The Monterey County Planning Commission votes Wednesday, Oct. 14, on a housing plan covering nearly 5,900 new units across 56 sites. Two of those sites are near Carmel and Pebble Beach, where proposed zoning changes would allow up to 30 units per acre.
The plan, known as the Sixth Cycle Housing Element Update, is nearly three years past the state's December 2023 deadline. Approval would send it to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, possibly by Nov. 3, according to Monterey County NOW, which reported on the vote.
Two sites in the Carmel Area Land Use Plan would be rezoned to Residential High Density, allowing five to 30 units per acre: the old Carmel hospital site and Stevenson School in Pebble Beach. A site in Las Lomas, between Sill and Hall roads, would also jump from one-to-four units per acre to five-to-30 under a proposed North County Land Use Plan amendment.
The unit breakdown includes 1,256 extremely low-income units, 939 low-income, 712 moderate-income and 2,990 above-moderate-income units.
Beyond the housing element itself, the Planning Commission agenda calls for certifying a final environmental impact report, adopting amendments to the 2010 General Plan, Title 21 zoning code, the Coastal Implementation Plan and Title 20, and approving new countywide multiunit design standards.
Planners are also recommending a "by-right" approval process for developments that meet specific zoning and design standards. Those projects would need only ministerial review, skipping the longer discretionary process.
The county has no certified housing element. It has accumulated Builder's Remedy project proposals since missing the state deadline, which allow developers to bypass local zoning rules. The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) notified the county on May 12 that the draft is in "statutory compliance" with state law, according to the county's HCD webpage. That status falls short of the "substantial compliance" determination needed to end Builder's Remedy exposure.
Monterey County NOW reporter Pam Marino, who has covered the housing element process for four years, wrote that further changes at this stage would only delay passage. "Further adjustments to the housing element will only delay its passing, which puts the County at further jeopardy of more Builder's Remedy proposals," Marino wrote Tuesday, Oct. 13.
Residents from the Tarpy Flats area are expected to speak at the hearing, seeking removal of a parcel from the plan, Monterey County NOW reported.
Planning Commission Chair Paul C. Getzelman presides over the 10-member panel. Vice Chair Amy Roberts and eight other commissioners will also hear the item.
The hearing begins at 1:30 p.m. at the County Administration Building, 168 West Alisal St., Salinas. Residents can join via Zoom (Meeting ID: 953 1627 6581) or watch on the county's YouTube channel.
