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Measure X

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Measure X Takes Away Our Vote

Measure X puts any three Council members—not voters—in charge of major zoning changes.

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.

For 40 years, Sausalito voters have had the final say over major changes to commercial and waterfront zoning. Under Measure X, that right would remain only in the Downtown Historic District. Everywhere else, residents could still speak at public hearings, but any three Council members—not voters—would make the final decision.

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.

The voter-approval requirement does not put every permit or individual project on the ballot. It reserves the public’s final say for major changes to the underlying zoning rules.

Measure X makes voters accept the whole package.

Measure X is promoted with appealing ideas about cafés, artists, recreation, and a more active waterfront. But a yes vote would enact all 266 pages as law. Voters cannot choose the appealing ideas while rejecting the rest of the package:

  • Extreme increases in development capacity: 650% more permitted floor area in the Industrial zone and 900% more in the Waterfront zone
  • Authorization for much larger commercial buildings on flood-exposed waterfront land
  • Repeal of the Marinship Specific Plan and its parcel-level protections
  • Repeal of the rule requiring developers to pay their share of infrastructure costs
  • Loss of voters’ final say outside the Downtown Historic District

All of those provisions come as one package.

Zoning rules can be changed again. But once much larger buildings are approved and built, Sausalito lives with the traffic, infrastructure demands, and changed waterfront for generations.

The citywide vote is not an outdated obstacle.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: Keep the right to say no.

The City Council can use its existing authority to make practical, targeted improvements now. When major zoning changes are proposed, study their consequences and bring voters one clear proposal at a time.

We can say yes to good ideas—cafés, recreation, and support for artists—without giving up our final say when a proposal is too large, too risky, or wrong for Sausalito.

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.