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Sausalito’s largest proposed housing project in decades has grown more controversial.

In March, Bayspring Development Partners filed a pre-application for a 65-foot-tall structure at 1 Harbor Drive, the site of an office building across from Mollie Stone’s Market. The proposal called for 294 apartments with 46 reserved for low-, very low-, and moderate-income households.

Now the company has filed for permits to construct a six-story building whose plans say its height reaches 80 feet. It would still have 294 apartments, but with 59 designated as affordable.
The building would include two parking levels topped by four residential floors.

The new height stems from measuring the building from sea level, which adds 10 feet, Bayspring co-founder Bryce Holman said Thursday.

By designating one-fifth of the apartments as affordable, the company triggered the state density bonus law that allows a project of that scale and exempts it from most local review.

The project is drawing new scrutiny by civic leaders and calls for a city-led impact review.

“When I was mayor, I met with the applicants to discuss their project and they showed me renderings that were less dense and far smaller,” said Councilmember Joan Cox, who was mayor last year. “I’m very surprised to see how much the design has evolved.”

“I am concerned that this massing and bulk is not necessary to provide the level of affordable housing stock that they are proposing,” she said.

Last fall, Cox supported Measure J, which rezoned the site and 11 other parcels to meet state housing mandates. The city is required to allow 724 more dwellings by 2031.

Measure J, approved by 75% of voters, envisioned 355 new residences at the sites, including 129 new at 1 Harbor Drive. The density bonus law allowed Bayspring to propose even more.

In May, before the taller building plan emerged, the community group Save Our Sausalito urged the city to launch a sweeping study of the project’s environmental impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act.

Last weekend, volunteers gathered more than 200 petition signatures calling for the review.

“At 80 feet tall, 477,000 square feet in area, and 294 units, this project is unprecedented in scale for Sausalito and deserves a complete and transparent environmental review,” the petition said.

The petition said the impacts could involve traffic, public safety, infrastructure, utilities, neighborhood character and wildlife harmed by the removal of 55 trees, among other factors.

“It’s actually mandatory,” said Sophia Collier of Save Our Sausalito. “The reasons are because when the city has to make discretionary findings, that is what allows them to engage in a CEQA review.”

Holman said the rezoning vote and density bonus entitles the project to a ministerial approval and not a discretionary or CEQA review by the city.

“We set out to deliver a high-quality, mixed-use project, combining new housing with continued office use, that fits well within the surrounding community and reflects the character of the Marinship,” he said in an e-mail.

“We chose to pursue a density bonus in accordance with state law precisely because it lets us deliver more deed-restricted affordable homes: 59 in all, or 20 percent of the project, alongside 235 market-rate homes,” he said. “That level of density is what ultimately allows these homes, including the affordable units that address a critical local need, to actually get built.”

“Because the project dedicates 20 percent of its homes to lower-income households, it qualifies for the ministerial ‘use by right’ review the City established for designated housing sites like this one,” he said. “That is the process the City selected and the voters endorsed, and it is consistent with state law. We are following it while continuing to work closely with City staff to resolve technical questions and ensure the project is thoughtfully integrated into the community.”

On June 30, the city notified Bayspring that their application for several permits was “incomplete.” It requested more plans, reports and information on more than a dozen design elements.

In addition to a zoning permit, lot line adjustment and tree removal permit, the project also seeks waivers from height limits and reduced requirements for setbacks, landscaping and parking.

Once the submission is complete, city planners will review it “to make sure it complies with state housing laws,” said Brandon Phipps, assistant city manager.

“The project’s proposed size and number of units are primarily a function of state law,” he said.

Collier said that stage in the process is where the local officials could initiate a CEQA review.

Whether the city’s permit vetting contains discretionary elements could be litigated, she said.

In the meantime, local architects are also weighing in — pro and con — on the scale and design.

“Just because state laws say you can do something like this, doesn’t mean one should,” said Michael Rex, who has written to Bayspring criticizing its plans. “Much can and should be done to reduce the project’s excessive height, its blocky scape, its apparent mass and its boring architecture.”

“Sausalito should demand better,” he said.

Joel Karr, an architect who has called for more development, said, “The site is a perfect place for housing that can help us meet the demands of our housing element requirements.”

“The location is on a major artery, near public transportation, which reduces potential traffic impacts, and will obstruct virtually no one’s views or property values,” he said. “It’s unimaginable to me that anyone would fight a great proposal like this — and it’s a nice-looking design.”

Collier still hopes the city will launch a CEQA review, saying the environmental impact report required for the city’s housing element did not assess density bonus scale structures.

“We’re not opposing the project,” she said. “We’re saying, let’s find out what the problems are before it’s built so they can be mitigated.”