In 1986, the City of Marina and the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District formed a partnership with the Coastal Conservancy to acquire the wetlands around the KIDD radio tower. Core to that partnership was a “wetland enhancement plan,” approved by both agencies, that was to guide the 12-acre property’s future. MPRPD would get the funds for land, the City would operate the park.
Together with a few other parcels, that property became part of Locke-Paddon Wetland Park, which MPRPD dedicated in 1991. In 1994, the city reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining the property’s habitat value when it approved a Vernal Pond Management Plan. In 2004, MPRPD acquired another 6.5 acres behind the Marina library and adjacent to Del Monte Boulevard for habitat preservation.
In 2005, the two agencies funded a master plan for the park that was adopted by MPRPD, but not the city. That has recently come to light as both agencies are taking a fresh look at Locke-Paddon because the Marina City Council has been pushing for a series of projects in the park, including an elaborate Asian Community Garden, that are on property owned by MPRPD, not the city.
That property – the 6.5-acre “Isakson” parcel the district bought in 2004 – is also the site of a thriving community garden built up over the last decade by volunteers for Citizens for Sustainable Marina. That garden grew after volunteers started watering oak trees MPRPD planted in 2013, and along with raised beds volunteers have planted, there are also now fruit trees.
Meanwhile, the wetlands portion of the park – the purpose of the park’s formation – continues to fall into further disrepair. And per the agreement MPRPD and the City reached in 1987, the City entered into a 25-year lease agreement for the park’s property at a rate of $1 annually. That lease has since expired, and the two agencies have no formal agreement over who is responsible for operations and maintenance.
The two agencies held a joint meeting in April to start sorting things out, and on May 6, the Marina City Council approved asking MPRPD to enter into a lease agreement on the Isakson property to create a 1-acre Asian Community Garden. At a July 1 meeting, the council reaffirmed its support for the garden, but not necessarily directing it be at Locke-Paddon.
On July 2, MPRPD hired Eric Morgan as general manager. He says he’s going to be looking for direction from his board, given that the 2005 master plan had a “pretty dramatically different vision… than what is there.”
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Correction - 8/21/25 9pm: This article has been corrected from its print version to reflect that the Marina City Council did not reaffirm asking MPRPD about a lease for the garden at the July 1 meeting.
(1) comment
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Thank-you Mr. Schmalz for this article. There are, indeed, many issues which need to be worked through. One thing I do know, is that Locke-Paddon Park is much loved and there is a lot of work to do return the park to the original vision .. a Coastal Wetlands Community Park. When I researched the history of the park, I learned that there are only three places in the world where our type of coastal vernal ponds exist: Marina, Southern Oregon and South Africa. That's pretty special.
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