Blog Post < Previous | Next >
CVP
Kosmont Study was done without consulting the Sausalito General Plan Advisory Committee
The observations about the Kosmont analysis of Sausalito's Marinship, and other business areas, in Sausalito 2040 General Plan Update series Part II, are spot on. When the City Council discussed hiring Kosmont in November 2019. I had been a member of the General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC) for more than 2 years, and upon reading the Kosmont contract and its "Scope of Work," I wrote the following letter to the Sausalito City Council:
To: The Sausalito City Council
November 12, 2019
Re "Exhibit A: Scope of Work" to the Kosmont Professional/Consulting Services Agreement
This is an astonishing document. It is clearly predicated on the notion that irrespective of the General Plan update - and in fact as a prelude to either amending, throwing it out, or supplanting with specific plans for the 3 non-resident areas in town (Downtown, Marinship and Caledonia) - the Kosmont Companies will generate a range of development strategies to, and I quote:
"help transform the daytime and nighttime uses and prioritize sites for potential new development." (page 4 of the unnumbered Exhibit A Scope of Work Attachment).
Kosmont will "review" City Format Retail and Land Use restrictions to
"identify potential revisions regulations, policies, and procedures to improve new business startup and existing business growth"
We have just spent close to 2 years in a General Plan update process, during which the General Plan Advisory Committee and various stakeholder groups did EXACTLY what the Kosmont group proposes to redo as far as these items are concerned:
1) conduct an Assessment of Current Conditions (Kosmont's Task 1),
2) work with staff to effect City Outreach (Kosmonts' Task 2), prepare an Economic and Demographic profile (part of Kosmont's Task 3), and
3) recommend updated policies and programs for the next 20 years.
And, almost insultingly, Kosmont will base its recommendations on interviews with City Staff and "select" business owners/managers and a review of previous revitalization efforts (read "imagine Sausalito") and recommendations from the two business oriented city committees: the HBDC and the BAC.
Interesting that the results will be presented to the BAC and HBDC committees for their feedback, prior to presenting to the City Council. No public forum? No review by, or even presentation to, GPAC?
The GPAC requested an economic analysis months ago. That request was turned down by the City Council. Now, immediately after agendizing a vision for the Marinship, before the GPAC has discussed Caledonia Street, and AFTER starting the EIR process, this process is apparently being launched, with a report and recommendations to reconfigure our zoning and administration to be issued in June of 2020.
Please explain the juxtaposition of this consulting agreement with the GP Update process many of us have worked on for the past two years.
Pat Zuch