10 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY june 15-21, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com With a housing crisis to solve, the state is expecting cities and counties to plan for more housing units, especially at lower income levels. Monterey County’s 12 cities and the county government must plan for 20,295 housing units between 2023 and 2031. They don’t have to build them, but they must amend their housing plans—known as housing elements—to give developers an improved chance of building at least some units. The deadline to approve their draft plans is Dec. 15. The 20,295 units are part of what’s known as the Regional Housing Needs Allocation, or RHNA. Besides requiring more units, the state layered a number of other requirements, including following what’s known as Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing, a way of fostering inclusive communities. Last week in Part 1, the Weekly took a look at the progress of six cities—Carmel, Del Rey Oaks, Gonzales, King City, Marina and Sand City— toward updating their housing elements. (For those updates, visit bit.ly/ McweeklyRHNAupdate1.) With six months to go, here’s where the remaining six cities and Monterey County are in the process. For more information about how to get involved in your jurisdiction’s housing element amendment process, visit mcweekly. com. Greenfield Unlike many cities, Greenfield was successful in meeting its RHNA numbers during the last eight-year housing cycle that is ending this month: They zoned for and oversaw the building of 96 percent of the state-required very-low income units, 170 percent of low-income homes and 100 percent of moderate income homes. Last summer, Community Development Director Paul Mugan tried and failed to appeal the 730 units required for 2023-31, which means the city must find a way to add them into its housing element by Dec. 15. Mugan and City Manager Paul Wood did not respond to requests for interviews. Monterey Last year Monterey began the task of updating not just its housing element, but also its land use and safety elements within the city’s general plan, under the title “Monterey 2031.” Currently the focus is on meeting the state’s Dec. 15 housing element deadline, and figuring out what changes will be necessary to incorporate 3,654 units into the plans, including over 1,400 very low- to low-income units. On Tuesday, June 13, Community Development Director Kimberly Cole presented to the Planning Commission a preliminary site inventory of opportunity areas that could be used for additional units. Cole and her staff identified vacant lots, estimated accessory dwelling units, and the potential to rezone areas to include more units, including 447 units downtown and 2,400 units on former Fort Ord land and Ryan Ranch. Giving themselves a buffer, they could in theory meet over 140 percent of the required number. Cole says they expect to have a draft housing element ready for public review in September. Pacific Grove The city of Pacific Grove was one of the first cities to conduct public informational meetings in the summer and fall of 2022. While there was some support among residents for seeking ways to incorporate 1,125 units into a city that is mostly built out, there was pushback from those who feared negative impacts of attracting more residents to the small town. Momentum toward completing a draft housing element was broken when the city fired its consultant over the winter citing difficulties with the consultant meeting work deadlines. A new consulting firm, Rincon Consultants Inc., which has done numerous housing elements for other California cities, is now working on producing the draft housing element with a goal of releasing it in September. Salinas The city has released its draft housing element, which paints a picture of being able to more than meet its RHNA requirement of planning for 6,674 units. Planners cited over 1,400 projects in the pipeline that will come to fruition during the 2023-31 housing cycle, plus projected approval of accessory dwelling units. (The city has approved 170 ADUs in the last year alone, and projects a similar amount each year in the coming years.) “We’re building on the good work that’s been already done so we’re in a good position. We’re not playing catch-up,” says Grant Leonard, city planning manager. Combined with vacant and underutilized parcels and nearly 5,000 units in the North of Boronda Future Growth Area, that could put the city at a surplus of over 2,000 units in the housing plan. Seaside The city is working on updating its entire General Plan Element, which includes its housing element, under the banner “Seaside 2040.” In a report to the Seaside City Council on May 18, Economic Development and Planning Manager Andrew Myrick said strategies for reaching the city’s required 616 units under RHNA include increasing residential densities in the areas closer to the urban core. For example, parcels closer to Fremont Boulevard might double, from 15 units per acre to 30 units. They are not suggesting changes to low-density residential areas, other than allowing more units on large parcels—church properties, for example— for things like tiny homes or two-story multi-family units. Soledad Community Development Director Bryan Swanson expects to have a draft housing element by the middle to end of summer. He says they are in the process of reviewing possible sites for adding more units—they need 724— including underutilized parcels such as parking lots. Some residential lots in the city are large enough to accommodate more units, split or add an ADU. “We do have land,” Swanson says, “but we also have to think creatively.” He says they are looking at adaptive reuses of commercial properties and municipal-owned properties, “but those sites have to be eventually approved by [City Council] and go through the process of public comment.” County of Monterey The county is looking at the possibility of late summer or early fall for completing its draft housing element, which must incorporate planning for 3,326 units. In the meantime, the Housing and Community Development Department recently released a draft site inventory, showing parcels where more units could be incorporated with zoning and other changes. A public comment period ends June 30. Some of the areas where units are proposed include parcels on the former Fort Ord, as well as along the Highway 68 corridor near Monterey and some within the Carmel Valley Master Plan area. If all the areas are included they total 5,895 units, well above the required 3,326. Those areas, especially Carmel Valley, will likely face stiff opposition from residents. Melanie Beretti, a principal planner for the county, says they are trying to provide housing where residents work and current housing is not affordable. “The site inventory is one piece of the housing element,” she says, and there is more work ahead when it comes to making changes to how the county regulates the planning and building process, to remove constraints on developers, all the while incorporating good planning policy. Heading Home The clock is ticking for cities and the county to meet a housing plan deadline for 20,295 units. By Pam Marino news One of Salinas’ Homekey projects transformed former motel units into housing, one example of a past approach to creating more residential units. “We do have land, but we also have to think creatively.” Daniel Dreifuss
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