12 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY april 25-may 1, 2024 www.montereycountyweekly.com Usually, Monterey’s history is an asset, something to highlight, but in some cases, it’s complicated. History is part of what’s holding up a 42-unit affordable housing project on a 0.5-acre city-owned site adjacent to the Vasquez Adobe and behind Monterey’s City Hall. The project, proposed by MidPen Housing, was conditionally approved by the Monterey City Council in 2022, but it’s been a challenge to inch ahead because of the dilapidated buildings it would demolish. The houses slated for demolition date back to the 1880s, though looking at them, you’d never know it—they look like they could have been built in the mid-20th century. Regardless, they appear in bad shape, and no people live inside them—some are used to store junk from the city that should perhaps be put into an archive, landfilled, or taken to Last Chance Mercantile. But the potential historic nature of those homes—really, the historic nature of the area that surrounds them—has become an unexpected hurdle. The project has to pass muster with the State Historic Preservation Office in order to qualify for federal housing vouchers. While the streamlining of state laws for affordable housing would normally put the project on a glide path, it’s a sticky case on the federal side. The City of Monterey has been a willing and eager partner in the project—as envisioned, it will hopefully lease the property to MidPen. To expedite the process, the city hired Rincon Consultants, a firm that has a long and successful history with Monterey projects involving potential historic resources, to help clear the last hurdles. The price tag is roughly $224,000 for that work. On a recent weekday, Kim Cole, Monterey’s community development director, walks the site, just behind city hall, to show how it will lay out. The structures to be demolished will be cleared for two- and three-story buildings that will house studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. The three-story sections, in the center, are envisioned to be set back from the street so as to not be visible from the sidewalk. There’s also a plan to relocate the community garden currently thriving in the middle of the decaying buildings—that will have a new location a stone’s throw away. And the parking lot behind City Hall will be cut in half—it’s housing ideal for those who don’t need to move on four wheels. But first, the wheels of bureaucracy need to spin a bit more. Soledad residents worked for months to bring a referendum to the ballot and motivate voters to reject a five-district map the City Council selected last year. Measure P was rejected by a massive 80-point margin, reflecting the voice of members of the public who had clearly said: No to five districts. While the referendum is over, the process of transitioning from at-large to district-based elections is not. Now that the election results are certified, the council will decide how to proceed. Council could adopt one of the four-district maps (with a mayor elected at-large) that were developed last year during the process. (City Attorney Mike Rodriquez noted this is the most cost-effective option, and the fastest, enabling district elections to begin this November.) Second, council could opt to restart the districting process and develop new four-district maps based on Census data. Or third, they could continue with at-large elections, despite a voting rights challenge in 2022 that led to this process to start with. (That option would leave the city vulnerable to a potential lawsuit.) “I want the community to come out and voice their input. What map do you like?” says Monica Andrade, spokesperson for Soledad Committee for Voting Rights, the group behind the referendum. Andrade, who is married to Councilmember Fernando Cabrera, notes that neighboring Greenfield had an engaging districting process: “The citizen [map] was the one they picked, and I liked that.” If the council wants district elections to begin to take effect for the general election on Nov. 5, it has to approve the maps and submit them by the end of May. The council is scheduled to discuss the districting process on Wednesday, May 15. Soledad is also in the process of filling former Councilmember Ben Jimenez Jr.’s vacancy; he resigned on March 25. The city is receiving applications until May 15 and will appoint someone on May 23 to serve for the reminder of Jimenez’s term. Home Base Historic or just old? A housing project in Monterey hinges on the answer. By David Schmalz news CARE CAFE Enjoy a soup and bread supper from local restaurants in a handmade bowl that guests can take home as a memento to benefit the Food Bank for Monterey County. Carmel High School Singers and Songwriters Guild entertains diners, and over 300 student works of art will be on display. 7pm Thursday, April 25. $20 donation. Carmel High School, 3600 Ocean Ave., Carmel. 624-1821. HEALTH REPORT The Monterey County Behavioral Health Commission holds its monthly meeting and receives reports on the participation committee, homelessness and more. Also, hear an update on the progress of nonprofit Sun Street Centers’ construction of a new recovery center. 5:30pm Thursday, April 25. Monterey County Free Libraries Castroville branch meeting room, 11160 Speegle St., Castroville or via Zoom. 755-4509, bhdcommunity@co.monterey.ca.us, countyofmonterey.gov. STUDENT STORE Everett Alvarez High School’s Agriculture Department launches a produce store that exhibits student-run projects. You can support the cause by purchasing vegetables, plants, olive oil, flowers and student art projects. The store will be open 4-6pm Friday, April 26 and 9am-noon Saturday, April 27. Everett Alvarez High School, 1900 Independence Blvd., Salinas. jessica. sweet@salinasuhsd.org. E PLURIBUS UNUM Discuss a growing threat to democracy posed by voters who believe that the United States is first and foremost a Christian nation. The film screening of God & Country shows insights on the role of religion in politics influencing policy such as abortion, public education and immigration. 7pm Tuesday, April 30. Unitarian Universalist Church, 490 Aguajito Road, Monterey. Free. dw-mc.org. TIDAL TRAINING Learn to collect water samples that help tell the story of regional water quality for NOAA’s 24th anniversary of Snapshot Day on May 4. Staff from the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary train volunteers to fan out into the 10 major watersheds that flow into Monterey Bay and collect water samples for water quality testing. A training opportunity happens 6-7:30pm Tuesday, April 30 at REI, 145 General Stilwell Drive, Marina. One-day water sampling takes place on Saturday, May 4. Register online at tinyurl.com/snapshotday2024 or email lindsay.brown@noaa.gov. 236-6795. Districting 2.0 Soledad City Council will decide how to proceed with district elections after a referendum. By Celia Jiménez One of the eight structures that would be demolished to make way for two- and threestory buildings for a total of 42 units of housing, as proposed by developer MidPen. e-mail: toolbox@mcweekly.com TOOLBOX The wheels of bureaucracy need to spin. Daniel Dreifuss
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