Candidate Q&A: Brian McCarthy for Marina City Council.

As part of the 2022 election season, the Weekly asked candidates for several offices to answer questions about some of the issues by email. Brian McCarthy is running uncontested to represent District 1 on the Marina City Council.

What are the biggest issues facing Marina in the next four years, and why are you the best candidate to address them?

The biggest issue is managing a rapidly growing city. Growth in Marina is inevitable and can provide a lot of benefits to our community. The question is how to deal and plan for that growth while preserving and increasing existing services. I think I'm the best candidate because I care deeply about our city and am not afraid to fight for the high-quality growth we deserve. I am also focused on maintaining existing services and advocating for better long term maintenance planning of our existing infrastructure like parks and roads.

How often do you currently attend City Council meetings? Do you think the current council is effective?

I started attending the Marina Coast Water District (MCWD) board meetings in 2010, addressing an issue related to water rates for homes that had fire sprinklers. During that experience, I realized that I wanted to be more involved. I persisted at MCWD and spoke out to the city of Marina. I observed as many City Council meetings as I could, and by 2014, I was observing nearly every meeting. These meetings can be exhausting, but I often felt rewarded.

And that water rates issue? I successfully worked to have the monthly bill of those with similar fire sprinklers cut nearly in half, which saved them (and me) a huge amount of money!

Marina is growing quickly as Marina Community Partners develops. Do you think anything needs to be done to connect new neighborhoods to existing neighborhoods? What vision will you bring to help Marina feel cohesive?

We are going to have to work hard to ensure that Marina stays a united and proud local community. With all the new development at the Dunes, we will need to double down on our efforts to revive our downtown. This will require some investment from the city in terms of infrastructure and recruitment of development that reflect the vision of the downtown plan.

Marina is unusual in that growth is actively happening. But the city still has a RHNA obligation to zone for 685 new housing units by 2031. What are you going to do to help the city achieve that RHNA number, and to advance affordable housing units specifically?

As a member of the Planning Commission, I have a record of supporting affordable housing projects. I will continue to champion affordable housing projects while at the same time favor local control and discretionary reviews allowed by the law.

The City Council will continue to identify and zone opportunity sites for development. As you mentioned, Marina is doing its part to meet its housing needs. Yet it never seems to be enough to meet the demands.

Cal Am has resubmitted its application for a desalination plant in Marina. Would you be able or willing to help broker a dialogue between Cal Am and the city? Are there specific environmental justice concessions that you believe should be made?

I will always avail myself to responsible discussion and presentation of the facts, and I will work hard to be an unbiased independent decision maker.

I think the Cal Am proposal has had a silver lining because it advanced the conversation about environmental justice in Marina. No jurisdiction should be disproportionally burdened by negative project impacts while not receiving fair and appropriate project benefits.

For a long time, Marina has served as a watchdog to Cal Am’s desalination proposal. Is there any other role Marina can/should play on regional water issues?

Absolutely! Although Marina has its own unique water challenges, we cannot do it alone. Regional cooperation is essential. I think Marina is well positioned to help facilitate fair and equitable solutions to the region’s water challenges.

Do you like the current Dadwal hotel proposal? Is there anything you would change about it?

This is a difficult question. The City Council approved a construction agreement for Dadwal to build three hotels on the hill. Unfortunately, the Council was under a tight contractual deadline and had little time to be as engaging and transparent as it should have been about the project.

I want to bring more transparency and engagement to the decision-making process. Marina residents deserve to know about any agreement that may affect the community, they should be involved in the process, and be able to influence the decisions made by their representatives.

Having said that, Mr. Dadwal is a tremendous asset to the community, and I am hopeful he will build a high-quality establishment that will make Marina proud.

Do you think the equestrian center concession agreement was handled well? How would you have voted on that contract?

I would have favored a somewhat different outcome, one that favored more local control. I wish the city and the [Marina Equestrian Association] had been better partners going back 10 years. The lack of honest and effective communication on both sides probably landed the city and MEA in the untenable position it found itself in—a park with serious maintenance concerns.

How is cannabis going in Marina? Would you like to see the number of cannabis businesses increased?

I wrote the ballot argument in favor of Measure Z which updated the existing cannabis ordinance to include protection of sensitive sites such as parks and schools while still maintaining the will of the people who voted to establish cannabis dispensaries in Marina. Currently, Marina allows for three medical and three recreational dispensaries. Today, there are three dispensaries in Marina functioning as both. I think that is the appropriate number of dispensaries for a city of our size.

I am also working on a variety of proposed tobacco related code changes intended to limit tobacco usage near children, playgrounds, and parks and bring us in line with a more progressive stance on tobacco that helps protect non users from second-hand health effects.

Do you think the public comment period at council meetings should be shortened? What will you do if elected to increase public engagement?

There is room for improvement in the way our public meetings are run, and the public comment period is only a small part of that. The City Council should lead by example by which I mean, coming prepared to make strong, compelling, and effective comments and discussion. We also need to make better use of technology to disseminate information and understand our audience. For example, we often spend a lot of time making announcements to Marina parents at the start of our 6:30pm meetings. How many parents do you think are dialed in or otherwise watching council meetings at all on their devices, let alone at 6:30pm? I would like to reach those folks using mechanisms such as message boards and email that is convenient to them, not those that are convenient for us.

I believe our mayor and City Council members will be open to responsible discussion about how to streamline and improve our meetings, and I look forward to being part of that discussion. I hope residents will engage in meaningful ways.

I am always available for residents to discuss concerns and can be reached at Brian@MarinaBrian.com / MarinaBrian.com.