City Council Ends 2025 with Ambitious Vision for Future of Marina/Waterfront

Unanimous approval of two-year negotiating agreement with San Diego developer comes with high hopes, and much uncertainty

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By Tom Lochner

The City Council wrapped up 2025 with the unanimous approval of a two-year Exclusive Negotiating Agreement, or ENA, with San Diego-based Tucker Sadler Architects that it hopes will trigger a renaissance of the ailing Martinez Marina and Waterfront.

The ENA aims to implement the vision of “an active waterfront with a thriving marina, promenade and fishing pier, dining and event spaces, regional recreation facilities, and surrounding open space and trails” that is codified in the city’s Four-Year Strategic Plan and the Waterfront Marina Trust Lands Use Plan (”TLUP”), according to the accompanying city staff report.

The marina, much of it in disrepair, beleaguered by ongoing infrastructure and environmental challenges, is tapping the city’s General Fund to the tune of about $650,000 a year. The proposed project is intended to be “self-financed and self-sustaining, with no City financing or any risk to the City’s taxpayers,” according to the ENA, and to “generate new long-term revenue for the City through transient occupancy tax, sales tax, possessory interest tax, and lease payments.”

But the ENA has loftier ambitions than the city’s TLUP. During a PowerPoint presentation co-presented by several city officials, Tucker Sadler CEO Greg Mueller pitched his vision of the potential future of the Martinez Marina as the host of “international and national activities” and venue for musicals, plays and concerts, and the mayor’s annual State of the City address. A conceptual plan also includes three hotels.

The marina, moreover, could become the “hub” for a new transit center, with a ferry connection, as well as “the number one place in the U.S. for Sea Scout activities,” Mueller said. In another tribute to Martinez history, Mueller evoked the memory of baseball hero Joe DiMaggio (whose name adorns a field in Waterfront Park and the street along the southern border of the park): “If you think about Joe DiMaggio, the marina is home plate. It is right there, catching all the pitches being thrown at it.”

The city had initially engaged Safe Harbor Marinas, the nation’s largest owner and operator of marinas, to explore opportunities aligned with the TLUP, as previously reported in this newsletter. But Safe Harbor found the TLUP too limiting, and suggested the city re-envision the plan for the marina. Safe Harbor then introduced the city to Tucker Sadler.

The 5-0 approval of the ENA at the Dec. 17 council meeting came after more than 20 public comments, including glowing endorsements from some representatives of labor unions as well as members of the public. Several comments also came from the Sea Scouts and their supporters, who touted their organization’s rich Martinez history and relevance today. Another expression of strong support was delivered by Kayla Turnage, representing Assemblywoman Anamarie Avila Farias.

One comment that reflected the range of hopes raised by the ENA came from Jeremie Ginelli, who sits on the city’s Parks, Recreation, Marina and Arts Commission and is a past board member of the Martinez Unified School District.

“It’s an opportunity to transform our waterfront into a destination that reflects the pride and potential of Martinez,” Ginelli said. He envisioned a “vibrant space” with great food and drink, one that could attract youth sports tournaments — basketball, soccer, baseball, softball. If the ENA should result in such a project, it would “strengthen our local economy, support small businesses, and showcase the beauty of Martinez,” Ginelli said, characterizing it as “an investment in community stability and the future of our city.”

All of the optimism expressed during the Dec. 17 meeting somewhat distracted from the reality that the Marina, at least for now, is not the subject of a development agreement but a two-year negotiating process that the parties hope will result in such an agreement. Either party — the city or Tucker Sadler — could walk away from the plan at any time during the two-year span of the ENA.

A screenshot from the Dec. 17 City Council meeting shows the area envisioned for Tucker Sadler’s development.

After the vote, council members added their own enthusiastic comments.

In contrast to the almost celebratory tone of much of the discussion, Mike Akins, who described himself as a lifelong resident of Martinez who has been in design and construction for 30 years, expressed some skepticism during the public comment period preceding the vote.

“I think it’s too much for our town to scale,” Akins said. “I think it needs to be scaled way down.”

Moreover, “We have one way in and out of the marina,” he said, referring to Ferry Street across the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. “And I'm sure all of you guys have been stuck when there's a train.”

Another skeptic said, “How are our hotels doing right now in the city of Martinez? If we build three more, how are we going to get people inside of there?”

Another commenter, a Vallejo resident, in an apparent cautionary message to Martinez, complained about what he sees as a lack of progress in the implementation of a development agreement between his city and a developer, The Nimitz Group, to develop the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard.

The evening’s first public comment on the marina/waterfront item came from Walter, the 14-year-old boatswain of the Sea Scout ship Albatross, who noted that it has been based at the Martinez Marina for 93 years and “has grown thousands of kids into capable sailors.

“And this program means everything to me,” Walter said. “I joined almost five years ago when I was just 10 years old. And it has given me so much over the years. Thanks to this program, I have so many great friends, and I’ve met countless wonderful people I never would have met without the program.

“Thanks to this program, I have a goal for my future career in the maritime industry that I’m very passionate about.”

After additional comments from other Sea Scouts and parents, Mayor Brianne Zorn said: “I just want to make it clear the Sea Scouts are called out by name in the ENA, and I don’t want you to think you are not included.”

The Sea Scouts indeed are cited among a list of “community stakeholders (and intergovernmental partners)” that have been engaged during the “Due Diligence” process, according to the staff report. The Sea Scouts are in the Current Waterfront and Marina Lessees list along with the Martinez Yacht Club, Eagle Marine boat dealership, and the current Marina operator, F3 Marina (which took over with a two-year contract when the previous operator, Almar, abruptly quit in August 2024).

The stakeholders’ list also includes several athletic organizations: Martinez Bocce Federation, Power Sports Academy, Universal Sports Academy and American Youth Soccer Organization. Also on the list are a half-dozen federal, state and county elected officials (U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, U.S. Reps. Mark DeSaulnier and John Garamendi; State Sen. Tim Grayson and State Assemblymember Avila Farias; and Contra Costa County Supervisor Shanelle Scales-Preston; a handful of “intergovernmental partners,” including East Bay Regional Parks and Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (the others are San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority, State Lands Commission); economic associations (Martinez Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Martinez and Company, Bay Area Council); and three labor organizations (Contra Costa Building and Construction Trades Council, Nor Cal Carpenters Union Local 102, Unite Here Local 2.)

The union representatives or members who spoke, all in favor of the ENA, at the Dec. 17 meeting were Leon Marshall with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 302; Sonya Karabel with Unite Here Local 2; Chris Palomo with Nor Cal Carpenters Union Local 152; Eric Haynes with Sheet Metal Workers Local 104, also with the Contra Costa Building and Construction Trades Council (CCBCTC) and Contra Costa Central Labor Council; Rachel Shoemake with IBEW Local 302; Joe Summers with Central Labor Council; and Tim Sbranti, executive director of the CCBCTC. The ENA requires Tucker Sadler to negotiate a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) or equivalent with local labor unions likely to perform work on the proposed development.

One major concern that was only sparsely mentioned at the meeting — one to do so was the public commenter Akins — was the accessway between the marina and downtown via the Ferry Street Union Pacific Railroad grade crossing. Residents have complained that the railroad sometimes leaves railcars idled there for long durations, thereby blocking access to and from the waterfront.

Some have urged the city to devise an overcrossing of the tracks for vehicles and pedestrians. Councilwoman Debbie McKillop described it as an important challenge, adding that emergency responders also need to be able to cross the tracks safely. She concluded her comments saying it would be great for Martinez to have ferry connections to San Francisco and Vallejo.

Councilman Jay Howard praised the ENA’s emphasis on the importance of union labor, stressed the importance of the Sea Scouts, and touted the quality of a Tucker Sadler marina in San Diego. Councilman Greg Young emphasized the uniqueness of Martinez’s marina as the kind of facility that other cities don’t have, describing the proposed project as “visionary” and “transformational.”

Mayor Zorn said she was impressed by Tucker Sadler projects in Southern California that she visited in conjunction with the League of California Cities conference that took place in Long Beach in October.

The ENA envisions extensive public outreach, with a first round scheduled for sometime in early 2026 as part of the city’s Sesquicentennial Community Sessions, according to the city website’s News List. The city will also provide updated information and feedback opportunities at www.cityofmartinez.org/MarinaProject .

City staff members have visited Tucker Sadler projects in San Diego and Chula Vista for reference, according to the staff report. Information on those and other Tucker Sadler projects can be found at Tucker Sadler Architects

Craig’s take: I wrote following Mueller’s initial presentation over the summer that I believed Tucker Sadler’s “vision” for the waterfront amounted to a pipe dream divorced from basic economic, governmental and geographic realities. Nothing that has occurred in the months since has changed my view, and I expect that whatever he is able to deliver, if anything, will fall far short of this vision and/or be economically unsustainable.

Time will tell who is correct. I’ve already pledged that if the city and Mueller are right and I am wrong, I will gladly eat crow at our new waterfront restaurant overlooking all of Tucker Sadler’s glistening amenities. But if I and other skeptics are right and they are wrong, will we see the same eating of crow by the political leaders who led us down this path?

Based on past history, that is highly doubtful. Whether in Washington, D.C., Sacramento or in communities like Martinez, the name of the game in politics is to promise the moon, ignore inconvenient truths, and then move on to another topic that captures the public’s fancy when the promises fail to materialize (but the truths do). From pickleball courts too close to homes, to cannabis dispensaries too close to kids, to too many delays in alerting the community to too many toxic refinery releases, there are many examples I can point to in recent years where political and bureaucratic promises came up short, and accountability for misguided policies that betrayed the public trust was nowhere to be found (perhaps I will enumerate them in detail, and the ways in which they reflect our broken politics not just nationally but locally, at another time).

If two years from now the vision articulated at the Dec. 17 City Council meeting results in a real project with real shovels in the ground, those of us who cast doubt on this endeavor will gladly own up to the fact we were premature in dismissing its viability, and express hope that the resulting development will lead to years of economic growth for the city and enjoyment for its residents (the test will be not only in whether such a project is built but whether the promised revenue-generating amenities thrive and survive over the long term).

But if the opposite occurs and two years of stakeholder meetings filled with elaborate waterfront dreams (and hours upon hours of city staff time and resources that could have been spent on other pressing priorities) result in nothing substantial, those of us who warned of this outcome will hope for some measure of political humility and accountability for a change — which may be as unrealistic as this “vision” for marina transformation we’ve heard so much about over the past six months.

Social media post of the week

Congratulations to the Alhambra High School football team for its success in the classroom as well as on the field.