It’s time to share access to Mariners Village
Re: “The trouble with Mariners Village,” nautical news, Sept. 11
I’ve read with great interest the letters and stories on the redevelopment plans for Mariners Village. I’ve always wondered what was in there, as when we go on our marina walks, locked gates restrict access to the marina frontage there. It’s a curious situation for public land.
The place was built a while ago and, like many in the marina, needs to be rebuilt … not to mention it’s a bit ugly. It seems there are many trees — though I, of course, have never seen them. Residents seem focused on saving the trees, although I suspect maintaining their private enclave on “my” land is the real motive.
So, how about some honest discourse on the best path forward? A little critical thinking lends the following points:
The place needs a refurb, with private money, so that needs to have a reasonable return on investment or no one will do it. Of course the initial plan maximizes return; no intelligent businessman would do otherwise.
If there are good trees, as many as possible should be preserved. Seems a good plan could easily do this.
Public access to the marina frontage is required. Period. Get over it, residents — I want to walk along “your” neighborhood that we all own.
It’s a marina, so adding boat slips is a good thing.
A few more stores and restaurants within walking distance is also a good thing.
The myriad government agencies and commissions are supposed to weigh all the above and come up with balanced solutions. We all need to abandon the rhetoric and make them do their jobs for us! So, please all, pile on in a positive way …
Bill HartMarina del Rey
FROM THE WEB:
Re: “Eyes over Venice,” cover story, Aug. 21
Cameras won’t stop a random anomaly like the car/boardwalk incident. Unfortunately, violence happens no matter where one goes in LA — every high-traffic place has that potential. If these are the most notable crimes that have happened at Venice Beach, really, that seems pretty remarkable to me. Also, in the reference to “protesters throwing bottles at police,” one is led to assume that the police were the justified victims, when in fact they were (and are often) the agitators in these scenarios.
But hey, we can all trust the most honorable and reputable police department in the country to use these cameras in an honest way, right?
Quimich Bravo
Re: It’s time to share access to Mariners Village
First let’s dispense with even the psychic notion of “ownership” of the Marina. Only the County owns the land in the Marina, therefore this notion of “ownership”, even in the theoretical sense is a little silly. The land isn’t ours to sell or trade, all of us are just County residents. The County has chosen to lease the land to a private entity, and they have chosen to develop the property and lease that to tenants. I suspect if you were really interested in what Mariner’s Village looks like, you could find a valid reason to go there and have a look.
I don’t have an issue with public access to Mariner’s Village provided the rights of the tenants to the peaceful enjoyment of their residences are protected. Public access is going to happen anyway as it’s a requirement of the LCP and will most likely be a County requirement when renewing the lease of the Mariner’s Village parcel. So I think we’re in agreement there.
The mature trees that are on the property took decades to grow and become as majestic as they are. I am opposed to the complete destruction of these trees because they simply aren’t replaceable in a reasonable amount of time. We already have an example of what this looks like on Admiralty Way. Do you like what was done to Admiralty Way? I don’t, and am embarrassed to say I was surprised by it. That’s what happens when one is asleep to local political involvement. Great big basically healthy and shady coral trees replaced with little drought-tolerant trees even though mature trees are specifically excluded from the County ordinances around drought and renovation. Well that’s what’s most likely to happen at Mariner’s Village and on Via Marina itself unless people get involved in the process for change.
I wouldn’t mind additional businesses, but I don’t want to see the Community Center destroyed to make way for them. There are already businesses here, and they’re fine, very convenient to have.
We’ll have to agree to disagree on the view about adding boat slips. The shoreline view is a beautiful, unobstructed view of the main channel, and my preference is to keep it that way, including for the public.
Art Ford
I live across the street from Mariners Village and have always been able to walk over there and walk along the waterfront. I haven’t observed it to be restricted.