City of Marina Community Reports This community report was written by a student from California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB), as part of a volunteer program at LandWatch. The purpose of this collaboration is to engage students in their local communities, and to stimulate their interest in and knowledge about local land use issues. Participants in this program research issues and attend meetings in various communities in Monterey County, reporting on important agenda items and other items of interest. Community reports are written from the student's point of view, and do not necessarily represent the official position of LandWatch Monterey County. LandWatch is committed to offer information to the public, and we are happy to make our website available for these student perspectives. Please enjoy the following community reports from the various communities of Monterey County. City of Marina Submitted by David Harms The effects of the proposed housing on Armstrong Ranch would be vast. If Armstrong Ranch were to be developed, the population growth would be increase from 18,000 to 43,000 in a relatively short amount of time. The city of Marina is part of the Monterey bay and is known for its beauty. Somehow the city has managed to remain a small town retaining the essence John Steinbeck immortalized in his writing. The proposed development seems to be a planned community for the already upper-middle class. A seemingly endless mass of identical houses marks the landscape spanning to the horizon. If the development was to go on as planned, we may have watched as every single owner of his/her newly purchased house get in their car and simultaneously depart north on their commute to San Jose for a days work. What becomes of the City of Marina as this type of development occurs? Regular congestion arises; the awful traffic becomes a cornerstone of the typical Marina citizen's conversation. Older citizens grow to resent the sudden crowding of their once peaceful town, separating the community, and eventually destroying the feeling of community. Soon, commodities and infrastructure must be built for the newcomers. Big business' start springing up by the handful. Fluxes of fast food and chain restaurants begin to slowly steal the business away from the local merchants. Do the citizens of Marina want to have their own GAP, a Barnes and Noble, and their very own Toys-R-Us? The effect slowly creeps over the rest of the peninsula. Monterey County, once known for its beauty has now become indistinguishable from San Jose and its surrounding cities. By enacting such drastic change, developments such as these may rob the city of what made it special and important in the first place. Smart Growth, that occurs slowly and well planned is always more fruitful than the forced growth suggested by the developers of Armstrong Ranch. Think of the city as a child, still young, maybe a little underdeveloped. Do you grab the child by the hair and stick him on the stretching board resolutely saying, "Now, young man, you'll grow an inch or it's no dinner for you!" Or, more along the lines of "smart growth" do you tell him to eat his Wheaties and someday he'll grow up big and strong? Only through careful management planning can the City of Marina reach it's full potential. To consider the option of a suburb may be killing any chance Marina may have of ever becoming a great city.   You can contact David Harms at: David_Harms@monterey.edu [Return to Community Reports]
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