July 29, 2023
Directions | Inside Galilee, a cooperative floating community
The Galilee Harbor Community Association is a Sausalito-based floating home community of 38 berths. A member-run cooperative community composed of artists, marine workers and their families, residents of Galilee Harbor are actively employed in marine and artistic occupations, including boat-building, boat repair, sail-making, marine canvas work, creative writing, theater, painting, photography and other visual arts. Many residents are low or very low income.
Boat builders and their families have lived next to the Mono Street Marsh in Sausalito since the 1800s. The drive to become a legally permitted community began in 1980 when developers began demolishing the boat-building sheds on the uplands. The residents formed a non-profit corporation and bought the land and water parcels from the developer. After 18 years of negotiation with the City and the BCDC, the Association received permits to build a legal live-aboard marina based on the premise that by providing low-cost housing to artists and maritime workers it was helping to preserve the working Sausalito waterfront.
