In the face of fierce opposition, San Rafael and Marin County officials are pressing forward with plans to construct a temporary village of cabins for homeless people in Terra Linda.

The San Rafael City Council voted 4-0 on Monday to declare a homeless shelter emergency and authorized the purchase of the 2.5-acre lot at 350 Merrydale Road to establish the temporary site. Councilmember Eli Hill was absent.

The council also locked in a contract accepting up to $8 million from the county for property acquisition and startup costs. The arrangement commits the city to develop at least 80 affordable apartments at the same site after winding down the shelter.

The public hearing Monday night lasted nearly four hours and included dozens of speakers on both sides of the debate.

“We asked for dialogue. We got an infomercial. We asked for transparency. We got procedure,” resident Janet Shirley said, asking the council to pause its vote. “Trust is like air: When it’s gone, everyone feels it. And through secrecy and avoidance, the city has suffocated the trust of our community.”

Project proponents — including social workers, nonprofits and formerly homeless residents — urged approval of the project, asking neighbors of the Terra Linda site to keep an open mind.

“I think the best way to get people off the streets is to house them,” said Dan Lazarus, who lives in an apartment complex near the site. “This is, as everyone has said, it’s a nice, safe neighborhood. And I want to welcome them to the neighborhood, because if we do that, if we extend a hand, I do believe that it will allow them to transition back into society.”

Ahead of the hearing, the City Council adopted a resolution responding to a letter from a group called Marin Citizens for Solutions not Secrecy that demanded it rescind all decisions on the project that were made outside public meetings.

To read more or listen online, visit the Marin IJ. Read the Council Comments pdf.