The Sausalito City Council has approved its Housing Element, an action plan to add 724 units for different income levels by 2031.
That number represents the city’s share of the regional allotment of housing required by the California Department of Housing and Community Development.
The city was required to identify places that present an opportunity for potential development. The plan includes an inventory of sites scattered throughout the city where new housing units might be added, a guide for potential rezoning.
The housing element also counts the impact of city incentives for homeowners to build accessory dwelling units such as backyard in-law units or garage-to-apartment conversions.
“Many of our inventory sites within our housing element are throughout town,” said Mayor Joan Cox, referring to the fact that the inventory found geographically scattered opportunities. “We are not focusing affordability housing on just one sector.”
The Department of Housing and Community Development notified the city that its plan met state requirements. The city has been working on the plan since 2023.
“Many of our inventory sites within our housing element are throughout town. We are not focusing affordability housing on just one sector.” Mayor Joan Cox
Cox noted that the city itself is undertaking the development of affordable housing on city properties, both at a corporation yard and at Martin Luther King Jr. Park, which will require voter approval for rezoning later this year.
“We can guarantee and ensure that it is 100% affordable, and that it serves our seniors, which is the biggest demographic here in town,” said Cox.
Everybody but Belvedere
Staff from the city’s Community Development Department reported to the City Council during its Tuesday meeting that it is currently processing 147 units across various income groups.
According to the state’s accountability tracker, which keeps tabs on each county and city’s home-building progress, Marin County’s housing plan is following state law and the county’s only city out of compliance is Belvedere.
The county is one year into its eight-year creation cycle and has built just 3.7% of its state requirement for very low-income units over that cycle. It has built 5.1% of its required low-income units, 2.5% of its moderate-income units and 2% of its above-moderate-income units.
Sausalito reflects that pattern. Cox said that the city has met requirements for low-income categories.
“That is the metric we have most easily met over all of these years,” she said.
“It is the moderate and above moderate requirements that we have been more challenged to meet, due to the built-out nature of Sausalito,” she said.
Before 2010, Cox said, people who lived on boats were considered transients.
“Some of them had lived on their boats longer than many of our hillside dwellers have lived on hills,” she said, referring to the city’s community of legal boat houses. “We reached out to the U.S. Census and actually had live-aboards reclassified to become residents, to enjoy the ability to get mail, to vote in Sausalito and to be stakeholders in Sausalito.”
