The Park District is negotiating to buy Cemex’s land on the coast of Marina.

As the pressure to address social inequities mounts, local land conservation organizations have been examining their own responsibilities.

“Conservation in Monterey County has significantly benefited some communities more than others,” the Big Sur Land Trust wrote in its Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access Plan for 2018-2025, adding that “we must reckon with the role that land conservation has also played in perpetuating social inequities.”

More recently, the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District approved a strategic plan that calls to “balance the distribution of high-quality parks, open spaces, facilities, recreational and environmental education opportunities” throughout the region served by the district.

An opportunity to make good on these promises for correction is opening up on the coastal dunes of Marina.

That certain stretch of beachfront real estate is owned by Cemex, the multinational industrial company that had been mining sand at the site for decades until late last year. The sand mining came to an end as a result of a 2017 agreement between Cemex and the California Coastal Commission.

As the company cleans up and prepares to leave, it is required to sell the underlying real estate “at a reduced price.” But not just anyone can buy it, and not for any purpose. The buyer must be a nonprofit or government entity and the land can only be used for public access, recreation and habitat protection.

Under such conditions, the market for this massive piece of California coast is quite small. “We are expecting the park district and Big Sur Land Trust to divide up the property between them,” Marina Mayor Bruce Delgado says.

It appears that the park district’s board is already negotiating with Cemex. The agenda for a board meeting on Jan. 6 listed a closed-session discussion on the price and terms of payment of three parcels adjacent to the Cemex plant, a total of 458 acres valued at $23.5 million, according to the county assessor’s website. Park district officials did not return a request for comment.

Delgado adds that beach access would benefit the proposed development known as Marina Station. Approved more than a decade ago, it features a plan for some 1,360 homes on 320 acres. “The city is going to grow to the north with Marina Station, which is across the street from Cemex,” Delgado says. “This will be northern Marina’s primary beach access.”