Our Waterfront, Our VoteVote No on Measure X
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Measure X Takes Our Vote

Measure X asks us to give up our right to vote on zoning.

Measure X proponents say they are giving “the vote back to the people of today.” That turns the facts upside down.

We are the people of today, and we already have the vote.

Measure X wants to take it away.

Under Measure X we could still speak at public hearings, but a three-member Council majority, not voters, would make the final decision on major zoning changes.

Sausalito voters have protected this right for 40 years.

In 1985, voters adopted the Fair Traffic Initiative to limit development in key commercial districts and require voter approval for major changes. That protection has helped Sausalito keep its small scale while letting voters consider changes one proposal at a time.

Sausalito’s vote is unusual because Sausalito is unusual: a small waterfront town with limited land, steep hills, narrow roads, shared views, and a human scale worth protecting.

Measure X is a bad bundle.

Measure X presents appealing-sounding ideas about cafés, artists and a more active waterfront. Those ideas do not need Measure X—and Measure X comes with:

  • Large new commercial buildings on our most vulnerable land
  • Extreme increases in development capacity: 650% increase in allowed development in the Industrial zone and a 900% increase in the Waterfront zone
  • Repeal of the rule requiring developers to pay their share of infrastructure
  • The loss of our right to vote on future changes outside the Downtown Historic District

This package would permanently change how much can be built in much of Sausalito.

The citywide vote is not an outdated obstacle. Voters used it just last year to approve Measure J, a targeted housing change that passed with approximately 75% of the vote.

The Better Way: Citizens protect Sausalito.

The City Council can use its existing authority to make positive, targeted changes. Larger changes can come to voters separately.

We do not have to trade away our vote to get cafés, recreation, or support for artists. We can consider good ideas while keeping the right to say no to development at this scale.

Keep the vote.

Sources

Read nextMarinship's makers →Independent reports say Measure X raises costs on the artists, craftspeople, and light industry already here — pricing out the community it claims to help.