Supervisors OK Marina Coastal Plan

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the final California Coastal Commission (CCC) plan for Marina del Rey today. The approval codified the amendments to the plan hashed out over the last year.

The amended plan includes allowing the development of two existing parking lots into residential space, a 526-unit apartment building and a 114-unit senior housing facility with 3,500 square feet of retail space.

It also calls for creating larger boat slips and wider docks to make room for bigger boats and to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The larger slips, however, will reduce the total number of slips in the marina from  4,761 to 4,349.

“The big decisions were resolved months ago,” said Carol Baker, County Department of Beaches and Harbors spokesperson. Baker said the county sought to amend the plan because “the Marina needed a more integrated, holistic approach to development.” The revisions, Baker explained are the “final chapter of what needed to be done to change the Coastal Plan.”

Baker acknowledged that there is opposition to the county’s plans, but she cites the large turnout in support of the plan at the to approve it as evidence that there is a consensus for the changes. “We’ve seen momentum and support for thoughtful development,” she said. “We want to get the most public benefit out of the land. It really is about balancing out what people in the community want.”

Opponents include recreational boaters who are unhappy that there will be several hundred fewer slips for smaller boats, residents worried about parking and views and environmentalists concerned about the protection of wildlife in the sensitive Ballona wetlands adjacent to the marina.

In November, when the CCC approved the amended plan for the marina, Marcia Hanscom, co-director of the Ballona Institute that works to preserve the Ballona Wetlands ecosystem, lamented that the plan downgrades the protection status for herons and egrets.

"It's a sad day for the birds of Marina del Rey because they had strong legal protection for the past three years," Hanscom said at the time.

The plan approved by the supervisors no longer includes the controversial 116,000 square foot commercial space and a proposed 26,000-square-foot office for the county’s Department of Beaches and Harbors.

Marina del Rey is in an unincorporated part of  Los Angeles County. It is managed by the county’s Department of Beaches and Harbors. The residential and commercial buildings in the marina operate on long-term leases as do the boat slips, restaurants and hotels. Those lessees pay taxes to the county that average about $40 million annually.

Local District 4 Supervisor, Don Knabe, who has championed the redevelopment of the marina told Patch, “I am thrilled that we are moving forward in our plans to update this extraordinary destination for residents, boaters, visitors to Los Angeles County and all those who call it home.” Knabe asserted, “Marina del Rey is a unique place with incredible potential. We are on a course to create a better integrated urban waterfront with improved access to the water and greater services and amenities for all our residents and visitors.”