www.montereycountynow.com MARCH 5-11, 2026 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 17 Hundreds of pages of planning documents and three drafts, now two-plus years into an eight-year planning cycle, the County of Monterey is still lacking a certified housing element. The concept behind these documents, required by the California Department of Housing and Community Development, is for each jurisdiction to plan for housing needs based on existing and projected future population. It should come as a surprise to no one that every jurisdiction in the tri-county region needs more housing. In the case of unincorporated Monterey County, the magic number to plan for is 3,326 units between 2023-2031. The state has so far sent back the county’s proposal twice for revisions. After the third draft closed to public comment on Feb. 24, the County resubmitted again, hoping for HCD’s blessing this time. While that process is underway and the County is without a certified housing element, state law allows for developers to move swiftly and push forward projects under a provision called Builder’s Remedy. It forces agencies to approve projects that would otherwise probably never pass muster. In concept, I think Builder’s Remedy is a great idea—it means less pushing paper, more shovels in the ground. But these fasttrack projects can also be horribly misaligned. Such is the case of a proposal for 711 Viejo Road, just east of Highway 1 between Monterey and Carmel, that envisions a massive 11-story building, roughly the size of Seaside’s Embassy Suites, plunked down on a steeply sloped property where today there are mostly just trees. It would include 239 units of housing (191 at market rate and 48 low-income). The Monterey City Council voted 4-0 on Feb. 17 to write a comment letter voicing a range of concerns including traffic, emergency egress, lack of water supply and the need for a septic plan. The developer is Carmel Housing Group LLC, registered to Fullerton-based Ben Eilenberg, an attorney whose license has been suspended by the State Bar. I was unable to reach Eilenberg for comment, but in emails to County officials, he has already threatened litigation and declined to answer planners’ questions about basic things like the floor plan, drainage plan and so on. California’s environmental protections might be cumbersome, but Builder’s Remedy is not a substitute for sensible projects that take into account basic health and safety elements. Speaking to Monterey City Council about the project on Feb. 17, City Community Development Director Kim Cole offered a theory: Eilenberg might be planning to negotiate a much smaller project. “This is clearly a chess play by the developer,” she said. Eilenberg also has Builder’s Remedy projects in Carpinteria, Los Gatos and Santa Barbara, according to news reports. He seems positioned for a fight. Whether it’s to make a point or make money (or both) remains unknown. Meanwhile, some Builder’s Remedy projects progressing in Monterey County are far more reasonable, proposed by developers actually willing to talk to the community. Big Sur-based Patrick Orosco of the Orosco Group is meeting at 6:30pm on Wednesday, March 18 with the Carmel Valley Association about his 90-unit Carmel Valley proposal. Jeff Damavandi of LA is proposing 127 units on the site of a nearly century-old hospital building near Carmel. The Diocese of Monterey has a proposal in the works. Monterey Mayor Tyller Williamson signed the letter expressing concern about Eilenberg’s absurd proposal, but expressed frustration that he was being asked to do so at all. “It’s really disappointing that someone is taking advantage of a system that is meant to do good,” he said. “The last thing I want to do is make it appear as if the city of Monterey is anti-development, anti-growth. This makes the situation worse. When someone tries to take advantage of a situation to line their own pockets, it’s disgusting.” Builder’s Remedy should be just that—a remedy that bypasses some of the zoning restrictions that make development too slow and too expensive, helping right-size California’s housing supply. But impossible projects are a distraction: We need real and buildable housing, not more lawsuits. Sara Rubin is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@montereycountynow.com. Battle of the Builders State policy meant to jumpstart housing can also lead to bad planning. By Sara Rubin BURIED TREASURE…Squid has already plundered most of the sunken treasure in Squid’s watery lair— good supplemental income to work as a columnist— and lately has been thinking about oozing onto land to see what shiny objects Squid can dig up with the help of Squid’s treasure-sniffing doggo, Roscoe P. Coltrane. Squid also thought Squid would invite Neal the eel to wiggle along on the journey, perhaps on the former Fort Ord in Del Rey Oaks, to help to discover a trove of old, shiny objects, maybe grab some shrimp tacos at Taqueria Zarape afterward and make a day of it. However, Squid and Neal’s aspirations were buried after the Del Rey Oaks City Council approved a new ordinance on Tuesday, Feb. 24 banning metal detecting on the city-owned land in the former Fort Ord. It turns out that this year, city officials realized that although excavation on Fort Ord parcels was already banned by an existing ordinance, metal detection was not specifically prohibited. Squid realizes that digging on the old military base isn’t the greatest idea and is already illegal, with all the potentially unexploded explosives in the dirt, so Squid will take Squid’s passion for finding shiny objects back into the deep sea. Neal knows a good spot for seafood in Monterey Canyon, anyway. TRAVEL BAN…Squid rarely oozes far from Squid’s lair, but knows many migratory creatures—including humans—like to take trips. Many parts of Monterey County are popular destinations for travelers, with tourism as the second-biggest economic sector. With tourism come some challenges and See Monterey, the county’s convention and visitors bureau, is trying to get the message out about being kind to the place. Squid can think of a few messages: Don’t park your car in the middle of Highway 1 in Big Sur (it’s, um, a highway) and don’t litter—cephalopods live here. One travel site, Travel Off Path, took things in a different direction with a March 1 story titled, “7 Destinations Americans Should Not Visit This Summer,” and No. 2 on the list is…Monterey County. As if traffic back-ups on Bixby Bridge (the featured photo) mean you should also avoid attractions like Pinnacles National Park, the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the River Road wine trail. According to the story, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors voted in January to ban shortterm rentals (not true). Facts aside, Travel Off Path offers: “The remaining legal hotels…are operating at absolute maximum capacity, with prices skyrocketing to match the sudden lack of inventory.” Wait, what? Squid searched for lodging over July Fourth weekend and found multiple options at a range of price points. Is Airbnb sponsoring this stuff? For Squid’s part, Squid will spend tourism season like usual: oozing around and people-watching. THE LOCAL SPIN SQUID FRY THE MISSION OF MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY IS TO INSPIRE INDEPENDENT THINKING AND CONSCIOUS ACTION, ETC. “This is clearly a chess play by the developer.” SEND SQUID A TIP: squid@montereycountynow.com
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