Voters in Sausalito appear to be in favor of two new rezoning measures that will make way for new housing and keep the city in compliance with state housing law.
Tuesday night’s results showed 76% of voters supporting Measure J, which would rezone 12 commercial sites for housing. Measure K, however, was leading by a smaller margin with 57% of the vote. It would rezone 2 acres of the Martin Luther King Jr. Park occupied by a light industrial studio building at 610 Coloma St. to make way for 50 affordable housing units.
At the park Tuesday, Patrick Ward, vice chair of the Sausalito Parks and Recreation Commission, said the Coloma Street building is leased to individual tenants paying rent to the city who do not pay market rate. They would lose their spaces if a development were built on the lot.
“We’ve got a wood shop in there. We’ve got some sort of yacht business,” Ward said. “We’ve got dual pottery studios that are owned by a billionaire.”
He said the rents are around $800 a month and the city has budgetary constraints.
“It doesn’t make enough for us to put new grass on the baseball field,” Ward said. “I do not think that we should be subsidizing people on public land in there.”
Critics of Measure K say it sacrifices public parkland and masks a “developer-friendly” agenda, with campaign messaging that emphasizes the loss of greenspace. But proponents say no greenspace will be removed and the project must meet strict city approval.
Loss of local control is what Measure K proponents, such as former mayor Mike Kelly, say is at stake. If Sausalito falls out of compliance with a state housing mandate to plan for 724 new housing units by Jan. 30, the city could be subject to penalty fines with housing decisions made by the state Department of Housing and Community Development.
Opponents, like Aaron Nathan who lives across the street from the park, argue the city’s existing housing buffer is sufficient. He voted for Measure J and against Measure K.
Buffers are surplus spaces designated for extra housing units. They are not mandatory in state housing law, according to HCD spokesperson Alicia Murillo. However, they are recommended to give cities the flexibility of permitting fewer units per site or making other accommodations while still avoiding state penalties.
“With just J, we have a bigger buffer than Tiburon as an example,” he said. “When you compare, then you see that we’re actually totally fine with just J.”
This story has been updated to include new vote totals and local reactions to Measures J and K.