Letter of advocacy on concerns over Sausalito ODDS

On March 3, 2025 MEHC Executive Director, Jenny Silva, wrote to Sausalito City Council members to express concerns over the amended Objective Design and Development Standards. The letter is below:

Dear City Council members,

I am writing to you to express my concerns over the amended Objective Design and Development Standards (ODDS). 

The draft ordinance includes Chapter 10A.3, Public and Private View Preservation Standards. As noted by the planning commission, these standards rely on a new, untested software program. The planning commission has acknowledged that this software must be tested before it can be implemented. The adopted code must be objective. It’s unclear how a non-implementable ordinance is to work. This portion of the code should be delayed until it can be implemented. 

In addition, the increased set-backs and reductions of height limits should be removed from the ODDS. The ODDS are intended to facilitate development. Increasing set-backs and reducing heights reduces the FAR that can be constructed and is a clear restriction on development.