10 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY july 20-26, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com news Almost every time the need for affordable housing is discussed in Pacific Grove, someone mentions the city-owned Fountain Avenue parking lot located downtown behind Lighthouse Cinemas. And for some time now, local developer Daniel Silverie has been talking to city staff about acquiring the 0.88-acre lot to build a multi-unit, multi-income project there, even before the matter showed up on a recent closed session agenda for the P.G. City Council. The biggest challenge to adding housing to the lot has been the lack of water, but the movie theater has it, as well as a former residential use on the theater property. Silverie is proposing a private/public partnership between his construction company, the theater owners and the city, in which market-rate housing would be built on the theater property and low- to moderate-income housing built on the parking lot, with additional water needs provided through city-owned water credits. The proposal is spelled out in a staff report to the city council, which was scheduled to discuss the matter on July 19, after the Weekly’s deadline. According to the report, Silverie approached the city about purchasing or leasing the 109-space lot to build housing that would help the city meet state-mandated Regional Housing Needs Allocation numbers. The city is required to plan for 1,125 units—including 174 low-income and 209 moderate-income units— between 2023 and 2031. Silverie’s opening proposal is that the city donate the lot, as well as water credits the city controls thanks to its recycled water project. What remains to be seen is whether the council makes a counter offer, or rejects the proposal outright. Silverie and the family that owns the theater did not respond to requests for interviews. Lot of Luck A Pacific Grove parking lot is eyed as a potential spot for needed affordable housing. By Pam Marino When the sea rises due to climate change, what does that look like on the ground? At Moss Landing and Elkhorn Slough, we can now look into the future—or rather, different choices for the future. In 2021, Caltrans, in partnership with the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments and The Nature Conservancy, issued a press release announcing its first-ever use of a virtual reality app, Sea Level Rise Explorer, in order to better understand how sea level rise will impact eight miles of Highway 1 west of Elkhorn Slough and five miles of railroad track that cuts across it. The simulation, which is viewable online, shows seawater lapping on the shoulder of the highway and the rail line inundated. That is with two feet of sea level rise, a projection expected to be reached around 2050. With five feet of sea level rise—projected to happen around 2100—the entire stretch is underwater, as is the Moss Landing State Wildlife Area, a vital salt marsh wildlife habitat. “Not taking action is not an option,” then-Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin said in the statement. But what action to take? The simulation also runs through a few different options for potential mitigation. One is to add fill to elevate that stretch of highway, while also creating more salt marsh habitat that will act as a buffer for the road, what is called an “ecotone levee.” Another is to use piles to elevate sections of the highway, but because it would allow for the free flow of water, it wouldn’t stave off degradation of the slough salt marsh habitat. These are among a suite of options discussed in AMBAG’s 2020 Central Coast Highway 1 Climate Resiliency Study. That comprehensive report estimates the costs of various options—which also include rerouting Highway 1 to the east of Elkhorn Slough—and they range anywhere from $300 million to $1.14 billion. Regardless of which option is ultimately chosen, it will take years to plan, get permitted and, perhaps most challenging, secure the necessary funding. In other words, there is no time to waste. To that end, Assemblymember Dawn Addis, D-Morro Bay, submitted a request on behalf of the Transportation Agency for Monterey County to fund some initial planning for the project. (Addis represents District 30, which includes Moss Landing and Elkhorn Slough.) The request was granted: On July 10, the state’s 2023-24 budget was signed into law, and included $1 million for TAMC to begin that planning process. TAMC is also seeking federal grant funding through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to help move it along further. “We want to get this whole process started, and it does take a long time and we all know it’s going to be a very expensive series of projects,” TAMC Executive Director Todd Muck says. The most important part of that, he adds, is working with various parties on how to move forward. But aside from building consensus about what the best option is, the immediate goal, Muck says, is to create with Caltrans what’s called a “project initiation document” that lays out initial design concepts and a “roadmap” for the project’s phases. A king tide in December 2018, which came within a few feet of the Highway 1 bridge over Elkhorn Slough. Slow Rise Local and state agencies are wrestling with how to make Highway 1 in Moss Landing resilient to sea level rise. By David Schmalz Pacific Grove’s Fountain Avenue parking lot, with 109 spaces, is rarely full. The city issued permits for five spaces to a plumbing company. Another five are used by nearby apartment tenants. “Not taking action is not an option.” nic coury Daniel Dreifuss
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