Fight over beloved Sausalito waterfront comes to a head with Measure X vote

For more than a decade, artist Sophia Collier has been making waves in Sausalito — quite literally.

"I've always loved water and one time I was walking across a bridge and I looked out and I just thought I'd love to take a piece of that and keep it forever," Collier said.

Her sculptures capture water in motion, with waves carved into solid acrylic, then polished until light dances across them. She solidifies that fleeting moment, keeping it from changing.

But now, change is coming for her. Collier's studio is part of a longtime Sausalito community of artists, builders and small businesses. Her work requires high ceilings, heavy machinery, room for a forklift and delivery trucks, and a place that can handle the mess that comes with making art.

"You need to have freedom and space. You can't be worrying about the next-door neighbor, saying, 'Hey, why are you working at 2 a.m.,?'" Collier said.

Places like this are at the center of a citywide debate over Sausalito's future. A November ballot initiative, Measure X, could reshape the city's industrial and artistic hub known as the Marinship, loosening decades-old restrictions to allow new commercial uses and larger development.

Collier worries that might push out the artisans the area has long been home to.

"The artists create someplace that special and then people wanna come and be part of it, but unfortunately, the artist cannot stay there anymore," Collier said.

But the status quo comes with its own set of problems. Councilmember Ian Sobieski, one of Measure X's proponents, points to a lot just a few hundred feet from the water packed with aging RVs, old boats and vehicles rusting away.

"We have some of the lowest quality streets in all Marin County," Sobieski said. " We have a $20 million bill to fix crumbling stairs. We have 25% of our storm drains have severe defects."

Sobieski argues preservation and growth don't have to be mutually exclusive, and that artists and maritime workers can be protected without holding back the rest of the Marinship.

"We could have a Sausalito maritime land trust that would save land specifically for subsidized or very low rent to a class of artists and professionals that we want to directly help," Sobieski said.

But how much Sausalito should evolve, and who should have a say, is up for debate. Councilmember Jill Hoffman says Measure X goes too far. With Bridgeway serving as the city's main thoroughfare, she worries more development could put even more strain on a road already vulnerable to gridlock.

"Our town is so small one when you impact one part of town it affects everybody," Hoffman said.

She agrees the Marinship needs investment, but says some pressing problems can be tackled with smaller, more affordable fixes while the city works on longer-term solutions.

"The biggest myth is that we're not producing down here, that we're not producing revenue," said Hoffman. "Half of our business license tax comes for the Marinship right now as it is." 

City planning documents identify the Marinship as one of Sausalito's main sources of business revenue. Historical city data cited in 2020 showed the district accounting for about 41% of the city's commercial tax revenue.

But Measure X proponents argue the sprawling district could be generating much more. The Marinship covers roughly 220 acres, and supporters say it generates about $10,000 in city tax revenue per acre, compared with roughly $70,000 per acre downtown.

For Adrian Brinton, a candidate for Sausalito City Council who has worked on Measure X, the debate is closely tied to the city's ability to pay for aging infrastructure. He believes it will be one of the most important issues facing Sausalito voters this election.

"We have up to $100 million in deferred maintenance in our infrastructure," Brinton said. "And while we're making it year-to-year on the small stuff, we don't have the money to invest in our infrastructure to to be able to actually make a dent in that, and without doing something in this area, we're not gonna be able to do it."

The debate also includes businesses that could face new competition if Measure X passes. Bill Foss, co-owner of waterfront seafood restaurant Fish at Clipper Yacht Harbor, supports the measure even though it could open parts of the area to more restaurants and cafés, potentially bringing him more competition.

"No one should be afraid of competition," Foss said. "It pushes us. What's the old expression? 'Rising tides lifts all boats.' It's true."

For Foss, the larger concern is what happens if the area fails to evolve.

"The reality is we've locked this thing in a time capsule for the last 40 years and time is passing by," Foss said.

Leigh Hunt owns Modern Sailing, which has been teaching people to sail in Sausalito for more than four decades. He says the marinas need to change with the times. Boats have gotten bigger, while much of the infrastructure was designed more than 40 years ago. For Hunt, change is already happening.

"To be afraid of change is natural, but it's not staying the same it's degrading," Hunt said. "There's no such thing as staying the same. Infrastructure will rot if we don't do something."

Measure X would increase permitted building coverage and floor-area ratios in the affected industrial and waterfront zones. It would raise the general height limit in the industrial zone from 32 to 47 feet and allow some marine commercial and industrial projects in the waterfront zone to reach 47 feet with a use permit.

The measure would also allow additional uses while providing specific protections against displacement for existing uses at two longtime Marinship properties that are home to artists, craftspeople and maritime businesses.

Opponents argue the changes could put artists and maritime businesses under pressure from higher-paying tenants and give future City Councils too much authority to change zoning without another public vote. Supporters argue the existing rules have discouraged investment and that new economic activity could help Sausalito pay for deteriorating infrastructure, flooding and the effects of sea-level rise.

The debate has now extended to the editorial pages.

The Marin Independent Journal editorial board endorsed Measure X on Sept. 30, arguing that after years of planning and debate over the Marinship, the city needs to move forward.

"Sausalito can no longer afford inaction," the board wrote.

The disagreement leaves Sausalito confronting a question bigger than any single development proposal: How does a place people deeply love make room for its future without sacrificing the character that made it worth protecting in the first place?

For a city that made its name building ships, the toughest thing to build these days may be consensus.

"Sausalito is unique. It's had many, many different eras," Sobieski said. "There is no need to confine it to something in the past. It can be more magnificent next second chapter. It can be a renaissance."