Let’s reverse course in Marina del Rey to focus on recreation, wildlife and trees
By William Hicks
If “The Happiest Place on Earth” is Disneyland’s slogan, then what should be Marina del Rey’s?
Answer: “What happens in Marina del Rey doesn’t stay in Marina del Rey.”
That’s because Marina del Rey is Los Angeles County land, and a piece of every financial transaction that occurs there goes to the county — every ground lease, property tax, rent check, boat slip fee, vending machine snack and so on.
Since its very beginning, Marina del Rey was sold as a revenue generator for the county. In other words, the cash cow of the county: According to the Department of Beaches and Harbors, total county revenue from the marina has increased from about $45 million in fiscal year 2011-12 to $58.4 million in FY 2013-14.
So who is the county? Some nebulous group of overlords entrenched in downtown L.A.? No. If you live in L.A. County, then this means that the county is you!
Sure, you voted (or, more likely, didn’t vote) for a member of the Board of Supervisors, the five people who manage the land in L.A. County, but this does not mean that “they” are the county. This simply means that they were hired to manage this land with the best interests of the majority of the residents in mind. At least that’s how a democracy is supposed to work.
Without getting into the democracy vs. republic debate, let’s just say that an elected official should represent at least 50.1% of the population. After residents vote, they want to believe that they can then go home, pet their cat or take their dog for a walk, eat dinner with their family, watch some boob tube or YouTube, kiss someone good night and drift off to never-never land knowing that they did their civic duty.
Unfortunately, the majority of Marina del Rey’s residents woke up this past January to discover that 650 trees had been cut down in their neighborhood at Oxford Basin Lagoon. They also discovered that the fox whom they had left guarding their henhouse was telling The Argonaut he was surprised that people were protesting at the 11th hour, even though many had only become aware of this nightmare when the chainsaws arrived just before Christmas.
I understand the desire to clean up Oxford Basin Lagoon and open it up to the public, but was this “Sherman’s March to the Sea” (as my colleague called it) really necessary? Couldn’t the engineers who are “restoring it” have at least tried to design around some of what was already there? As one Silver Strand resident recently commented, “On what planet would you chop down every tree to erect a park?”
It feels a little like we’re living in Middle Earth, where Sauron has set his sights on Marina del Rey. Not only is the county deforesting the marina at an alarming rate, but it is also spurring developers to build gargantuan structures comprising hundreds of additional residential units.
The last time that I checked, the residents of Marina del Rey don’t own jetpacks and flying cars, so what effect are these half a dozen or so development projects going to have on the traffic — especially in an emergency situation?
According to a recent traffic study conducted in 2010 by Raju Associates Inc. for the Department of Beaches & Harbors, traffic in Marina del Rey has improved since the last traffic study conducted between 1991 and 1994. I don’t know about everyone else, but if I were L.A. County’s emperor I wouldn’t want Raju as my tailor.
Due to the Playa Vista monstrosity alone, Lincoln Boulevard is quickly becoming a parking lot. Do developers simply keep building until we step into our cars one day and barely move?
My wife came up with a great slogan, “Spend a wonderful day … come to Marina del Rey.” Let’s re-brand Marina del Rey and focus on recreation, wildlife and trees.
William Hicks lives in Marina del Rey.
Thank you. A great article, but where do we go from here? How do we slow development? Looks like it is too late as plans have been approved for the next 5 years already. What is going in on the temporary fenced in area on the East side of Marina del Rey between Panay Way and Marquesas? Also I would like to see a park or nature walk on the parcel between Marquesas and Tahiti also on the East side of Via Marina. it would look great with elevated walkways and bird watching stations.
Hi Pamela, nothing is done until it’s done. Stay informed, inform others, and notify our representatives of your concerns as often as possible, while encouraging others to do the same. It is up to the people to hold them accountable on a regular basis. This affects where we go from here. William
Bravo!! Used to be wonderful……overbuilt overcrowded and ugly!!
Yes, Lee…let the county and the coastal commission know! William
Great article, but it’s with a heavy heart I say the Marina is doomed. Cash cow indeed, William! My partner and I left the Marina last year after having spent 8 wonderful years there. Sadly when we left it was nothing like when we first arrived.
Hi Diane, we’ll see how long they can milk this cow until enough people say enough is enough. William
We avoid Lincoln and many times go all the way to Centinela or Inglewood, when going north. I can’t really agree that the traffic is better. It’s worse, and it is really bad north of Bali and/or Washington on Lincoln.
I totally agree, Larry. William
Thank you for your enlightening article laying out the facts about who is giving away the store…our “beloved” politicians downtown. It is disgraceful to put it mildly what has happened to this special place over the last 5 years. The only bit of light beyond this tunnel is that Don Knabe, the chief perpetrator of this travesty, is being termed out soon…just not soon enough. I hope everyone will pay attention to replacement candidates, and vote for someone who actually values trees, birds, and nature in general. I know we need housing, but all of the housing that has been built is out of many people’s price range.
I loved this column! Thanks, William HIcks.
Thank you for your passion, Catherine…and keep submitting those letters! William
Thank you, William Hicks for telling it like it is. Your writing is compelling and creatively written
🙂
Thanks, Katherine! William
My husband and I have lived here for 8 years and it has been wonderful but the new project plans for pier 44 are frightening. The beautiful road on Admiralty will be shut down for over a year and Lincoln Blvd is already backing up. The traffic is crazy most of the day, the parking lots are full in all of our neighborhood centers. Where and how will all the new residents shop or park? I’ve felt the tension building and the future of our neighborhood looks bleak.
I’m grateful that I live in Villa Marina nested between Fuji and Mindanao and all if our trees and gardens are intact. We have a community here that is unsurpassed. I pray everyone is prepared for an inevitable earthquake here because we will not be driving out to safety or have resources to all survive if it’s a big one. Go get FREE CERT training in case of a big quake or look up info online. All of us need to “get real” about being prepared. Just have extra eat yet food and flashlights, cash and batteries will help. Look at Nepal no one expected that devastation. Be a leader in your community and get informed. We have 100 trained Cert leaders in our neighborhood and you all need to look into it.
Thank you for this article to keep us informed! We are blessed to live here and need to understand what’s happening. I help people connect in the community but most of us are stuck in traffic
Sorry about a few typos above I was on my phone writing my reply can you fix them?
Hi Renee, you can send an email to the editor and ask him if he can fix them. Thank you for your comment on preparedness…this is definitely a future column. I’ll be in touch. William
William, why don’t YOU run for office? Since you mentioned that the current “leader” is not going to be there anymore, we need someone with a vision to step in. We need people who are conscious and committed to improving the city, and not someone who deforests the place just to bring in more developers. I know that you would bring good leadership to the city.
Thanks for caring enough to write this article!
I am a writer, Holly, and not a professional fundraiser, which unfortunately is what politics has become, and will continue to be until the people change it. William
One major promise that has conveniently been forgotten through the years is that the development of Marina del Rey was based on it’s being a “marina for the people” – not a cash cow for the County. So much for keeping promises. What has been done to the Marina is a travesty. Sadly, it keeps getting worse.
The marina is sadly a microcosm of the macrocosm, Judith. All we can do is stay involved and hope that enough people do the same to affect change. William