Cityhood for Marina del Rey - possibility or myth?
On May 28, 2008, David Barish and Carla Andrus met with members of the Los Angeles LAFCO or Local Agency Formation Corporation for initial discussions on attaining Cityhood for Marina del Rey. The meeting was informative and LA LAFCO's Executive Director, Sandor Winger, was helpful and upfront. The process would be long, tedious, expensive (over $125,000) and cityhood not guaranteed.
Just before the meeting ended, I raised the issue of potential pittfalls for Marina del Rey. The answer was nothing specific. But when I reminded Mr. Winger that the Marina was publicly owned land of Los Angeles County, the tune changed. We were told that there might be some regulation that allows property owners of greater than 50% of the land in a proposed incorporation boundary to reject the application outright, no questions asked. Mr. Winger told us he would have his Counsel look into the matter and get back to me right away.
Six weeks and one very nasty phone call from Mr. Winger later, we received a copy of Government Code that confirmed this regulation. Should we pursue the costly application process of cityhood, Los Angeles County can stop it in its tracks at anytime.
We ARE Marina del Rey will be reviewing this regulation further and will report back with updates.
Do you think we should incorporate? Add your comments below...
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Perhaps we should explore the idea of cityhood in conjunction with some or all of the surrounding communities, some of which have cityhood movements that are limping along for lack of critical mass. This would give us a broader and more diverse land and community base of the people, businesses, services, recreational and open space resources necessary for a successful community. It would serve to dilute the monopoly power that the lessees would surely be able to exert in a city comprised of just the unincorporated area, were the county veto power to be neutralized.
It is a Herculean task, but what we are unable to do separately might become possible if we work together to resolve the development crises that each community now struggles to overcome.
We are seeking a comprehensive development plan that considers the wider area--what better way to achieve it than by erasing some of the artificial map boundaries that have resulted in a piecemeal, uncoordinated hodgepodge of ill-considered growth?
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