14 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY AUGUST 3-9, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com District 5 residents finally had a chance to turn out and speak their minds about Monterey County’s housing plans— including the controversial, state-mandated Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) that will require the county to significantly bolster its housing stock over the next eight years. Around 100 people filled the library at the Del Mesa Carmel gated community in Carmel Valley on Thursday, July 27, to hear County Supervisor Mary Adams and staffers from the county’s Housing and Community Development department provide an update on the process. It was the first in-person opportunity for residents to make their voices heard about the plans for their area, with District 5—dubbed a “high-resource area” with more amenities, infrastructure and jobs compared to elsewhere in the county—accounting for 2,100 of the 5,121 units drawn up for the unincorporated county by 2031. Adams, however, insisted that the meeting was about clarifying the process, rather than concerns over the merits of the housing plan itself. As HCD officials outlined in a PowerPoint presentation, the county’s housing crisis has only amplified since the last housing element process eight years ago; on average, rents have climbed 65 percent while home prices have increased 93 percent, with 1 in 3 households deemed “cost-burdened” (more than 30 percent of income spent on housing) and around 1 in 6 “severely cost-burdened” (more than 50 percent of income spent on housing). More housing, Adams explained to the mostly older crowd, is meant to address “everything from homelessness to your own children, who are unable to come back and buy a home.” No plans have yet been finalized, she noted, with the county continuing to receive public feedback ahead of issuing a draft housing element by late summer or early fall. That feedback has already included strong opposition to 251 units planned for a site in Mid Valley north of Carmel Valley Road, behind the Carmel Valley Manor community, which will likely see that site excluded from the draft, HCD principal planner Melanie Beretti said. But the residents in attendance had more questions still. One man expressed concern about whether the additional housing will congest existing fire evacuation routes in Carmel Valley. (Beretti said the county will update its safety element to account for the fire and public safety needs of a larger population.) Another, referring to new residents who would be moving into the area, asked Adams, “Are you vetting these people?” “These are people who live here, work here, pay taxes here,” Adams shot back. “I’m not entertaining these questions any further.” Those at the town hall were also provided with yellow and red stickers, and encouraged to place them on maps of the proposed housing sites perched around the room—with yellow signaling an “OK” and red indicating a “no.” “I’d like to know where Mary Adams lives,” said one woman huddled at a map. “I’d love to put a yellow [sticker] by her house.” Housing Huddle Carmel Valley residents turned out in numbers for a town hall on the county’s housing plans. By Rey Mashayekhi While Monterey County only needs to plan for 3,764 new housing units per the state’s RHNA guidelines, officials have drawn up a more robust “buffer” of 5,121 units to account for projects falling through. NEWS “Are you vetting these people?” REY MASHAYEKHI PRESENTED BY
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