Sausalito could consider ballot measures to further the city’s housing plans.

The Planning Commission met Jan.15 to discuss changes to the city’s housing element, the document that guides new residential development over the next eight years.

Chief among the considerations is the development of Site 84, known as the MLK property. Some housing opportunity sites, such as the Martin Luther King Jr. Campus, require voter approval in order to be developed.

For aesthetic reasons, the commission is leaning toward reducing the number of dwellings from 94 to 80. The 17-acre city-owned property is between 100 Ebbtide Ave. and 610 Coloma St.

Jeffery Luxenberg, chair of the commission, said other ballot measures could also be considered and voted on separately. The measures would seek exemptions for sites restricted from development by ordinance.

“The more information we get out there, the better success we will have,” he said.

The commission will make its recommendation to the council on Feb. 19. The deadline to place measures on the June 10 ballot is March 14.

City officials have set out to revise the housing element opportunity sites — or property where housing could potentially be built — in order to address concerns about large sites along the waterfront and in the historic district.

Sausalito must plan for 724 new dwellings between 2023 and 2031, according to the state.

The City Council adopted its housing element in January 2023, which set a goal of planning for at least 908 new dwellings by 2031. The plan involves a series of housing programs — or specific rezoning and development plans — in order to allow for new development.

But the recent modifications have increased the number 958 new dwellings, which would allow a buffer of 234 homes.

The city is set to remove two housing sites: one at 931-933 Bridgeway and another parcel at Bridgeway and a Caltrans right of way, amounting to a total of 26 dwellings. Plans include adding 59 residences on sites at 2400 Bridgeway and 2680 Bridgeway.

“The clock is ticking,” commissioner Andrew Junius said. “Hopefully we get through this.”

Commissioner Kristina Feller called on the council to collaborate more openly with the commissioners. She said the council’s plans to amend the document at times appeared to ignore the commission’s recommendations.

“We really need to help our community understand what’s happening here,” she said. “We all have a very hard lift on a very short runway.”

Feller also said the city should be pushing waterfront housing.

“I think we really need to be a little more proactive in that regard to make sure those are viable and make sure they come to fruition where they are viable,” she said.