ABSTRACT: Written by and courtesy of Save Our Carmel Neighborhoods Coalition (SOCNC), “Summary of the Villas de Carmelo Project by the Standard Subdivision Committee on January 13, 2011” is reproduced. For more information and to support SOCNC, please email SOCNCWatch@aol.com.
Save Our Carmel Neighborhoods Coalition
P.O. Box 221001
Carmel, CA 93922-1001
SOCNCWatch@aol.com
Date: January 14, 2011
To: Concerned Neighbors
Re: Summary of Villas de Carmelo Project Review by the Standard Subdivision Committee on January 13, 2011
Dear Neighbors,
On Thursday, January 13, the County's Subdivision Committee held its first meeting to discuss the Villas de Carmelo project. At the hearing, the County’s project planner recommended that the Committee approve a 46-unit condominium design that is only slightly different from the applicant’s proposed project. The primary difference in the staff-recommended version is that the two buildings along Highway One would be reduced to one building, but the total number of units (46) is the same as what the applicant wants.
Two members of the SOCNC steering committee attended the hearing, along with SOCNC’s attorney, who is funded by your donations. We presented the SOCNC’s goal: to keep the existing zoning on the former hospital property. Our attorney challenged the lack of information before the Committee as to the environmentally superior alternatives to the applicant’s 46-unit project, and urged the Committee to wait for the Final EIR (environmental impact report) before acting on the project.
Three other neighborhood members opposed to the project attended, and one spoke against the project.
Two representatives of the developer, the New York-based Widewaters Corporation, attended and spoke in favor of the project. Nobody from the public spoke in favor of the project. The developer’s public relations consultant, David Armanasco, was in the audience. Denise Duffy, the EIR preparer, made a brief presentation.
The Committee members briefly discussed aspects of the project, but did not discuss the project’s merits, or the requested rezoning to high density. One of the Committee members pointed out that the staff report for the January 13 hearing had been delivered on the afternoon of January 11, which was not enough time to review the materials (which included the Draft EIR and the Revised Draft EIR on a CD, plus all the lengthy comments on both documents on another CD).
Then the Committee voted unanimously to continue the hearing to February 24, so the Committee could have more time to review the project materials and also to read the Final EIR.
Your SOCNC steering committee representatives will attend the February 24th meeting. Later, we expect the County will have project hearings before the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors. The California Coastal Commission will also have at least one hearing, because the Coastal Commission must consider the requested High Density Zoning requested by the applicant. If the Commission does not approve the rezoning to high density, the project fails.
We will keep you posted!
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