If you are a resident of Marin County and you use your home, a room in your home or an ADU on your property for short-term rentals (of 30 days or less), you may want to voice your opinion about planned regulations. The Short Term Rental Ordinance, which applies in the unincorporated areas of Marin,
As an architect, several times a month, I find myself in some variation of a phone or email conversation with a prospective client that starts like this: Client: Hi. My contractor suggested I contact you. Me: How can I help you? Client: We’re doing a [describes project] and we thought it would be simple and
When planning a kitchen remodel, nothing seems to stress my clients out more than selecting a kitchen countertop. And no wonder – the countertop not only defines the style of your kitchen, it also serves as its primary workhorse, sometimes acting as food prep surface, sometimes as trivet, storage area or even dining table. Not
High utility bills and growing anxiety about climate change might have you thinking about going solar. While the technology of the silicon photovoltaic (PV) cell has been with us since 1954 in the U.S., it didn’t take off as expected. According to the Energy Information Administration, as of 2020, only 3.7% of U.S. residences generated
Any building or remodeling project involves a team of professionals. Depending on the size and complexity of the project, the team can range from a single architect and contractor to a host of architects, engineers and construction project managers, but the basic requirements are the same: properly trained and experienced professionals working in concert via
No surprise if you haven’t thought about the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) lately. However, Rewiring America would like you to start thinking about it. Why? Because it is the largest climate bill in U.S. history. It contains, among other things, benefits to help purchase electric vehicles and install heat pumps, induction stoves, solar and other
As a female architect, I was interested to see the New York Times address the dearth of women in architecture in their December 18, 2018 article “Where Are All the Female Architects?” A few important points from the article: Until 1972 (and Title IX), most U.S. architecture schools didn’t admit women. Currently, half of all
Keeping warm is getting very expensive. December was the coldest in the Bay Area in 30 years. January rainstorms, followed by freezing temperatures, are bringing more cold weather in February. PG&E warns that consumers should expect their bills to be 32% higher than last year. Natural gas bills alone are five times higher in California
How much construction waste did your last remodeling project generate? Chances are, it was more than necessary. According to California's 2008 Statewide Waste Characterization Study, 29 percent of the state's solid waste stream comes from the "Inerts and Other" category, which includes construction and demolition. But with a little planning, you and your architect or contractor
The answer is something that the Marin County’s Office of the Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk (ARCC) want you to know about. Restrictive covenants simply put are contract clauses that are intended to limit the contracting party’s future conduct. In the case of land, they can prevent certain uses of the land. But the restrictive covenants Marin County’s
