The Dunes food project gets final city approval.

Perhaps never before in human history has a 4-acre parcel—one that's across from a big box store shopping center—received so much scrutiny. 

And it's fair to say that Monterey developer Scott Negri, when he first proposed his restaurant project in The Dunes about a year ago, had no idea what he was getting into. 

But it ends today. And tonight, Negri—as well as the bulk of Marina citizens—will have cause to celebrate: In a drag-out, five-hour Marina Planning Commission meeting last night, Negri's project was again put under the microscope, and in the end, was approved 4-2. 

And because Negri is not asking for any amendments to the city's general plan this time around, it need not get City Council approval. Rather, it heads to the Fort Ord Reuse Agency at 2pm today, where it must be deemed consistent with the Base Reuse Plan. 

Consider that a slam dunk. 

Negri's current proposal eliminates one of the two drive-thrus originally proposed, and at full build out, meets the city's minimum standard of density, or, floor-area-ratio. 

His plan is this: Design his first two buildings immediately, apply for permits and build as soon as possible. He hopes to have those two buildings, which have six establishments between them that serve food—Blaze Pizza, Menchies, Teriyaki Madness, Deli Delicious, Starbucks and Chipotle—open by Black Friday. 

After he finishes the design of those two buildings, he will begin the design of the building on the southeast corner of the property, and when that process is done, get started on the fourth as soon as possible. 

There are some wrinkles: The fourth building has two stories, so Negri is negotiating with prospective tenants about what kind of space they're looking for. Ideally, he is able to bring in a business that wants to operate on two floors, like REI. If that's the case, he would design the building with the elevator and stairs on the inside of the building. If not, the outside. 

As part of the conditions of approval, Negri agreed he must submit plans for the third building before getting an occupancy permit for the first two. And before getting an occupancy permit for the third building, he must submit plans for the fourth. 

After the new proposal had been scrutinized for four hours by the Design Review Board Feb. 3, last night brought even further scrutiny, where everything from the buildings' color to the width of the walkways—five feet; can they be six feet?—was debated at length.

At times, Negri appeared so frustrated that he became combative with the commissioners, as if to say: What more do you want from me?

Public comment was more or less unanimous in support of the project, and the most memorable moment was when Dan Devlin brought his young daughter Reilly to the podium, who lent her support for the project, and added that she shops across the street with her parents often. 

"Snacks can be great, but they can also be a little bit boring," she said. "We would be able to go a shorter distance to get food."

The most substantive change to the project made last night was a new stairway added on Second Avenue to improve the project's "permeability."

In the end, Commissioner Margaret Davis was only strong voice in dissent of approval. 

"[This is just the same project] with new lipstick and a new hat. We still have to find it consistent with the Marina General Plan and The Dunes Specific Plan," she said. "Marina doesn't have that much prime real estate, and this is our chance."

She emphasized the project should be more pedestrian-friendly, and in keeping with the vision of The Dunes Specific Plan.

When it came time to vote just before midnight, Davis was only joined by Tim Ledesma in voting no.

It's not clear why. He only asked one question of Negri all night: Will there be any place I can get a beer?

The answer was yes. 

"It’s been a long journey," said Commissioner Kathy Biala, in an interview after the meeting ended. "The city learned something new here. We've never had this kind of public participation or delved into this much detail…

"This was a very laborious project, and the project changed significantly over time," she said. "I think we learned something about the process."

This story will be updated pending FORA approval. 

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UPDATE 2/12, 10pm: At today's Fort Ord Reuse Authority, Negri says the project was deemed consistent with the Base Reuse Plan.

The item was included on the consent agenda, he says, although he was not able to make the meeting. His consultant Doug Yount spoke on his behalf after Marina Planning Commissioner Margaret Davis spoke of her issues with the project, according to Negri.

Despite that, no one pulled it from the consent agenda, and it passed with the rest of the items. 

He says he is 90 percent done with designs for the first two buildings, and hopes to begin grading and laying utility infrastructure by March. 

The one thing holding him back at this point is that he must wait until the 10-day appeal period is over for the Planning Commission decision. 

If it's appealed, he says, there will be no way it could get in front of City Council fast enough for him to complete the first two buildings by Black Friday. 

"It would be unfortunate for the citizens of Marina, and for the whole Monterey Peninsula," he says.