Photo Courtesy of Court Mast.
When Measure K passed, Save Our Sausalito committed itself to be a watchdog and make sure that the City follows a charter to fulfill the promises made when voters were asked to trust and vote in favor of the measure and mission of establishing affordable senior housing at MLK Park.
Now, the City has released a draft Request for Proposals for the MLK Park and Corporation Yard sites, and we’ve read its 38 pages carefully. The core protections of our charter and Measure K are there but it still needs some work.
What the Draft RFP Gets Right
- 50 units max, 32 feet max, 2 stories — hard limits backed by voter-approved Measure K
- Development confined to 2 acres — the remaining park is fully protected
- Schools, dog park, courts, fields, and open space are “fundamental, non-negotiable” — excellent language from the City
- Ground lease, not sale — the City retains ownership of the land
- No-net-loss parking — all 72 existing public spaces preserved
- 100% affordable — 35 very-low-income and 15 low-income units specified, but as stated below there’s a caveat
- Transparent evaluation — a 100-point scoring system, published in advance
This is excellent progress and we want to recognize the hard work of Friends of MLK, who have been deeply involved in the workshops and the Task Force. Their dedication to getting and dogging details has been invaluable. Thank you!
Where the RFP Needs to Be Stronger
We’ve identified several areas where the draft should be strengthened before it’s finalized, and we hope you can weigh in on these issues either at the forum or with a quick email.
Key Points:
A measure of Senior housing should be a requirement, not a “preference.” The RFP currently says “strong preference” for senior housing. Measure K was presented to voters as primarily senior housing. A developer could technically propose non-senior affordable housing under this language. A measure of senior housing should be a threshold requirement at the MLK site.
Local preference for Sausalito residents. The RFP is silent on whether Sausalito seniors will have priority access to these units. We fought for this housing for our community. The RFP should require proposers to describe how they will maximize access for Sausalito residents, within the bounds of fair housing law.
Affordability should run with the lease. The RFP requires affordability for a minimum of 55 years. But the ground lease on public land will likely run 75 to 99 years. The affordability restriction should match the lease term — as long as the housing sits on our land, it should stay affordable.
Switcheroo Risk. The RFP allows developers to shift affordability levels between the MLK site and the Corporation Yard site. But the Corporation Yard won’t be available until 2028 at the earliest. If a developer shifts deeply affordable units to a site that doesn’t exist yet, and that project is delayed, those units may never get built. Each site should independently meet its own affordability targets.
The City Should Retain a Financial Consultant
When proposals come in, the City will need to evaluate complex financial plans — tax credit structures, operating pro formas, capitalization strategies, long-term sustainability projections. This is highly specialized work.
We believe the City should retain an independent financial consultant with affordable housing expertise to evaluate the proposals. This is standard practice for projects of this scale. The cost is modest relative to the stakes — 81 units of affordable housing on public land. The community deserves the most rigorous analysis possible.
Community Feedback and Looking Ahead
The final RFP is expected in March, with proposals due May 1. We’ll continue monitoring every step of this process and will keep you informed.
After Measure K passed, we described our vision: a multigenerational MLK campus — ballfields, schools, dog parks, and senior housing side by side — a place where our seniors can age in the community they love. We fought to get here. Now let’s make sure every detail in this RFP lives up to that promise.
Please use our handy, fun email tool and click the button to send your feedback by email to the City.
