Tuesday, September 07, 2010

WIDEWATERS Letter to Interested Party About Villas de Carmelo Proposed Project

ABSTRACT: Today, a letter was received via USPS addressed to an interested party, dated September 3, 2010, from Kevin Kane, Development Manager, The Widewaters Group, and Ed Shagen, Director of Development, The Widewaters Group. The letter states in part as follows:
“Widewaters, as an agent for the Carmel Hospital Development LLC, is pleased to report that the water and traffic components will not create any significant and unavoidable impacts and that we have an agreement in principle with the County over the Inclusionary Housing requirements for the project.”
The letter (2 pages) is transcribed.

WIDEWATERS
Villas de Carmelo


September 3, 2010

Interested Party's Name
Interested Party's Address

Dear Interested Party:

Monterey County issued a Recirculated Draft EIR for the Villas de Carmelo project on August 3, 2010, initiating a requisite public comment period as required by the California Environmental Quality Act.

Based on the letters received by the County during the public comment period for the draft originally published on April 17, 2009, Monterey County determined that an even more thorough and comprehensive analysis of two issues – water and traffic – was necessary and directed their consultant accordingly last fall.

The water concerns were elevated even further when a Cease and Desist Order was issued by the California Water Resource Management Board against Cal-Am last fall denying the issuance of any new service connections. Consequently, the analysis of the property’s water rights became the most critical piece of the project’s entitlement effort to date.

The “second look” has been very beneficial to our efforts because actual water records have been uncovered from the last few years of the hospital’s operation. They confirmed a much higher level of actual water usage than had been previously estimated by the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District. Lacking evidence to the contrary, the District relied upon their Like Kind Facility Survey to establish a baseline of 8.226 AFY of water allocation. However, the actual records documented a much higher level of water consumption peaking at 14.67 AFA in the last full year of the hospital’s operation with an average of 13.688 AFA. With the hospital’s Operational Permit still valid, these records establish a clear and significant water right associated with the Carmel Convalescent Hospital property that is affirmed in the R-DEIR. The Villas de Carmelo plans already included the use of cisterns and very low flush fixtures in our efforts to conserve and recycle water but these records show that our water needs will be less than half of the water demands of the hospital.

The process also allowed for a “second look” at the local area road networks along with the level of service associated with the intersections and road segments beyond the scope of the project’s original Traffic Impact Study. Specifically, the Highway 1 segment south of Ocean Avenue and its classifications and traffic counts were added to the original study and the road segments profiles and labeling designations were analyzed. The results were consistent with the conclusions of the original Traffic Impact Analysis: that the project’s traffic component will not have a significant impact on the area roadways and intersections.

The Supplemental Roadway Segment Analysis was also peer reviewed by Hexagon Transportation consultants, Inc. who reached the same conclusion.

On a final note, the Villas de Carmelo has reached an understanding with the Redevelopment and Housing Office of MCRMA over the Inclusionary Housing component of the project. After an extensive and objective dialogue with the Housing and Advisory Committee as well as the staff of the RHO, we have agreed to a Payment in Lieu Fee for compliance.

Widewaters, as an agent for the Carmel Hospital Development LLC, is pleased to report that the water and traffic components will not create any significant and unavoidable impacts and that we have an agreement in principle with the County over the Inclusionary Housing requirements for the project.

We also look forward to a thorough public review of the Recirculated Draft and are optimistic that the conclusions contained within will be borne out at the completion of the CEQA proceedings.

Villas de Carmel (www.villasdecarmelo.com) is an infill project founded in smart growth principles. It focuses on the historic restoration of the Carmel Hospital and on maintaining design consistency throughout the site.

Thank you for your time and interest in Villas de Carmelo. We will update you as more information becomes available or as additional timelines are known.

If you have any further questions on the Villas de Carmelo project, feel free to call us.

Sincerely,

Kevin Kane
Development Manager
The Widewaters Group
Tel: (315) 445-8543

Ed Shagen
Director of Development
The Widewaters Group
(408) 402-5048

5786 Widewaters Parkway, P.O. Box 3 DeWitt, New York 13214-0003 Phone: 315/445.2424 Fax: 315/445.8570

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