Monterey County Herald Endorses Marina Campaign for Change Team

Editorial: Slow-growth slate right choice for Marina

THE HERALD’S VIEW

Agreement is hard to come by in Marinathese days, but there is consensus on one key topic. Marinais the most logical place for residential and commercial growth on the coastalside of Monterey County.

It has room, lots of it at Fort Ord.

Unlike other places, it even has a reasonable amount of available water.

And, fortunately for the people of Marina and everyone else who caresabout the coastal side of MontereyCounty, it has time tofigure out how to manage its growth to benefit more than just the builders anddevelopers.

In several ways, Marinalucked out when the bottom fell out of the real estate market and constructionloans dried up. Developers of the huge Dunes project had been poised tocontinue with the commercial component of their sprawling project and then tomove onto the 1,200-unit residential element.

Considering the track record so far, particularly the ill-considereddesign of the new shopping center butting against Highway 1, taxpayers shouldbe grateful that the time-out is giving the city an unexpected second chance toget things right.

By electing new leadership, Marinavoters can get the economic impact they want from the commercial development,the relatively affordable housing they seek from the Dunes and subsequent residentialprojects, and a better, more people-friendly plan for how it all fits together.

By picking former Councilman Bruce Delgado as mayor and electing DavidBurnett and Frank O'Connell to the City Council, voters will be saying that thebig decisions should be made by the public and its representatives, not thedevelopers. The trio make up a slow-growth slate that promises to put thepublic, and professional planners, back into the process and to ensure that thecity becomes the best it can be instead of a model of expedience.

Delgado, O'Connell, and Burnett are a thoughtful, competent group everybit as committed to the community as the appointed incumbents they seek toreplace.

There is no denying that council members Nancy Amadeo and Jim Ford are conscientiousrepresentatives, but they can be too quick to side with the mayor, Gary Wilmot,on development matters.

Though he works hard to create his vision of Marina, Wilmot long ago lost any claim tobeing an objective decision-maker on land-use issues. And, as though he had notflown his pro-development flag high enough already, Wilmot and his wiferecently went into partnership with Bart Bruno to publish the Marina newspaper. Bruno is the president ofMonterey Peninsula Engineering and a key figure in the development group behindthe Dunes.

It is one thing to be business-friendly. Wilmot gives the term newmeaning.

Like many communities that have been through hard times — closure of Fort Ordcreated some very hard times — Marina has suffered from an inferiority complex when it comes to courting new enterprise. It essentially has sent the message that developers are welcome to do what they want wherever they want.

For evidence of that, look at the missed opportunity represented by thenew shopping center, a monument to outdated, automobile-oriented design despiteits ocean-view location. It's part of the gateway to the Peninsula.It might as well be welcoming visitors to Cucamonga or Toledo.

For more evidence, look to the council decision to front the infrastructurecosts for the remainder of the Dunes project rather than letting the marketdecide when and whether to move ahead.

The Dunes development and other projects in the pipeline present Marina with tremendous opportunity to becomea well-planned, self-sustaining community, but only if the public interestbecomes as important as the bottom line.

That won't happen without a new lineup on the council. Delgado, Burnett and O'Connell will put the public back into the process.