10 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY july 4-10, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com In 1957, Donna and Fred Hofsas built a quaint, four-story Bavarianthemed hotel in Carmel. Donna commissioned an artist friend, Maxine Albro, to paint a welcome mural, and Fred created a coat of arms, with the Latin words “Otium Cum Dignitate,” or “Leisure with Dignity.” It’s been family-run, with the Hofsas’ granddaughter, Carrie Theis, a former Carmel City councilmember, acting as general manager of the 38-room hotel since 2000. After 67 years the inn is showing its age and with travelers demanding more modern conveniences, the family made the decision to tear down Donna and Fred’s creation and build a modern structure they named the Carmel Legacy Hotel. Architect Eric Miller described the design to the Carmel Planning Commission as inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Clinton Walker House on Carmel Point, as well as Craftsman designs. Theis spent the last year sharing the plans around town and gaining acceptance from a village that doesn’t easily embrace change. Her work paid off: At a Planning Commission meeting on April 10, a line of business owners and residents praised the Theis family and urged approval. The vote was 4-0 (with conditions), to a round of applause. (Vice Chair Stephanie Locke recused herself for owning property within 500 feet.) Only resident Neal Kruse, of the Carmel Preservation Association, was resolute in his disapproval of the proposed design. “We do not want progress. We do not want the most modern-looking hotels, and that is why we’re still the place that everybody wants to come to,” Kruse said. Two weeks later Kruse filed an appeal to the Carmel City Council on behalf of the CPA based on what he said was the failure of the commission to adequately assess the hotel’s potential environmental impacts. The hotel was considered exempt from creating an environmental impact report as an infill project, but Kruse argued that “unusual circumstances” made the exemption inappropriate, because the hotel is surrounded by residences which will be subject to construction noise and traffic and air quality impacts, including asbestos. Kruse also argued that the “historic facade of the building will be lost unnecessarily. One more piece of Carmel’s history obliterated,” he wrote. According to a staff report, the hotel buildings were evaluated last year for historical significance. The Historic Resources Board ruled they were ineligible as historic resources in December. The decision was not appealed. The City Council is scheduled to hear the appeal at 4:30pm on Tuesday, July 9. Like other local developments in the former Fort Ord that were approved in the aughts, a time of great optimism, East Garrison— which the County Board of Supervisors approved in 2004—failed to launch as the Great Recession tanked the market. It finally started to break ground in 2013, but its final phase—the fourth, which will include a long-awaited “town center” with a commercial core—has been on ice, as the current developers who have taken over the project have been re-envisioning its final phase to make it more commercially viable. Essentially, that’s meant downsizing the commercial town center core from 75,000 square feet to 30,000 square feet. Tony Lombardo, representing developer UCP, advocated before the supervisors that the updates were necessary due to the changing economic conditions in the past 20 years. The supervisors agreed and approved the amendment, which also created a slight reduction in residential units, but the one sticking point was parking. Many residents argued the revised plan doesn’t provide adequate parking, and as a condition of approval, the supervisors asked that county staff take a fresh, impartial look at UCP consultant Kimley Horn’s parking analysis. But the streets are wide open—there’s parking everywhere. However, the homeowner’s association prohibits homeowners from parking on the street, even though it’s fair game to park on for the general public, by law. And just a few months ago, the HOA sent out a notice to homeowners informing them that their garages would be subject to a “step-by-step process of…‘Garage Review’’’ so that the HOA board of directors could be better informed about giving out street parking passes. Yet Gary Redenbacher, an attorney retained by some residents, wrote a letter in January that insists the requirement to inspect a homeowners garage is beyond the HOA’s power. New Look A protest against progress sends a Carmel hotel’s transformation to council. By Pam Marino news Adopt a Friend SPCA Monterey County needs to find more homes for more pets, and to help that cause, offers $50 adoption fees for puppies and kittens 6 months and younger. For all other pets, adoption fees have been paid for by donors. 11am-5pm Friday, July 5-Sunday, July 7. SPCA Monterey County, 1002 Highway 68, Salinas. 373-2631, spcamc.org. Cooling Off With hot temperatures forecasted through Saturday, July 6, the County of Monterey has opened cooling shelters at libraries in South County and Carmel Valley. The cities of Greenfield and Soledad also opened centers for people seeking relief from excessive heat. Various hours through Saturday, July 6. Carmel Valley library, 65 W. Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley; Greenfield City Hall, 599 El Camino Real, Greenfield; Greenfield Community Science Workshop, 45 El Camino Real, Greenfield; King City library, 402 Broadway St., King City; San Ardo library, 62350 College St., San Ardo; San Lucas library, 54692 Teresa St., San Lucas; Soledad Community Center, 560 Walker Drive, Soledad. 800-3226884. Government in Action The Carmel City Council meets and accepts public comment. Learn about the latest happenings in city government and share feedback. 4:30pm Tuesday, July 9. City Council Chambers, Monte Verde Street between Ocean and 7th, Carmel. Free. 620-2000, ci.carmel.ca.us. Help for Housing The Housing Authority of the County of Monterey opened the waitlist for the Housing Choice Voucher Program on July 1. Once the waitlist application process closes, the Housing Authority will run a lottery to place the first 5,000 applicants on the waitlist. Applications accepted through Friday, July 12 at 11:59pm. 775-5000, apply. hamonterey.org. Safe Streets The City of Seaside is developing a local road safety plan and wants to hear concerns from residents. Survey runs through July 29. tinyurl. com/44at2c4v. Future Plans The City of Soledad has updated its Housing Element based on feedback it received from the state Housing and Community Development Department. The public is invited to look over the document that provides a framework for housing production over the next eight years. View the document at soledadgeneralplan2045.com/housing-element. Park Place East Garrison’s last phase of construction is moving forward, with questions about parking. By David Schmalz A rendering of the proposed Hofsas House redesign would modernize the hotel from its 1957 look (inset), which still exists today. e-mail: toolbox@montereycountynow.com TOOLBOX “We do not want progress.” Eric Miller Architects, Inc. Daniel Dreifuss
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