Sensitive species birds photographed in the Princess Grove on April 3, 2024.
On October 21st, Save Our Sausalito submitted detailed comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the 6th Cycle Housing Element Programs. The comments call for a thorough reassessment of the DEIR to ensure the protection of Sausalito’s historic and biological resources.
SOS Advocated Revisions:
- Historic Preservation: Removing Housing Opportunity Sites from the Downtown Historic District is essential to safeguarding its cultural and biological resources.
- Revised Alternative 4: Save Our Sausalito urges the city to prepare a revised EIR to analyze a Revised Alternative 4, which would protect only the 2 sites in the historic district, Sites 201 and 212. This would reduce housing potential by only 18 units and would clearly meet Project objectives and RHNA goals. (DEIR 4-20).
- Significant Impact Acknowledged: The prior DEIR admitted that development in this area could cause a “significant and unavoidable” impact to the historic resource, even after mitigation. (DEIR 3.4-35).
- Ecological Concerns: Dr. Shawn Smallwood’s findings highlight the presence of special-status species at Site 201, which the DEIR fails to address adequately.
Save Our Sausalito determined that the EIR Must:
- Include an Adequate Environmental Setting Discussion.
- Analyze Environmental Impacts to Historic and Biological Resources.
- Examine the Impact of Eliminating Ordinance 1022 and Ordinance 1128.
- Review the Impact of Eliminating Subjective Standards and the View Ordinance.
The City of Sausalito is under a legal mandate to reach its RHNA goals. However, this does not need to be done at the expense of Sausalito’s unique and irreplaceable Downtown Historic District.
