High-Rise Remake of Marina Looms After State OK : Land use: Critics say approval of ambitious project is latest example of pro-development tendency of Coastal Commission.

They would be the tallest buildings on the water in Los Angeles--a line of 22-story towers along the western edge of Marina del Rey. A high-rise luxury hotel would rise from the marina’s last undeveloped piece of waterfront, instead of a new public park.

This is the vision of the marina’s future that the California Coastal Commission approved last week despite objections from its own staff, marina-area residents and public interest groups.

Although acknowledging the need to reinvigorate the aging harbor, the commission’s staff had strongly urged rejection of the marina master plan unless the height of new residential and commercial buildings is scaled down and more public parkland is provided.

Los Angeles County voters passed a bond issue in 1956 to carve a new recreational boat harbor for the public from the swamplands of Venice. Today, virtually all of this publicly owned marina is leased by the county on a long-term basis to private developers who operate the marina’s apartments, hotels, boat slips, restaurants, shopping centers and offices.

Commission Executive Director Peter Douglas said the county has failed to keep its promise that Marina del Rey would be a water-oriented recreational marina “not just for some of the public, but for all of the public.”

Despite the staff objections, the commission voted 8 to 3 to approve the county’s plans for the redevelopment of the world’s largest man-made small-craft harbor without major changes.

Commission Chairman Carl L. Williams said the state agency needs to give reasonable deference to local government’s desires as long as its plans do not violate the Coastal Act. “I did not see any egregious violation by the county’s planning decisions,” Williams said.

The Marina del Rey action is the latest in a series of commission decisions during the past year that have alarmed environmentalists.

The commission has approved a controversial plan by Arco to build two new golf courses on agriculturally zoned land along the Gaviota coast west of Santa Barbara.

And the commission’s lawyers are negotiating a settlement of a developer’s lawsuit that could pave the way for final approval of the hotly contested Elwood Shores development near UC Santa Barbara.

Environmentalists fear that the commission is straying far from its mission to control runaway development and preserve public access to California’s scenic 1,100-mile coastline.

“With each new month, [the commission] seems to go farther down the path of ignoring our mandate to protect these resources,” said Sierra Club coastal coordinator Mark Massara.

Melvin Nutter, a former chairman of the Coastal Commission and now chairman of the League for Coastal Protection, said commission decisions are not being made in conformance with the Coastal Act.

Only county representatives and lobbyists for marina leaseholders testified in favor of the plan last week.

“What really matters is what lobbyist or behind-the-scenes player you have,” Nutter said.

Commission Chairman Williams rejected such criticism as unfounded. He said reasonable people can differ as to what is being done to carry out the commission’s mission. “In some people’s view, any development is not protecting the coast,” he said. “It has to be a balance between protecting the coast versus allowing reasonable development.”

Williams said the Marina del Rey issue is difficult because of its complexity and the amount of development that already exists there. “Part of my concern about Marina del Rey is it has already been so developed and there have been so many poor planning decisions over the years that what we had before us was rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,” he said.

Although the commission approved an overall plan and zoning for future marina development, Williams said that specific developments will require separate agency approval. But, he said, the plan lays the groundwork for considering specific projects.

No other aspect of the proposal has sparked as much opposition as the prospect of 225-foot-tall towers being built where 45-foot buildings stand today.

“The high-rises change the character and the quality of the recreational space,” commission Executive Director Douglas said. “Essentially, it is a big mistake. It destroys the quality of the place.”

“It has the potential to drastically change the appearance of the marina,” said Charles Damm, the Coastal Commission’s South Coast district director.

The commission staff had urged that the maximum height of buildings on the outer edge of the marina be limited to 140 feet and no more than 45 feet on the peninsulas that jut into the harbor.

But the commission opted for a maximum of 225 feet on the periphery of the marina and 75 feet along most of the peninsulas if developers agree to provide a “view corridor” or gap along 40% of their property.

Damm said if the commission and the county are going to allow more development, particularly residential development, there should be more parkland.

The plan calls for the addition of 2,500 residential units, 1,070 new hotel rooms, 1,875 restaurant seats, 383 boat slips and a significant increase in office and retail space.

The commission staff, area residents and environmental groups pleaded with the commission to reserve 3.7 acres--the last remaining undeveloped parcel in the marina--for a park. But they lost.

The county’s plan calls for the addition of a public trail and park next to a polluted flood control basin on the northern edge of the marina. Admiralty Park, a strip favored by walkers, cyclists and skaters, would shrink to add a lane for increased traffic on Admiralty Way, the marina’s main street.

The commission’s approval was the culmination of five years of work by county planners.

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The Rise of a New Marina Los Angeles County’s plan for redeveloping Marina del Rey could dramatically alter its appearance. The change would be most noticeable along the harbor’s western edge, where a line of 22- story apartment towers would replace three- story complexes. A 22- story hotel couldrise on the marina’s last underdeveloped piece of waterfront property.

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Setting the Standard The new master plan sets forth the maximum residential and commercial construction that can take place on every parcel in the marina. Where some of the development could go: 1.2.: Two 22- story residential towers could be built on the western side of Via Marina. Area now occupied by Kingswood Village and the Del Rey Shores apartments. Maximum height: 225 feet.

3.: A high-rise residential building could replace the three- story Neptune Marina apartments on the eastern side of Via Marina. Maximum height: 225 feet.

4. This is the last undeveloped parcel on the harbor waterfront. Coastal Commission staff recommended devoting 3.7 acres to a public park. The commission voted instead to allow a hotel. Maximum height: 225 feet.

5. One or more high- rise residential towers could be built where the three- story Marina Harbor apartments stand. Other high- rise apartments could rise on adjacent land (not shown in photo) occupied by the Mariner’s Village apartments. Maximum height: 225 feet.

6. Another hotel could be built on part of this site along Admiralty Way, now the home of the California Yacht Club. Maximum height: 140 feet.

7. A third hotel could replace an office building at this Lincoln Boulevard entrance to the marina. Maximum height: 225 feet.

Source: Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning