on the County of Monterey Staff Analysis Report on Measure "A" including the entire text of the Staff Analysis Report |
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This section should also state: -The Board of Supervisors voted to place the Initiative on the Nov. 7th ballot. -The Initiative relates only to properties/land owned by Pebble Beach Company. -The Initiative has NOT been reviewed by Monterey County Staff, Planning Commissioners or Supervisors to determine the impact on Del Monte Forest & residential community. -Public hearings have NOT & will not be held on the Initiative. -Exhibit Maps are not clear. County should provide improved maps for easy reading & understanding. |
IntroductionMeasure "A", the Del Monte Forest Initiative, would make various changes affecting future land use and development in the Del Monte Forest. On July 25, 2000, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors directed staff to prepare an objective analysis of the Initiative, and to disseminate the analysis and make an informational presentation of the analysis to the public. Staff has carefully reviewed the Initiative and presents its analysis in the following pages. Organizationally, the analysis includes a summary of key points and a summary table. This is followed by text which describes the following components of the Initiative: process; housing; employee housing; resource constraint overlay including water, sewer and traffic; visitor serving commercial; open space; golf course uses; equestrian center; maps/tables. Staff has made every effort to explain the Initiative in a way that is clear to the voting public. Staff has based its analysis strictly on the wording of the Initiative and is aware that there may be specific questions about the impact of the Initiative that cannot be answered given the information available at this time. Some questions may only be capable of being answered when a specific development proposal is submitted for review. Staff also acknowledges that as an amendment to a 1984 land use document, the Initiative contains certain changes which may reference what is now outdated information. An example of this is found in the many changes to proposed residential buildout numbers contained in the 1984 plan. Staff believes that some projects that were envisioned in the 1984 text have been built in the intervening years, and yet it is not clear from a close reading of the Initiative which projects may have been built and therefore constitute existing residential development. Every effort has been made to point out these types of situations where they occur. This is not intended to evaluate the merits of the proposal, but to simply identify the changes that the initiative would implement, if approved. |
Against Measure "A"
"To encourage future visitor-serving development adjacent to existing visitor-serving facilities in the Del Monte Forest".
10. For clarity, add: -"and adjacent land re-zoned from current residential designation to Open Space Recreational".
11. For clarity, add: - same re-zoned statement.
12. Replace "mined out former quarry site" with a re-forested area with two scenic easements that were required by the County & Coastal Commission as part of the Spanish Bay development.
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Summary of Key Points If approved by the voters of Monterey County at the November 7, 2000 general election, the Del Monte Forest Initiative will do the following:
Amend various maps and tables within the LUP, zoning ordinance and Monterey County Housing Element to implement the changes described within the ballot measure. |
Against Measure "A" The Report includes land not owned by Pebble Beach Company.
The Summary Table should read:
Visitors Serving Commercial What does "indirectly" limited (inn units) mean? Open Space Report should state: Golf Course & Equestrian Center Report should include:
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Against Measure " A"
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ProcessThe Del Monte Forest Initiative will appear as Measure "A" on the November 7, 2000 general election ballot in Monterey County. If passed by a majority of those voting in the election the Initiative will amend various plans and ordinances of the County of Monterey which regulate land use in the Del Monte Forest area. At the local government level, amendments to land use plans and ordinances may be processed in one of two ways: The first involves an amendment adopted by the Board of Supervisors, the second involves the use of a voter initiative such as Measure "A". The California Government Code and Public Resources Code provide that locally adopted land use plans and ordinances may be amended by action of the County Board of Supervisors at a noticed public hearing after a report and recommendation from the County Planning Commission which must also conduct a noticed public hearing. If the amendment is to a plan or ordinance which regulates land use in the California Coastal Zone, as is the case with the Del Monte Forest Initiative, the amendment must then be considered by the California Coastal Commission. The Coastal Commission may approve, deny or modify the amendment. If it is modified, the amendment is sent back to the Board of Supervisors for their acceptance of the modifications. The second method of amendment involves a voter initiative such as Measure "A". Because the territory which is the subject of the Initiative is located within the Coastal Zone, the amendments contained in the Initiative will not become effective automatically. If the measure passes, the amendments will be transmitted to the California Coastal Commission. The Coastal Commission will hold at least one noticed public hearing and may approve or deny the amendments Amendments to land use plans and zoning ordinances which are processed pursuant to the California Government Code and Public Resources Code are subject to review of environmental effect under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Ballot initiatives such as Measure "A" are not subject to review under CEQA. This means that the environmental effect of Measure "A" will not be analyzed prior to the November 7 election. Regarding environmental review in general, Measure "A" provides that if passed, future land use development applications will be subject to review pursuant to CEQA. In this regard, the Measure "A" is restating exiting law. Other procedural points in the Initiative are: a. future development applications pursuant to the Del Monte Forest Land Use Plan (LUP) as amended by Measure "A," are subject to public hearings
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Against Measure "A" The Initiative covers only properties/land owner by Pebble Beach Company. The "potential of 890" should be 889 potential residential units. The Housing Summary by Area is not correct. County Report includes property not owned by Pebble Beach Company. Correct Summary
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HousingThis section describes the Initiative's effect on potential housing development other than employee housing. The Del Monte Forest LUP currently allows a total potential of 1,067 new residential units subject to plan policies. The ballot measure summary describes the effect of Measure "A" as reducing the potential number of new homes on land covered by the Initiative from a potential of 890 to a total of 38. A literal reading of the Initiative by staff renders a different set of numbers. The number of potential units deleted by the measure totals 916; the total number of potential units remaining is 77. It is possible that the discrepancy in numbers is a result of units that were proposed in 1984, were built in intervening years and whose status has not been adequately explained in the text of the Initiative. The totals based on the staff's reading of the Initiative break out as follows:
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Against Measure "A"
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Employee HousingExisting provisions of the LUP allow for employee housing in two ways. First, under current regulations, caretaker's quarters are allowed throughout the Forest subject to criteria contained in the zoning ordinance. Second, the current LUP allows for additional employee housing for priority uses such as visitor serving commercial in one dormitory/bunkhouse consistent with all other plan policies. The Initiative would modify this second provision by removing the limitation that such additional employee housing be permitted in "one dormitory/bunkhouse or in temporary structures." The Initiative would also specifically allow up to 12 units of employee housing in Area B of Spanish Bay. This provision for employee housing at Area B also carries with it the deletion of provisions to allow up to 105 residential units in Area B. The term "employee housing" is not defined in the Initiative, nor are specific size or occupancy standards set forth. |
Against Measure "A" The Report should also state: The Resource Constraint Overlay was included in the LUP to provide protection from over-development of forest land. County Counsel's summary indicates "constraints have been satisfied, as provided in the initiative". Voters need to know which sections of the Initiative explain how the "constraints have been satisfied."
2. Water Supply The Report does not reflect correct current information. The Forest Lake Reservoir project for storage of reclaimed water is still in the preliminary planning stage. Financing of approximately 20 million dollars is required. There is no completion target date. See <the following> current information that has been discussed with Nick Chiulos at the County. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Data in this section will be revised to reflect more accurate data on the production of reclaimed water and potable water usage on golf courses and recreation fields. We believe that the following should be substituted for the first paragraph: The Water Reclamation Product has produced an average of 641 acre-feet per year during the past five years. An average of 247 acre-feet per of potable water for this same period. Potable water was needed to flush salts which would otherwise 'burn" the golf course greens and to supplement the inadequate volume of reclaimed water. The average net savings of potable water during the past five years has been 261 acre-feet per year over the entitlement of 380 acre-feet per year for the Pebble Beach Company and other project sponsors. To make the system more effective
there is a need for increased storage and sodium removal.
Preliminary design work on a project that would enhance
sodium removal and would use the Forest Lake Reservoir as a
storage facility for reclaimed wastewater has been
completed. The cost of implementing this project is
approximately $20 million.
3. Traffic & Circulation The Report does not include comments on whether the May, 1984 Crowell Report is a proper basis for removal of this resource constraint today
Financial Obligations The Initiative limits the Pebble Beach Company's obligation for Hwy 1/68 improvements. The Report does not address how lifting the Traffic & Circulation resource constraints would effect the existing problems and the need for improvements on internal Forest roadways. Problems exist on 17-Mile Dr. at the Hwy. One Gate and there are many dangerous road intersections in the Forest. |
Resource Constraint OverlayAt the time of its approval in 1984, the Del Monte Forest LUP recognized that serious sewer, water, and traffic constraints limited the ability to reach buildout under the LUP. As a result of this concern, undeveloped areas within the Forest are shown on the 1984 LUP with a special designation known as a "Resource Constraint Overlay" which was intended to strictly limit development until resource constraints were solved. Policy 113 and Figure 5 (Land Use Plan 1984) contained in the LUP as well as zoning maps for the Forest currently delineate areas in which the LUP provides as follows: "The Resource Constraint Area designation shall be removed only when water and sewer capacity sufficient to serve such development becomes available and that highway capacity and circulation solutions have been agreed upon and adopted. Until such time that resource problems are solved, there shall be no development other than existing lots of record." Approval of the Initiative would mean that the voters have found that resource constraints have been solved, the resource constraint overlay can be lifted, and various development applications may proceed to public hearing. It should be noted that lifting the resource constraint overlay does not automatically approve any project. Development applications would be subject to public hearings, project level review under CEQA and any development project approval would be subject to actual resource availability and project level mitigation measures to address environmental issues. In order to remove the Resource Constraint overlay from specified properties within the Forest the Initiative provides that constraints have been addressed as described below. Staff has provided available background information to assist the voters in their understanding of the proposed lifting of the resource constraint overlay.
The Crowell Report states that its future traffic projections are based on the full development of the Forest as outlined in the 1984 LUP. The report goes on to state that at buildout, the Forest will contain:
The Crowell Report contains four recommendations concerning the transportation responsibilities of the Pebble Beach Company with respect to continued development of the Forest as follows:
The report goes on to describe the need for a more extensive widening of the Highway 1/68 interchange to the west of the Community Hospital access road. The report recommends that these costs be shared by the Pebble Beach Company and developers of the Hospital area. The report concludes that the Pebble Beach company should provide the County with a financial guarantee for its portion of the work to more extensively widen the Highway 1/68 interchange west of Community Hospital and that this guarantee be furnished to the County for any new development in the Forest over and above that allowed by the Spanish Bay Project. The Initiative states that Policy 99 of the LUP requires that new development must either bear the incremental costs of necessary improvements to Highway 68 and Highway 1 or pay into a fund that will be administered by the County for the incremental costs of the necessary improvements. On October 20, 1987, the Board of Supervisors adopted the Del Monte Forest Transportation Policy Agreement. This agreement implements the details of the Crowell Report described above. The agreement addresses the internal road system, gate improvements required as part of the Spanish Bay Project (new gate and access road on Highway 68) and external improvements. The external improvements are described in the Policy as "...the continuation of a second westbound lane along Highway 68 from the Highway 1 interchange to the Community Hospital intersection." The policy requires the Pebble Beach Company to pay 7.5 percent of the cost of the improvements based upon the estimated percentage of new conflicting traffic generated by the Spanish Bay project. The policy agreement goes on to require additional financial participation in the same improvement described above "as a condition of new residential subdivision and development within the Del Monte Forest." The policy requires the developer's participation in this improvement in the form of payment of 31.5 percent of the cost of the improvement. This percentage is "...based upon the percentage of new conflicting traffic which will be generated by the full development of Del Monte Forest under the Del Monte Forest LUP." The Transportation Policy Agreement concludes by stating that the improvements outlined are not needed immediately and that timing is based upon new development in the Forest, Skyline Planning area (City of Monterey), the Presidio, and cities of Pacific Grove and Monterey. The policy describes a mechanism whereby the developers are required to contribute their share of the cost of improvements at such time as the County deems the improvement necessary as follows: "As a condition to new residential subdivision and development in Del Monte Forest, the County may require that the Developers' share of the cost of this improvement be secured by the Developers (at the Developers' option) posting a bond; drawing a certificate of deposit in favor of the County; obtaining an instrument or letter of credit; creating a lien on property owned by the developers; or obtaining some other for of security acceptable to the County."
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Against Measure "A" Visitor-Serving Commercial The Staff's opinion is incomplete. The "Purpose & Intent" of the Initiative is to encourage future visitor-serving development. The Summary Table of the Report states the Initiative "Allows for undetermined amount of inn units; number of inn units would be indirectly limited by zoning standards and other plan policies..." |
Visitor Serving CommercialVisitor serving commercial allows for uses providing basic support services and visitor needs associated with coastal recreation and travel. Principal uses include major hotel or inn accommodations and support commercial facilities. The 1984 Del Monte Forest LUP delineates three general areas for visitor serving commercial uses: the existing Lodge and environs at Pebble Beach, the Spanish Bay Resort, and the NCGA Golf Course. The Initiative proposes language which would add a fourth area which allows visitor serving commercial. This new location is in areas "M" and "N" which are part of the Spyglass-Cypress area. The Initiative provides that "no more than 24 golf suites " are to be located in this area. The term "golf suite" is not defined in the Initiative. The Initiative also deletes language in the LUP limiting the Lodge to 161 inn units and in the Inn at Spanish Bay to 270 units. In addition, LUP provisions establishing a maximum 25% building site coverage would be removed. The net effect of this change would be that visitor serving commercial site coverage would be governed by the Visitor Serving Commercial (VSC) zoning district maximum of 50%. The overall effect of deleting the numeric limit on the number of inn units at the Lodge and at Spanish Bay is that limitation on the number of future visitor serving units would then be based on zoning regulations (35 foot height limit, 50% building site coverage, 1 parking space/unit plus employee parking) and plan policies. In staff's opinion, it would be an overstatement to conclude that the Initiative removes all limitation on the number of inn units that can ultimately be developed, but it does make estimation of total inn unit buildout dependent on site specific and project specific design factors that are not available as part of the Initiative. The Initiative also proposes to add language to the LUP to allow parking in a portion of Spanish Bay Area C to accommodate visitor serving facilities at Spanish Bay. |
Against Measure "A"
The Report does not state who is responsible for management of the forest open space.
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Open SpaceThe Del Monte Forest LUP designates three classes of open space as follows:
The Initiative would increase the amount of land classified as open space forest in the LUP and zoned as Resource Conservation (RC). Portions of the Forest which would be affected by this change include Spyglass-Cypress, Middle Fork area I, Pescadero areas P, Q, R, and Huckleberry Hill area G. These areas had all been planned for varying levels of residential development which would have involved some amount of tree removal. In the staff's opinion, the fact that the Initiative would place these areas in the open space forest land use designation and the Resource Conservation Zoning District will result in preservation of trees and forest resources in these areas. The specific amount of forest resource preservation is not possible to quantify using information contained in the Initiative. Chapter 7 of the Del Monte Forest LUP is entitled Open Space Advisory Committee (OSAC) Management Plan. The Management Plan for Del Monte Forest Open Space is intended to provide management and maintenance standards for all classes of open space within the Forest. The Management Plan establishes 10 categories of open space, each with its own set of management and maintenance standards. The Initiative would add language to the Management Plan to make it clear that areas designated by the Initiative as open space recreation, which would allow golf course development, will be managed as Category VI (Golf Course) open space. This includes areas C, K, M, N, O, U, and V as shown in Figure 5 as well as the location of the existing equestrian center and polo field. Areas designated by the Initiative as open space forest will be managed as Category IV (open forest) open space. This includes portions of areas B, F, G, H, I, L, P, Q and R as shown in Figure 5. The area designated by the Initiative as open space recreation within the Gowen Cypress area would be managed as Category VII (other/equestrian center) open space. |
Against Measure "A"
The EIR prepared for the Alternate 2 golf course provides an estimate of 11,631 trees that will be removed.
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Golf Course UsesThe Initiative would make two LUP changes which are related to golf course uses. First, the Initiative would designate certain portions of the Spyglass Cypress and Pebble Beach areas as open space recreation uses. The Initiative would also rezone these areas from various residential zoning districts to the Open Space Recreation ("OR") Zoning District. The Open Space Recreation zoning district allows golf courses and accessory facilities as conditional uses, subject to obtaining a coastal development permit. Second, the Initiative would allow a driving range, golf teaching center and parking in Area C of Spanish Bay Golf Course. The specific extent of these uses is not defined in the Initiative. The current zoning ordinance parking requirements specify four parking spaces per hole for a golf course and one parking space per tee for a driving range. Because the Initiative does not define the nature and extent of the golf teaching center, it is not possible to estimate parking needs at this time. As is the case with open space forest uses, based upon information contained in the Initiative it is not possible to estimate the amount of tree removal necessary to develop an additional golf course in the Del Monte Forest. |
Against Measure "A" The location description--"mined out former quarry site"--is incomplete. The proposed Equestrian Center is in a re-forested area with two scenic easements that were required by the County and Coastal Commission in order to obtain approval for the Spanish Bay Resort development. The last sentence should include "Board of Supervisors and Coastal Commission would be required to determine....etc." |
Equestrian CenterThe Initiative includes language which would delete reference in the LUP to an equestrian center located within the Pebble Beach planning area. The Initiative would add language to the LUP which would allow application for an equestrian center in the existing mined out portion (quarry site) of the Gowen Cypress area. Existing scenic easements placed on the quarry site would not be changed if the Initiative is approved by the voters. As part of its consideration of an application for an equestrian center at the quarry site, the Board of Supervisors would be required to determine whether or not the equestrian facility would be consistent with provisions of the scenic easement. |
Against Measure "A" The County should provide voters with larger maps that are easily read and understood.
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Maps/TablesThe Initiative would make amendments to various maps and tables contained in the LUP, zoning ordinance and Housing Element. These changes graphically reflect changes contained in the text of the Initiative. The Initiative would make a number of changes to Figure 5 which is the map in the LUP document that graphically depicts the various land uses planned for the Forest. The Initiative also deletes Figures 6A, 7A, 8A, 9A, 10A, 11A, 12A and 13A which are detailed enlargements of the land uses shown in the aggregate on Figure 5. These detailed maps were included in the 1984 LUP to allow for easier reading of the detailed land uses within each planning area. State planning law does not specify what types of maps are to be included in a general or land use plan, but merely requires text and a map to show the type and extent of land uses. The Initiative also reduces the amount of area shown in Figure 5 as "resource constraint overlay." This mapping change reflects the Initiative's language regarding resource constraints discussed previously in this report. Table A of the LUP is entitled "Summary of New Planned Development in Del Monte Forest." This table contains specific numbers of new residential dwellings and visitor accommodation uses allowed under the 1984 plan. Page 48 of the LUP states "The number of residential and visitor serving units shown on Table A and the densities shown on Figure 5 and the following land use plan maps for the various planning areas are maximum figures. The exact density is contingent upon natural resource constraints present and availability of public services as determined through project review." The Initiative makes various changes in zoning designations contained on maps described as Section 10 and Section 16 of the Zoning Plan of the County of Monterey. State law requires that zoning designations reflect land use map designations. Since the Initiative would amend the land use map (Figure 5) of the LUP, the zoning map changes are required in order to meet state law. The Monterey County Housing Element is a requirement of state planning law. Each local jurisdiction is required to have a housing element as part of its general plan to show the extent and distribution of proposed housing and to provide housing opportunities for all income levels. The Initiative would amend Table 22 of the Housing Element entitled "Suitable Sites for Low and Moderate Income Housing Development." Staff assumes that these changes are meant to reflect changes elsewhere in the Initiative regarding changes in residential buildout but the changes to Table A are not explained in the Initiative and do not reflect the staff's tabulation of potential residential buildout pursuant to the Initiative. Finally, the Initiative adds the following text to "LUP Figure 15 entitled "Recreational Facilities": "Trails shown within Areas M, N, O, U and V of the Spyglass-Cypress planning area are illustrative. Location and alignment will be determined at the time of development project approval."
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