20 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY august 10-16, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com The story of how—and why— Del Rey Oaks and Sand City exist. By David Schmalz A Tale of Two (Tiny) Cities On Sept. 3, 1953, the first Del Rey Oaks City Council meeting was held in the cement-floored garage of William Pacchetti, where the meetings would continue to be held for the next yearand-a-half. When Sand City incorporated in 1960, there were just over 100 registered voters in the city, and it too didn’t have a suitable location for council meetings. So for the first few years, they were held at the Church of God, northeast of the current City Hall. (Its first city hall building, which it purchased from the Seaside Redevelopment Agency for $75 in 1961, was a former house that was 300 square feet, and not big enough for council meetings.) Two small cities, two distinct identities, and two common throughlines: Residents of both cities wanted self rule, and neither wanted to be a part of Seaside. (In the case of Del Rey Oaks, residents also chose to not become part of Monterey.) Whether or not that’s a good thing is a matter for debate, but what’s undeniably true is that if the Monterey Peninsula was all the part of one city, or two, there would be economies of scale—less overhead for city staff, and more in-house expertise. Del Rey Oaks is a bedroom community—it’s quiet, it has no restaurants, no downtown. It’s where you come home to eat and sleep, hang with your family, take a walk and perhaps sunbathe on the patio. Sand City has a Bohemian energy and beautiful murals now line the city’s West End district, a home of many hippie squatters in the late 1960s. From its inception, though, Sand City has also had a pro-business, libertarian streak, and in the run-up to a mayoral recall election in 1969, some of those hippies’ homes were reportedly demolished by bulldozers from a construction company owned by the city’s first mayor, who the “hippies” were trying to recall (more on that later). Per the 2020 Census, the population of Sand City was 325, while Del Rey Oaks was 1,592. Combined, that’s less than 2,000 people, yet their elected officials have wielded outsized political power on various regional boards for decades. Should either of these cities exist? It’s a good question, but also moot—they do. The question that prompts the most illuminating answer is: Why do they exist? Here’s why. • • • The city of Del Rey Oaks started out as a subdivision named Del Rey Woods, owned by Pacific Grove businessman and banker Thomas Albert Work, aka “ The people here want to control their own destiny.” Above and top right: Both Del Rey Oaks and Sand City are not only small in terms of land, but population: Del Rey Oaks has just under 1,600 residents, while Sand City has just over 300. Below right: Both Sand City’s and Del Rey Oaks’ city halls are tiny relative to their other counterparts on the Monterey Peninsula, though they’re both bigger than they once were in early years after each city was incorporated. Sand City Del Rey Oaks Map data © 2023 Google
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