innovation Officer, UCSF Health
Joshua Adler, MD
Chief Clinical Officer, UCSF Health
Felecia Gaston
Executive Director, Performing Stars of Marin
Bruce Lee Livingston
ED/CEO Alcohol Justice
Cheryl Paddack
CEO, North Marin Community Services
Ann Mathieson
ED, Marin Promise Partnership
David Wain Coon, Ed.D.
Superintendent/President, College of Marin
Jonathan Eldridge
Vice President, Student Learning, College of Marin
Douglas Mundo
Executive Director, Multicultural Center of Marin
Mary B. Marcy
President, Dominican University of California
Mitesh Popat, MD, MPH
CEO, Marin Community Clinics
Dr. Melissa Cadet
ED, Marin City Community Development Corporation
Joanne Webster
President and CEO, San Rafael Chamber of Commerce
Stephanie K. Plante
Chair, East San Rafael Working Group
Julia van der Ryn
ED, Center for Community Engagement Dominican
University
Anderson Silveira
Charter President, Rotary Club of San Rafael Evening
Sam Cobbs
President, Tipping Point Community
Jim Hogeboom
Superintendent, San Rafael City Schools
Mary Jane Burke
Superintendent, Marin County Schools
Balandra Fregoso, LCSW
ED, Parent Services Project
Saga Apostol
Chair, Marin Latino Leaders
September 4, 2020
Mayor Gary Phillips
Members, San Rafael City Council
Members, Marin Board of Supervisors Via Electronic Mail
Re: Marin County Pandemic & Latinos Policy Task Force
Dear Esteemed Elected Officials:
First, thank you all for your current efforts to address the deep impacts of the pandemic across our communities.
Thank you also for your willingness to more closely examine our current response and consider strategies to
improve existing efforts for effectively addressing the urgent challenges faced by neighborhoods, communities,
and businesses with the highest rates of infection and the lowest resources needed to overcome the impact.
We thank you for your strong support and partnership as we craft a collaborative rapid response model. While
we recognize the role of the State in providing leadership and resources, we also recognize that the level of
action from state agencies must be understood to be the ground: the basic, essential support needed for minimal
survival, and at the same time, a kind and level of support that regrettably is allowing far too many to fall
through the safety net. In Marin County, we have the opportunity, and responsibility, to respond with a more
robust and effective model for containing infections and driving a speedy economic recovery.
In partnership with several key local service and advocacy organizations and leaders of the local business
community, and informed by leading regional efforts in Oakland and San Francisco, we have developed the
present outline of the key areas of action that we believe can get the work moving forward quickly and in the
right direction for the most immediate, widespread, and sustainable impact. As we noted in the August 17th
conference call, our immediate attention is toward the short-term activities desperately needed to contain
transmission and provide immediate economic and nutritional relief. These first steps are informed by initial
brainstorming around mid to long term strategies to sustain the recovery through the post-pandemic period.
Critical Work for Support & Recovery
Our collaborative team has put together the following recommendations to initiate and guide the efforts of the
Policy Task Force. Below are a set of recommendations that build on existing work and draw from a series of
successful response models from across the country and neighboring counties. We want to emphasize this “best
practices” aspect of the recommendations to assure all stakeholders that these are strategies, measures, and
policies that have been vetted and implemented by practitioners, elected officials, agency staff, and
communities. Additionally, the priority focus is on health, housing, and local businesses. While there are
opportunities to also work on several other related issues and challenges, the team has identified health,
housing, and local businesses as the most urgent and strategic priorities. As the work develops, we expect
priorities to shift as a result of presumable success, opening the opportunity to lend support to the work in other
areas.
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Short-Term Priorities, Policies, & Strategies
Policy Task Force. The first and most urgent step in these efforts is to establish a team of leaders to provide the
vision and implementation of these efforts through a multi-sector public, private, nonprofit Policy Task Force.
As was noted in our conference call, there are major efforts and committees already assigned to manage the
many aspects of the work addressing the impact of the pandemic in the county and in our cities. As we also
noted, however, the extreme and continuing disparities among low-income Latinos, in both the rate of infection
and the economic impact, demand a more direct and focused approach to respond to the unique challenges and
opportunities in these communities. Our inability to bring the infection rates down to match the rates among the
broader population demands that we get creative and more deeply invested in solutions.
To these ends, the Policy Task Force we envision would be authorized to act within the state of emergency
context in order to expedite decision-making processes for implementing changes in programs, policies, and
procedures. In this aspect, we ask for your input and guidance for what powers can be granted to the Policy
Task Force to act expeditiously in enacting critical changes and additions to existing work and implementing
new actions and activities. As agreed, Omar Carrera of Canal Alliance is the most appropriate person to take the
lead on the Task Force but he’ll need city and county agency staff on the team with the authority to implement
the decisions made by the team. Chandra Alexandre of Community Action Marin and Stephanie Haffner of
Legal Aid of Marin are likewise committed to the work of the Task Force as initial members.
We trust that we were clear on the conference call and in our letter that in this critical, urgent, and collaborative
effort we prioritize not only the well-being of our community’s most impacted and least resourced families but
also the financial well-being of our local and regional economy. Regarding our economy, we place the highest
priority on our local businesses and landowners who provide the jobs and homes for so many of our essential
workers and the employees who sustain our region’s key industries. We cannot achieve the health and economic
recovery we are desperately working for without addressing the areas of greater impact and need, nor can we do
so without including support for businesses and landowners. Among our key partners are Chamber of
Commerce leaders who recognize the mutually-beneficial partnership these efforts provide for economic
recovery and sustainability. As such, the approach is envisioned as a private, public, nonprofit partnership and
the response involves an ecosystems approach which recognizes that recovery is only sustainable as a collective
effort that prioritizes the most impacted, while also securing support across the business, nonprofit, and
residential communities. A core value in the work is the idea that the pain of the impact of the pandemic needs
to be more equitably shared across our community.
The following sections provide recommendations for the Policy Task Force in the priority areas of health,
housing, and local businesses:
Health:
• Increase investment in mental health support: social services, public health now and post-pandemic
planning needed for long-term efforts for dealing with pandemic symptoms and impact (violence,
trauma, depression).
• Testing: more and frequent testing and convenient, rapid results (prioritizing most impacted and
essential workers).
Housing: Tenants, Housing Stock, Property Owners
• Improve and conserve the existing housing stock.
• Prevent outside buyers from dominating the purchase of distressed properties and properties in low-
income communities; include a first right of refusal to buy properties for community development and
other nonprofit organizations, and current property residents.
• Make tenant legal representation a permanent service for low-income tenants.
• Prohibit all evictions except where there is an imminent threat to public health and safety for the
duration of the pandemic and for at least three months thereafter.
• Rent stabilization: prohibit rent increases and late fees for all units in Marin.
• Suspend rent in areas highly impacted by the pandemic.
• Prohibit evictions based on rent accrued during the pandemic; convert such rent debt to consumer debt
• Create a 0% interest loan program for people to pay rental debt accrued during the pandemic; allow
tenants more time to pay rental debt accrued during the pandemic.
• Limit rents charged in Low Income Housing Tax Credit funded properties.
• Property owners: Provide technical assistance, training, and support programs for landowners (securing
licenses & permits, financial planning, tax preparation, legal expertise, loans, grants).
Local Businesses
• Testing: more and frequent testing, increased convenience in testing, rapid results testing (especially in
high-risk sectors like grocery, restaurants, etc.).
• Protect employees who test positive and support their safe quarantine.
• Explore options for quarantine locations (schools close to their homes, other empty locations).
• Secure regular funding for income support for time off for quarantined employees.
• Explore the possibility of supporting employers to guarantee sick pay and hold jobs for quarantined
employees.
• Extend drive-through testing and/or drop-in sites for all essential workers; easy and convenient hours.
• Provide business loans and/or grants (rent, payroll), starting with most impacted.
• Improve access to multilingual resources, including technical assistance, starting with most impacted
• Develop solutions to childcare shortages; resources and subsidies for childcare for business owners, with
consideration for gendered impact (women-owned businesses).
Middle and Long Term Planning
The above list of recommended actions and policies focus primarily on the short-term activities needed to
achieve a significant decline in infections and a substantial set of actions to help families survive the deep
impacts on housing, health, income, and food security. They also focus on short-term support for landowners
and businesses, to make sure they too can survive the economic impacts and remain viable businesses through
and after the pandemic. However, there are a number of system issues and challenges that have provided the
stark reality of how we got here; how susceptible communities have been to housing crises, how unprepared and
under-resourced communities have been such that long-standing disparities provided the groundwork for
extreme disparities in the context of the pandemic. These systemic issues need to be part of both the analysis to
understand the nature, scope, and depth of the challenge we face today and also part of the longer-term planning
for recovery, sustainability, and thriving communities among the least resourced neighborhood. To that end, the
present effort will also include efforts to align the short-term response model to efforts that address housing, a
living wage, access to opportunities, and larger-scale models of community development centered on and
prioritizing current residents and their desire to remain in the county, in their neighborhoods.
While these longer-term planning efforts require more research, collaboration, and deliberation, there are
several ideas that can provide initial guidance and a point of departure for this work. These are also ideas drawn
from existing work and success stories of community development across the country and in neighboring
counties. The long-term viability of a thriving community will depend on investments in public housing,
community land trusts, and housing cooperatives. The long history of racial segregation, discrimination, and
exclusion in housing and economic opportunities has had such a deep and lasting impact that recovery from
those practices will require a strong political will, innovative strategies, rapid implementation, and creative,
collaborative investment.
We are guided by a thought from the PolicyLink report: “Local leaders closest to these issues have the
solutions, but we need the political will to implement them.”
Sincerely,
Omar Carrera Stephanie Haffner Chandra Alexandre
CEO Canal Alliance ED Legal Aid of Marin CEO Community Action Marin
Cc:
California Assemblymember Marc Levine
California State Senator Mike McGuire
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi
U.S. Senator Kamala Harris
U.S. Senator Diane Feinstein
Regional Director of Northern California, Office of the Governor, Elmy Bermejo
Marin County Public Health Director, Kathleen Koblick
San Rafael Community Development Director, Paul Jensen
San Rafael City Manager, Jim Schutz
Department of Health and Human Services for the County of Marin Director, Benita McClarin
Policy Task Force Collaborative Members
RE: Update on Marin County Pandemic & Latinos Policy Task Force
Dear Colleagues,
October 26, 2020
The present letter is to provide you with an update on the work of the Policy Task Force. As we mentioned in our last
update, we have scheduled weekly meetings for the Pandemic Policy Task Force Team, comprised of the three of
us, Assistant City Manager Christine Alilovich; Assistant County Administrator Angela Nicholson; Supervisor
Rodoni; and staffers Catherine Quffa and Lorenzo Cordova. Other participants have included Leelee Thomas,
Community Development Planning Manager at Marin County; and Ethan Guy, Principal Analyst at City of San
Rafael, Community Development Department. In addition to our weekly meetings, there have been several other
process-driven meetings to move ahead the work. We are pleased to report that there continues to be strong support
and leadership among city and county officials. They have taken a very active role in operationalizing the work and
decision-making that needs to take place at the city & county agency and executive levels.
As we mentioned before, we are structuring the efforts for immediate outcomes as well as short, middle, and long-
term planning for housing & economic stability, as well as a broader capacity building for resiliency. We were able to
narrow our list to these five goals for immediate and short-term work:
1. Right of first refusal for nonprofits to purchase properties
2. Property protections against outside investors dominating the market
3. Rent & eviction freezes
4. Rental debt loan programs
5. Mortgage loan program for homeowners and rental property owners
Of these, it was decided, for various reasons, that we would focus on property protections and rent help/eviction
freezes as starting points. Our city & county partners have been moving quickly to develop, from their side, a work
plan, timeline, and benchmarks for these goals. One immediate next step that was decided is the creation and passing
of a resolution, to be adopted by the Board of Supervisors and City Council, expressing the urgency of the situation,
their commitment to work quickly to address this situation with innovations in existing efforts, and declaring a
commitment to specific actions; not just a statement of support, but an action-driven resolution. A draft is being
developed and we will share it with you all as soon as we can. We also wanted to mention that on our side, we are
working with organizations in the region who are leaders in some of these efforts, including MEDA (Mission Economic
Development Agency) regarding small business loans, Mission Asset Fund about a rental debt relief program, and
others with adoptable models and leads to resources we may be able to access. These models, together with the political
will being developed by our city and county partners, offer very promising opportunities to achieve these important
goals.
If you are interested to know more about any of these efforts, please reach out to us. We will continue to provide you
with regular updates.
Sincerely,
Omar Carrera Stephanie Haffner Chandra Alexandre
CEO Canal Alliance ED Legal Aid of Marin CEO Community Action Marin
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