12 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY OCTOBER 9-15, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com On Tuesday, Oct. 7, even Carmelites once adamantly opposed to the idea of adopting street addresses had come around. Nancy Twomey, who told the Carmel City Council that she previously was in favor of the status quo by retaining the practice of naming houses and using an antiquated identification system, said she had changed her mind. “If you do move forward on this tonight you have my support big time,” Twomey said. Even Councilmember Alissandra Dramov, who was opposed when the last council tried to adopt addresses, had changed her mind. So when the vote was taken at the end of Tuesday’s discussion, she voted yes on a resolution to begin the process of identifying an address system for the city. The 5-0 vote was met with a loud round of applause from residents. Four years ago, when Councilmember Jeff Baron suggested it was time for a conversation about addresses, it seemed improbable the day would come. There was strong opposition and despite the fact that Carmel’s old system was against state laws for building and fire safety, vocal residents clung to the argument of protecting village character. The difference came with the formation of a five-member citizens’ group in April led by Councilmember Bob Delves. (Twomey was also a member.) They met once a week for six months, gathering information from the U.S. Postal Service, first responders, utility companies and others. In August, Delves gave a detailed report to the council laying out what they learned, followed by two town halls. The evidence was overwhelming: Carmel had to comply with state laws; it had to catch up with technology that increasingly demands actual street addresses; there were health and safety reasons to adopt them; and more. The committee also allayed some fears that the post office would go away, or that residents would be forced to have home delivery. Not true, Delves said. What they would have to do, based on USPS Address Management System requirements, was adopt AMScompatible addresses and display 4-inch-tall numbers on buildings, fences or gates. Next steps include city staff returning with a comprehensive plan for implementation of addresses. Twomey ended her comments by encouraging those who had named their homes with whimsical names to keep them, “because this is a cultural tradition worthy of retaining.” For over 20 years, the Salinas United Business Association has been part of the landscape in East Salinas, helping business owners with permitting, offering seminars and marketing and so on. It also collects annual, mandatory assessments from businesses to support beautification, landscaping, clean-ups and special events. But this is about to change; the board decided on Sept. 29 that it will phase out the organization. “The main reason for it really had to do with how the economy has been really, really bad in the last two years,” says Alejandro Chavez, SUBA’s executive director. Most recently, an increase in anti-immigrant sentiment, fear of deportation and increased tariffs have dwindled revenue for small businesses in East Salinas and beyond. Since its inception, SUBA has struggled to keep afloat and collect assessments. In 2019, Chavez was trying to figure out how to keep the organization in existence while facing opposition from business owners. Chavez was the only remaining employee of SUBA, working part-time. According to a 2024-25 annual report by SUBA, only 40 percent of 420 businesses paid their dues for the year, meaning SUBA only collected $40,550 of $100,440 projected in revenue from dues. That is not an isolated figure: Chavez estimates that business owners owe over $1 million in assessments cumulatively. While SUBA will go away, Chavez says business owners are looking for a different approach, perhaps similar to the Salinas City Center Improvement Association in downtown Salinas, which would entail shifting from a business-led to a property-owner-led association. On Sept. 23, Salinas City Council was set to vote on levying and collecting SUBA’s annual assessment for the year 2025-26, but the matter was postponed indefinitely. Chavez, who now works for the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, plans to help sunset the organization. Mail Call The Carmel City Council says yes to street addresses in a historic 5-0 vote. By Pam Marino NEWS FOR THE TREES The City of Monterey hosts a town hall on plans to update the city’s tree ordinance. Monterey residents are encouraged to share input. 6pm Monday, Oct. 13. Monterey Conference Center, Colton Room, 1 Portola Plaza, Monterey. Free. (831) 646-3860, monterey.gov/trees. IN THE PUBLIC VIEW Salinas City Council meets and accepts public comment. Tell your elected officials what they are doing well and what you think they can do better. 4pm Tuesday, Oct. 14. Salinas Rotunda, 200 Lincoln Ave., Salinas. Free. (831) 758-7381, cityofsalinas.org. EDUCATION MATTERS The Salinas Union High School District Board of Trustees meets and accepts public comment. 6:30pm Tuesday, Oct. 14. SUHSD District Office, 431 West Alisal St., Salinas. Free. (831) 796-7000, salinasuhsd.org. NOW HIRING The Hospitality and Tourism Career Fair offers students a chance to connect with employers in the industry. Representatives from Pebble Beach Company, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Carmel Valley Ranch and others will be on hand. 1-3pm Thursday, .Oct. 16. Otter Student Union, 3118 Inter-Garrison Road, Seaside. Free. RSVP at bit.ly/ CareerFairOct16. CIVIC DUTY Voting is now underway in the statewide special election. Registration deadline is Oct. 20. (831) 796-1499, registertovote.ca.gov. READY TO SERVE Monterey County Regional Fire Protection District has a vacancy on its board of directors. Those interested in applying need to be a resident of the district’s service territory, which includes areas of unincorporated Salinas and Carmel Valley. Applications due Oct. 25. cob@countyofmonterey.gov, tinyurl.com/mcrfdboard. LAND WATCH Multiple land use advisory committees seek applications to fill vacancies. They are the Greater Monterey Peninsula, Carmel Unincorporated/ Highlands and Castroville Unincorporated/Highlands committees. Recruitment is ongoing. (831) 7837091. GO FISH Applications are now open for the County of Monterey’s Fish and Game Propagation Grant Program. Deadline to submit applications is 5pm Friday, Nov. 7. (831) 755-4895, bit. ly/46hR8y7. Business Plan Salinas United Business Association to dissolve by the end of the year. By Celia Jiménez A committee that reviewed implementation of street addresses allayed some fears, including that the downtown post office (shown above) would go away. E-MAIL: toolbox@montereycountynow.com TOOLBOX The evidence was overwhelming: Carmel had to comply. STEVE SOUZA
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