In a recent Marin IJ op-ed piece, an ex-Sausalito mayor described the city’s working waterfront as “the financial golden goose.” To reinforce that description, she added:
“This industrial and maritime area diversifies Sausalito’s economy away from tourism and continued to function at full capacity during the pandemic. It generates 75% of the business license tax revenue in Sausalito and about 45% overall of the city’s property and sales tax revenue.
It is critical to keep this income source productive. If this thriving area is eroded, the financial burden of additional services required by the potential new 1,500 residents will shift to taxpayers. Property taxes will not make up this shortfall. Sausalito receives only 11% of the real estate taxes paid.
Developers and their supporters want to build hundreds of units of housing and commercial uses on the historic working waterfront.”
The Sausalito Working Waterfront Coalition (SWWC), a nonprofit made up of local business owners, employees, property owners, artists, and residents, supports the legacy of Sausalito’s waterfront history and culture while promoting maritime, artistic and light industrial innovation. The group has been screening their 60-minute documentary entitled “A Tour of Sausalito’s Marinship—A Working Waterfront at Risk” for various organizations in and around Sausalito. Rebecca Lawther recently showed the film at her home on Gate 6 ½. If you know of an organization that could arrange a screening for 25 or more attendees, with a representative of the SWWC on hand to provide updates and answer questions, contact the SWWC.