16 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MAY 4-10, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com By passing a new agricultural preservation ordinance last month, Gonzales city officials and local developers believe they’re one step closer to annexing some 770 acres of surrounding farmland—potentially leading to more than 3,000 new housing units that would transform the Salinas Valley community. But land use officials and local advocacy groups have expressed concerns about Gonzales’ plans, warning that they fall short of the county’s agricultural land preservation standards and would fail to address the need for affordable housing in the area. On April 17, Gonzales City Council approved an ordinance requiring developers to take measures to preserve local farmland if they want to convert agricultural land to non-agricultural use. The ordinance is meant to keep Gonzales in compliance with Monterey County’s guidelines on ag-land mitigation as it looks to potentially annex up to 1,400 acres of adjacent farmland for residential development in the coming years. First up will likely be the Vista Lucia project, a development on roughly 770 acres to the north of the city where Morgan Hill-based Pembrook Development aims to build a master-planned community of up to 3,500 residential units. The annexation proposal could be brought before Monterey County’s Local Agency Formation Commission by year’s end. “We want to preserve agriculture as much as possible, but at the same time we know we need growth—we haven’t built a new house in over 15 years,” City Councilmember Scott Funk says. Yet the ordinance falls shy of recommendations made by LAFCO in a March 31 comment letter to Gonzales City Council. The agency warned that it lacked the county’s “more robust” standards, such as a higher 2-to-1 ratio of preserved ag-land to converted acreage. (The city’s ordinance allows a 1-to-1 ratio.) Gonzales is also providing developers the option to pay “in-lieu fees” to the city, whereas the county has identified conservation easements as its “preferred agricultural mitigation strategy.” LAFCO additionally flagged exemptions in the ordinance for low-income housing and other uses—noting that the “actual buildout of a site in the future…may differ from what is planned at the time a site is annexed.” Meanwhile, advocacy group LandWatch Monterey County has urged more high-density, affordable units at Vista Lucia that “reflect the housing Gonzales actually needs,” while warning that market-rate, single-family homes threaten to turn the city into a “bedroom community” for Bay Area commuters. Pembrook Development manager Glenn Pace says 30 percent of Vista Lucia’s units will qualify as affordable. Pace acknowledges that Pembrook would likely pay an in-lieu fee as its ag-land mitigation measure, and defends the ordinance. “It was the city’s decision [to] weigh the loss of agricultural land with the need for housing,” he says. “Why would you put up a roadblock, even if you lose a couple acres of lettuce? It’s a reasonable trade-off so that people can have a place to live.” Buying the Farm Gonzales lays a path to redeveloping surrounding farmland—but land-use officials have questions. By Rey Mashayekhi In annexing surrounding Salinas Valley farmland for residential development, Gonzales would significantly increase its population of around 9,000 people. NEWS “It’s a reasonable trade-off.” DANIEL DREIFUSS The time you decided not to hire movers. Smarter, faster urgent care. 8 a.m.–8 p.m. every day including holidays Walk in or make a reservation online MoGoUrgentCare.org Visit-related X-rays, lab work, and medications onsite and included in your co-pay or flat fee. LOCATIONS y CARMEL 26135 Carmel Rancho Blvd., Suite B-1 y MARINA 2930 2nd Avenue, Suite 120 y MONTEREY 2020 Del Monte Avenue, Suite B
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