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Floating-home residents press Marin County to prioritize Gate 6 Road elevation and flood solutions
Summary
Residents of the floating-home community urged the board to elevate or float Gate 6 Road and pursue federal funding, saying the road is the sole access for hundreds of homes and businesses and that repeated king-tide flooding cuts off emergency access.
Multiple residents of Marin County’s floating-home communities told the Board of Supervisors they are repeatedly cut off by king tides and storm events and urged the county to prioritize elevating or otherwise protecting Gate 6 Road.
Teddy Hathaway, an East Pier resident, said Gate 6 Road is the “sole artery” for nearly 300 floating homes and that when the road floods “700 people are effectively cut off from emergency services, their homes, and their livelihoods.” He asked the county to make the road a priority in sea-level-rise planning.
Fellow residents cited economic and practical stakes. Joe Nowitzki estimated more than $1 million in annual property tax receipts from floating-home parcels and argued that those revenues could help amortize the cost of raising or floating the road. Brad Hathaway urged the county to pursue federal competitive grants under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s Protect program, which he said includes sea-level-rise projects.
County staff and the county executive committed to follow-up: the County Executive said staff are working with the city of Sausalito and public works partners to identify alternative parking locations and to provide additional preparedness information to residents. Staff also noted the county will provide sandbagging support, inspections and monitoring during peak tides.
Speakers recommended evaluating floating infrastructure alternatives—such as pontoon-based road structures noted in draft Sausalito planning documents—and requested site visits and phased demonstration projects. The board did not take immediate formal action on funding at the meeting but committed additional outreach and technical coordination with city and regional partners.
The board’s next step is staff follow-up and continued coordination with Sausalito and county public works; residents urged that the issue be prioritized in forthcoming sea-level-rise and capital planning discussions.
