FORA Extension

The extension of FOR A is on a lot of minds lately. Since the last Council meeting where the City Council debated the contents of a long letter to the State legislature, the bill extending FOR A was passed out of committee in Sacramento and could be approved as soon as Thursday out in the Assembly.

I thought it important to repeat a few of the points I brought up before the City Council because many of them have to do with issues beyond the extension of FOR A.

First, let’s remember that the former Ft. Ord is about the size of San Francisco City and County, 28,000 acres. Of that acreage, a bit over 18,000 acres have been set aside as permanent natural habitat through agreements with FOR A  and the Sierra Club. Now it appears some 14,000+ acres of that land will be designated as a National Monument to secure its natural status forever.

The remaining acres include all of CSUMB, parts of Del Rey Oaks, Monterey, Seaside, the County of Monterey and Marina. These areas are represented by the Highlands and Bayonet Golf Course in Seaside, the East Garrison project in the County and the Dunes, the Marina Airport, MPC and Marina Heights in Marina plus various other areas.

Next, the blight that we are so concerned about is all within someone’s current jurisdiction. In Marina, most of the blight we see is owned by the City of Marina at this point. There are areas that are entitled for development but the land itself is still owned by the City till the developers have enough interest in building to actually purchase the land and demolish the buildings. The same is true in Seaside, the County and CSUMB. It should also be noted that it is the proceeds from the land sales that fund the demolition of the old buildings.

In fact, Marina had a chance to remove all the blight in the Cypress Knolls area but Councilman Brown changed his mind after choosing a developer, causing more delay’s that could last for years. In the meantime, the blight is not only an eyesore but both an environmental and public safety hazard.

Finally, the purpose of FOR A was, and is, to replace the jobs and the economy that was the Army before the base closed. That means some 34,000 jobs and the housing that goes along with it. FOR A, the Cities and the developers have been working to fulfill this mandate but they have weathered challenge after challenge plus an ever changing economy just to get where we are today. Has everything been accomplished since they began? Of course not. Are there challenges and issues that should be resolved? Yes, but these are local issues and they need local input, not solved on a State level.

So I support the extension of FOR A and I hope the State legislature agrees and gives FOR A the 10 year extension that Assemblyman Monning along with his co-signers, Assemblyman Alejo and Senators Blakeslee and Cannella have proposed. Then let’s all get back to the serious work of bringing jobs to our community.

More later