Sausalito eases hurdles to revive downtown business

Four years ago, the pandemic left downtown Sausalito with 17 vacant storefronts and a handful of business owners worried that city bureaucracy was undermining its recovery.

“In the past, Sausalito had a reputation for a town you don’t want to do business in because its permitting process was so kludgy,” said Kass Green, whose family runs a bayfront inn and once spent months getting approval to install one French door. “Now, we know what we need to do. We have to work with the city to make the process more fluid.”

In the past three years, a joint effort led by business owners like Green, newly elected city officials and a new planning staff has sparked a change in attitude that has revived Sausalito’s commercial hub.

The vacant Bank of America was converted into the Sausalito Center for the Arts, now drawing 35,000 visitors annually. Renovations of the ferry terminal and nearby walkways are nearly done. Entrepreneurs have been courted and assisted. More than a dozen new retail shops and eateries have been permitted and opened.

This turnaround was touted at the City Council meeting Tuesday by Brandon Phipps, the director of the Community and Economic Development Department, when presenting the agency’s annual budget report.

“There has been a tremendous and resounding improvement in the last two-and-one-half years,” Phipps said. “That doesn’t mean that the work is done. There’s still a lot of opportunities to take advantage of, a number of challenges to address, but that spirit that I’ve discussed, and that mindset that I’ve discussed, is pervasive within the department now.”

The budget report covers the governmental side of this progress. But the successes also are the result of business-minded residents and local officials setting out to change how the city interacts with business owners, said Ian Sobieski, a council member and former mayor who has encouraged the efforts.

“While there are those who see the glass half-empty and point out what hasn’t been done, there are volunteers in town who are actually working for free to help with economic development,” he said.

After the city saw many downtown businesses close and tourism tax revenues plummet during the pandemic, a group of residents with entrepreneurial experience partnered with newly elected officials to change the city’s business climate. The Community Development Department created an economic development division and an Economic Development Advisory Committee.

Green initially got involved when she and other business owners wanted better street lighting. Also on the advisory board was Monica Finnegan, who, besides putting artwork in vacant storefront windows, prospecting for commercial tenants and introducing those prospects to city officials, led the effort to turn the former bank into the arts center.

“The pandemic was a catalyst for looking at things that maybe we hadn’t fully looked at or even understood,” said Finnegan. “The ED committee was formed. It was all new people. We had roundtables with landlords, tenants, retailers, restaurants and artists. We surveyed residents. … We asked, what’s stopping us from getting things done?”

Finnegan said the committee saw San Rafael’s permit process as a model of best practices, and made suggestions in 35 areas to the City Council and the Planning Department. It suggested more than 200 ways to cut red tape. It continues to advocate, calling for an ombudsman to track progress and problems, and marketing “to change the perception of Sausalito.”

Encouraged by the advisory committee, downtown businesses and landlords formed a business improvement district last July. Its recent efforts, funded by a modest tax-funded budget, include hanging flower pots from downtown light posts and creating a better-lit pedestrian walkway near the ferry.

As important, the business district’s board includes a seat for a city economic development staffer. These steps have opened communication channels for business owners to have input on policy and regulatory reform, several entrepreneurs said.

“Half of the [city’s] money comes from businesses taxes,” said Yoshi Tome, who for 39 years has run Sushi Ran on Caledonia Street, another commercial district. “And yet, business has not been able to influence much of the political decision making process, including myself.”

At the City Council meeting Tuesday, when Mayor Joan Cox interviewed candidates for two seats on the Economic Development Advisory Committee, she emphasized the panel’s next priority was revitalizing Tome’s neighborhood.

“What brainstorms might you be able to provide us to enlivening the businesses on Caledonia Street?” she asked Alexander Bleyleben, and then Alexander Woie. Later Tuesday, both men were appointed to the panel.