Measure K, Part Three

Over the course of my last two columns I have tried to explain both the Veterans perspective and the gambling issue raised against Measure K. In this column I want to wrap up the discussion and touch on several other issues and why I am voting for Measure K and against Measure M.

First, let me acknowledge that attempting to take the authority away from our locally elected officials by initiative is a terrible way to govern. This initiative process is full of special interests and unintended consequences that eliminate local authority. Measure K came about as a response to those wishing to take away access to the land promised for the Veterans Cemetery and the land for future economic development by the initiative process (Measure M). It was not a fight that was chosen rather a reaction to “secure the promise” made to our Veterans and the community as a whole.

As much as the Measure M people want you to believe, the Monterey Downs project is not approved by Measure K. Yes, it is an allowed usage of the land as it is currently under the Ft. Ord Reuse plan. If that project were to go forward it would still have to complete an EIR and be approved by the City of Seaside and Monterey County… not by the approval of Measure K.

What Measure M would do is make any project on this land impossible. That would include any project that would bring the jobs needed in our community. Under the Sierra Club agreement with FORA years ago, this land was set aside for economic development – again, Measure K keeps that promise.

As a reminder, the former Ft. Ord property is approx. 28,000 acres - about the size of the City and County of San Francisco. Of that, over 20,000 acres are already preserved as open space forever. This open space includes all the National Monument acrege, Ft. Ord Dunes State Park and hundreds of acres of other parks, open space and right of ways. These areas are full of hiking, biking and riding trails destined to create recreational opportunities for generations to come.

On the remaining 8,000 acres we have all of CSUMB, UC Santa Cruz, Monterey College of Law, MPC, York and Chartwell schools. Schools that produce educated workers in need of local jobs. We also have the Marina development areas that include The Dunes Shopping Center, Marina Heights, Preston and Abrahms Parks, the Marina Airport and the ill fated Cypress Knowles project. It also includes land in Del Rey Oaks and Monterey, the Bayonet and Blackhorse Golf Courses, Seaside Highlands and the 540 acres subject to these initiatives. Each and every one of these projects are designed and approved to bring jobs and housing (in balance) to replace those left behind when Ft. Ord closed.

Just as the National Monument is a work in progress, so are the development areas. These areas will take years and years to become fully developed as demand for them allows. What is clear is that if we are to provide the jobs needed in our communities to sustain our local economy we need to keep the promises made in the past. These are the reasons why voting Yes on K and No on M are important to all of us.

More later…