Restrictive Covenants Time Progression

Marin County Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk Shelly Scott and the Recorders team invite you to follow their progress as they implement Assembly Bill 1466 (McCarty 2021) by locating recorded documents from many years ago that contain discriminatory restrictions. Discriminatory language found in Deeds, Conditions, Covenants and Restrictions (CC & Rs), Maps, and Agreements prohibited some from purchasing, renting, and occupying properties based on their race, religion, gender, and national origin.  

Beginning July 1, 2022, AB 1466 requires California Recorders and others who have knowledge of discriminatory restrictions to locate restrictions and record modifications to the original documents.  Modification documents clarify that past discriminatory restrictions are void.  By law, the original recordings from many years ago remain intact in the public record. County Counsel review and approval are required prior to recording a modifying document.

Because some illegal restrictions are found in documents from more than 100 years ago, finding these documents is a challenging and time-consuming process.  Shelly and her team are committed to locating all documents in their records that include discriminatory language and preparing and recording modifications to the originals.

Visit the Recorders  Restrictive Covenant Modifications webpage  for additional information about the project.

To learn how Marin County departments are collaborating on the restrictive covenant project, take a few minutes to watch this  video  produced by the County’s Public Information Team.

Requests for disability accommodations may be made by phoning (415) 473-6093 (Voice), CA Relay 711 or by emailing the  Marin County Recorder's Office . Copies of documents are available in alternative formats, upon request. 

As part of the project, Recorder’s staff is working collaboratively with the County’s GIS team to produce maps based on parcel data, that reflect areas of Marin that were off limits to many because of their race, religion, nationality, and other criteria.

Below is a Time Lapse Map created from data produced by the partnership.  This time-enabled heatmap visualizes the growth of discriminatory restrictive covenants in Marin County throughout the 20th century and into the present day. The blue hot spots highlight the areas that were subject to a significant number of covenants with restrictive language. Users can zoom and pan within the map for more information.  This map is updated monthly based on the Recorder’s work.

Below is a timeline showing the recording dates of documents that contained restrictive language.  Most documents that have been found so far were recorded between 1911 to 1950. As indicated on the timeline, spikes in recordings are most apparent from 1941 – 1943, when many areas of Marin County were developed.

More recent restrictions such as those recorded from the late 1960s through the mid-1980s prohibited children and residents younger than 18 from occupying certain subdivisions.

As a part of AB 1466 (2021), Marin County Recorder’s staff has developed a plan to locate and redact discriminatory restrictions found in its historic records. The Recorder’s plan is available on the Recorder’s website and can be downloaded via this  link .   

The dashboard featured below displays parcels within restrictive covenants that have been currently identified, redacted, or pending redaction. The parcel colors indicate the redaction status. The green parcels have been redacted and the red parcels are pending. The numeric indicators on the right-side, including the redaction percentage, will be updated to reflect the most current data and continue to change.

In some cases, a single document with restrictive language affects an entire subdivision, which requires only one modification.  In other instances, one document, such as a property deed, may only affect one or two parcels within a subdivision. Every document with illegal language, regardless of how much land it affects, requires its own modification. 

The data appearing on the right side of the dashboard represents the overall progress made so far and is adjusted monthly. As the Recorder’s staff locates more restrictions, identifies additional parcels, and records more modifications, the percentages will fluctuate.

Select a city or town on the map below to learn how many parcels in the jurisdiction with discriminatory restrictions have been found so far. The map also reflects the percentage of restrictions in each jurisdiction. This map is updated monthly.

Restrictive Covenants data is also available as a  data table  which may be easier for users of assistive technology to access.

If you are a person with a disability and require an accommodation to participate in a County program, service, or activity, requests may be made by calling (415) 473-4381 (Voice), Dial 711 for CA Relay, or by  emailing the Disability Access program  at least five business days in advance of the event. We will do our best to fulfill requests received with less than five business days’ notice. Copies of documents are available in alternative formats upon request.