Marinship Currentz Newsletter

June 23, 2022

 

Please forward to friends who care about our working waterfront

Sausalito Working Waterfront Coalition

 The destruction of Sausalito’s working waterfront came a step closer to reality following votes by three City Council members at the June 14th meeting.   

Despite warnings from hundreds of citizens who signed petitions against locating homes immediately adjacent to the Arques Shipyard, the Council majority did exactly that on June 14th.  They advanced to the EIR stage, two large parcels for residential development, at the  office complex known as Marina Plaza.

 

The motion to move forward was made by Council member Susan Cleveland-Knowles and seconded by Council member Melissa Blaustein. Councilmember Ian Sobieski provided the third vote.  Opposition to housing next to the shipyard came from Mayor Janelle Kellman, along with former Mayor Jill Hoffman who offered a compromise motion that was rejected by her pro-waterfront development colleagues.

 

Two of those three city council members took maximum campaign contributions from the project owner/developer of Marina Plaza that's sandwiched between a working boatyard and the Army Corp bay-debris and demolition yard.

 

Marina Plaza and other possible housing sites will now be evaluated for environmental impacts.     Sites throughout the Marinship have a host of problems the the Marina Plaza developer has downplayed.....

Read More

Heidi Scoble, Thank you for your service.

 

The shortcomings of Sausalito’s Housing Element Advisory Committee (HEAC) have been a growing embarrassment for months.  Several of the Committee appointees openly admitted that they had no idea what parcels they were recommending as housing sites.  

 

So when the City’s top housing expert suggested using a smaller more experienced group to do a better job, many breathed a sigh of relief.  The suggestion was backed by Mayor Kellman, top housing consultant Beth Thompson and others - but opposed by the same three city council members who just voted to site housing next to the shipyard. 

 

Ironically, the same small group idea was advocated by Cleveland-Knowles during the General Plan process, before she voted to oppose it for the Housing Committee.  

 

Scoble and Thompson together possess nearly 40 years in planning and housing expertise.  However, these three city council members, with no professional housing experience themselves, rejected this attempt to improve the process. 

 

Heidi Scoble, Sausalito's beloved housing expert and planner, and friend to the working waterfront, turned in her resignation a few days after her suggestions were rejected.  We hope her resignation was not related to that flawed decision by the Council majority, and wish her well.

Marinship Documentary Screenings

In the last few weeks there have been very well-received screenings at Drivers Market and the Presidio Yacht Club.  Thank you to our hosts.  Driver's small front space was filled with many new Working Waterfront patrons!  At the Presidio Yacht Club, it was pizza dinner with the movie.  About 90 people attended.  In both cases we heard, "I had no idea!" many times!  

Drivers Market - Thank you Adam and Graham!

Presidio Yacht Club - Thank you Scott and Shannon!

The next Screening will be in mid-July watch this newsletter for an announcement!

In the meantime, watch the short preview below.

Marinship Documentary Preview

What's going on in the Marinship?

Wooden Boat Show

Freda's at Spaulding gets some new bottom paint for Sunday's 2022 Wooden Boat Show at Corinthian Yacht Club 10-4pm courtesy of Master Mariners.

 
Boat Show Info

Liberty Ship July 4th Float

Twenty-four-inch scale model of Liberty Ship Float for the July 4th Parade.  Kids from Marin City's Performing Stars will ride the float.

 

The full-scale float is being constructed by Marin Made with an aluminum hull and wood bench seating.  It will be mounted on a trailer and towed in the parade.

Hands-On Education

 

Jesse just graduated from Redwood High.  On his way out of state to pursue a degree in engineering, he's spending part of his summer at Marin Made to work on some practical projects.  

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The Waterfront is Working

SF Fireboat Phoenix.  Before and after, but not yet completed

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Will future condo owners in the vicinity get used to this noise?

In 2020 a group of Marinship entrepreneurs bought about a dozen Yasa electric motors at the Makani going-out-of-business auction.  Makani was a Google-X company that developed kites that would generate electric power.  The axial flux motors are used in a variety of high performance electric vehicles: the Ferrari SF90 Stradale, Rolls Royce's ACCEL (world's fastest electric aircraft), and the Koenigsegg Regera.

 

One was installed in a 1968 VW bus - direct drive with 1200 foot-pounds of torque.  All fabrication and assembly was done in the Marinship.   So the lesson here is those storage containers that some in city council dislike so much are often affordable workspaces used by entrepreneurs and innovators.  They’re one part of the working waterfront.

Open Letter

If you have not yet signed the Open Letter to City Council 

 

Please Read and Sign  HERE

 sausalitoworkingwaterfront@gmail.com

Sausalito Working Waterfront Website has been updated!

 

Become a Member HERE

or

Subscribe HERE

or

Donate HERE 

(not tax deductible)

 

 

The Sausalito Working Waterfront Coalition is a non-profit, public-benefit/social welfare corporation organized as a 501(c)4. 

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