Economic Redevelopment in Marina

By Ila Mettee-McCutchon

Commentary provided for the Monterey County Herald on vision for the redevelopment directions for Marina.

In the past the city has squandered land on excess fast food restaurants, mini-storage facilities, and gas stations as a result of poor zoning and a "wait and see" attitude on businesses coming to the city. Absent an aggressive marketing effort, a clear customer-friendly permitting process and improved zoning Marina has had to settle for whatever came along. Perhaps that's why we have so many of the things we don't want or need and why we have so much empty retail space. Past administrations have had years to address these challenges and seem only to blame the closure of Fort Ord for the lack of progress.

Marina has great potential. We have undeveloped land, water, natural beauty and a temperate climate. We have a desalination plant that can be expanded and the first phase of infrastructure for recycled water. We have a diverse population and capable work force living in the city. Our airport is operational and growing and there are two major universities here. The "world's salad bowl" is at our northern boundary. We have probably the largest area of land available next to the ocean in the entire country. With our world-class location on Monterey Bay we should be the envy of other cities in our ability to capture the attention of high quality businesses and industry.

We should immediately start marketing our city. We must aggressively present the city and our resources to the marketplace, to attract and be attractive to business and industry that bring high-paying jobs. We need to diversify our economy. Visitor serving businesses such as hotels and restaurants generate TOT and sales tax. Retail shops will provide the goods and services consumers want while generating sales taxes. Research and development and light industrial companies, possibly in support of agriculture, bring high paying jobs to our community. More quality restaurants, grocery stores, and national chain stores will provide our citizens with more choices and convenience.

To bring economic development the city must remove barriers and create opportunity. Remove barriers by rewriting the ordinances that discourage retail or commercial development. Create opportunities by working with the county to identify parcels of land large enough to accommodate industrial development with a variety of jobs. We must keep our economic development clean to protect the environment and preserve natural resources. I encourage partnering with agencies in or near Marina. Some potential partners include UCSC, CSUMB, NPS, Hopkins Marine Lab, Moss Landing Marine Lab and others.

Tax incentives can be used to help business and industry relocate here. Incentives must be monitored and limited in scope and duration to ensure they accomplish the economic goal and are terminated when no longer needed. Specific to economic development on the former Fort Ord, the city must challenge the excessive fees and costs imposed by the Fort Ord Reuse Authority (FORA). These unrealistic fees are draining revenue from Marina (1/2 of all revenue from Preston Park goes to FORA). More simply put, if we want jobs to balance our housing, we must change our processes, train our staff to better assist and expedite requests, support the Marina Business Association and Chamber of Commerce and control our own destiny. By placing Marina first, we can actively improve the opportunities, jobs and quality of life through economic development. Continuation of the outdated city procedures and the "wait and see" attitude of previous elected officials will only continue to yield more fast food, gas stations and storage facilities. To encourage economic development, Marina needs a change in practice and leadership.