[{"_1":2,"_111":-5,"_112":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87,99],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6661781,"mediaKeyId","2405850-5ca7d911339ffcbf040d36841e9ce051","parentId",2405850,"title","Public comment urges moratorium on new visitor-serving units in Big Sur over disputed cap count","audioSeconds",232,"startMs",814000,"endMs",1046000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2405850-5ca7d911339ffcbf040d36841e9ce051&start=814&end=1046","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2405850-5ca7d911339ffcbf040d36841e9ce051/thumbnail_814000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6661781/Monterey-County/California/Public-comment-urges-moratorium-on-new-visitor-serving-units-in-Big-Sur-over-disputed-cap-count","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6661781-6f8c00653949fdb0ee921106c55a9da0/orig.mp4?Expires=1771081369&Signature=TK2xxk4w9ecg9zzmdjzJeCcY4IvMQyCwUo-18iC1Z6673fm0J9QqXXQRDI-O1Zj6eK5Null0hHzlrT8yc2rf3EDMFTuEWvFPMu1YpuDr2zV1b21LegV~Ng86qsABb0AsctZE71KoJspttrceZxMD3mS6oA5yPosbQnXdBYuMkGvbHFVTaNxh3Fb9BI7lRK9dSkVemsVJ4uF7NOBuzjVhB~sanqD2lrKzM6WJkTjkzCvmXVpJ~3gLPgSzHwNv8lCVxEdb00CDmBcyO7Xl~reD-1Fb0I6OpIRO-jCvjcGLZ46CyGV9LOJnwnVTGLoJVy-IjWDuctiHTgxZg3QIxvgmUw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Monterey County","date","2025-02-26T20:06:39.57Z","article","During the Feb. 26 public-comment period, Tim Green urged the Monterey County Planning Commission to reconsider the county's VSU (visitor-serving unit) accounting for Big Sur and to re-open a moratorium on new visitor-serving units while the counts are reviewed.

Green told commissioners the Big Sur Land Use Plan counts a baseline of 68 rooms and allows up to 300 new visitor-serving units, for a cap of no more than 468 rooms. He cited two private counts: the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce at 455 VSUs and Keypixer Wilde at 482 VSUs, the latter of which would exceed the cap. Green said the county nonetheless claims an additional 87 VSUs can be built because of an apparent error in the Big Sur Capital Improvement Program (CIP) section that references Table 1 of the land-use plan \"but there is no support for it there.\"

Green asked the commission to \"look at this CIP and to inform the next meeting as to whether or not a correction will be made,\" and requested reconsideration of a prior moratorium referral (item 5, 01/29/2023) if the cap has in fact been exceeded. He argued that exceeding plan limits could sacrifice public access to scenic Highway 1, the policy objective the land-use cap is intended to protect.

Commissioners received Green's written correspondence; no action was taken at the hearing during the public-comment period. The item was recorded for the record and may be referenced in future Planning Commission or Board-level work on Big Sur plan implementation and CIP text.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","County of Monterey Planning Commission Meeting 2/26/25","oneSentenceSummary","A public commenter told the Planning Commission the county's visitor-serving unit (VSU) cap in the Big Sur Land Use Plan may have been exceeded due to a faulty Capital Improvement Program (CIP) reference and asked the commission to revisit a 2023 moratorium decision.","taxTitle","Monterey County, California","taxId",3728,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6661785,"Planning Commission elects new chair and vice chair",81,1177000,1258000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2405850-5ca7d911339ffcbf040d36841e9ce051&start=1177&end=1258","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2405850-5ca7d911339ffcbf040d36841e9ce051/thumbnail_1177000.jpg","/articles/6661785/Monterey-County/California/Planning-Commission-elects-new-chair-and-vice-chair","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6661785-b771048f0aa510fd53ad08681212ecba/orig.mp4?Expires=1771081369&Signature=FWJQz20G2FC6RoqdCL1XK9gt0ni-CIlum5tX-xlho~fogpus5WsdddO07cct7DB~C4vF6CRdJ87wn2ntJZaABQmAQ39iUp-tyFTU7kf-f-Yqoow0cluG~qdu9GYZu0uXk~WmKi8oEuLVan9jizp1q05DoSGfINkDctRtzGu0hT998UfyktMLoPlgoXs4E2dPJuezfMfCF7RQe75IoHBu63-LhEndwQCK1whMKdtpOwTMuDxAO4vjqUUkw8wRG2FCE~5xOqIYWQVIyns20WQES3jSFWxJBHZDu1RD6SpF4Ddanw4IqbiqKBiELXXtZQhfJebTQmNTh2Wbp6cAYWTNjQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At the start of its Feb. 26 meeting the Monterey County Planning Commission elected Commissioner Gonzales as chair and Commissioner Getzelman as vice chair. The nominating committee moved the nominations; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote with no recorded opposition.

The nominations came after a roll call established a quorum. The commission then proceeded with its scheduled matters, including the Griffith final map amendment and a later public hearing on a self-storage project in Carmel Valley.","The Monterey County Planning Commission elected Commissioner Gonzales as chair and Commissioner Getzelman as vice chair at the start of its Feb. 26 meeting.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6661790,"Planning Commission approves Carmel Valley self-storage project with conditions to protect pedestrian access and drainage",8889,2571000,11460000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2405850-5ca7d911339ffcbf040d36841e9ce051&start=2571&end=11460","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2405850-5ca7d911339ffcbf040d36841e9ce051/thumbnail_2571000.jpg","/articles/6661790/Monterey-County/California/Planning-Commission-approves-Carmel-Valley-self-storage-project-with-conditions-to-protect-pedestrian-access-and-drainage","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6661790-6967425d731bc099f7e46e4ba2b563af/orig.mp4?Expires=1771081369&Signature=KZH7fxpHCqoDlD5f1tIKqCtri42pctOiIauTHbwjg91Bh2YLljpfDf-Pr2fCi~LQnuDc5kQjmfkrPIC-nLpUNiu-LS-MUceccZsEqZYHm~hUOsc0JI0lhWu75WVoQKg1YoquEHL2sSyYwGrJtusMRm80li6yFQs52tGAPI7FqBRq14~ezr0blqcv5pWXjxNa7DDfTrd8aBgtj8FiSwaTQ1gfbWQ1eS1teOVPGeBPRSI1UEn5WIiFaaucL2vnjuzJe2pbyVc6rsLTXg9BVjYAIJcO4O08-~8NM5jsXTT649jHwe5QdVmoCt8gYnCPAPEs-5a3G0t-f5MAJijHJBHi~Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Monterey County Planning Commission on Feb. 26 approved a five-building, two-story self-storage development at the terminus of Center Street in Carmel Valley, adopting a mitigated negative declaration and approving a combined development permit, design approval and a use permit for development within 200 feet of the Carmel River top of bank.

Staff planner Mary Israel told commissioners the revised design responds to the commission's October 2024 continuance by reducing the footprint of Building A, lowering most rooflines to about 26 to 28 feet, and creating a six- to 10-foot pedestrian passage to preserve a long-used social trail through the vacant parcel. The project proposes approximately 68,760 square feet of storage across five buildings, an on-site wastewater treatment system, the removal of one protected oak tree and landscape planting intended to screen views from Carmel Valley Road. Site coverage was reported at roughly 39.3 percent.

The applicant and architect said the design was revised to soften bulk and to provide screening. \"There is a plan to screen the view from Carmel Valley Road,\" applicant representative Anthony Lombardo said, pointing to a planting palette and large trees intended to obscure the frontage as they mature. Architect Larry Gabriel said the massing was broken into smaller building elements, and that parapets and gables were lowered in response to commissioner direction.

During the hearing commissioners pressed staff and the applicant on three recurring local concerns: drainage at the Center Street–Berwick Drive corner, how construction and long-term operations would affect a well-used pedestrian \"social trail,\" and the visual bulk and height of the buildings. Public Works staff said the localized ponding on Berwick is caused by two older trees that have uplifted a shallow curb gutter at the corner; Public Works said its solution would require dealing with private-property vegetation and that the storage project itself is designed to contain on-site stormwater in a detention basin and not increase runoff onto the adjacent streets.

Several nearby residents opposed the project at the hearing. Tracy Kaufman, a resident of Berwick Drive, said the proposal \"is huge, obtrusive and unnecessary,\" and that her \"biggest concern is safety and how dangerous Center Street will become\" if the parcel is used for a high-volume storage facility. Opponents also raised pedestrian-safety and road‑condition concerns related to construction traffic.

Staff distributed redline language during the hearing to strengthen a condition requiring the final landscape plan to be \"equivalent or greater than\" the draft planting plan; the revised condition explicitly requires that the informal pedestrian path indicated in the plan set be surfaced with decomposed granite (or similar), be installed and inspected before occupancy, and be maintained and kept open for pedestrian access by the property owner. The commission discussed adding a requirement that the path connection to the public street be preserved and that temporary interruptions during construction be minimized and limited; the applicant said construction would likely make the trail difficult to traverse for an estimated three months while Building A foundation work is underway, and that the path could be reopened once the foundation is set.

The commission voted to adopt the mitigated negative declaration, approve the development permit, design approval and the use permit for development near the Carmel River top of bank, and adopt the compliance and mitigation monitoring plan, with staff-directed edits memorializing the pedestrian-path and landscaping conditions. The motion was made by Commissioner Diehl, seconded by Commissioner Mendoza, and carried by the commission.","The commission approved a five-building, 68,760-square-foot self-storage development in Carmel Valley with conditions including a mitigated negative declaration, revised landscaping, a preserved informal pedestrian path surfaced and maintained for public use, and stormwater controls; opponents raised safety, drainage and compatibility concerns.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6661795,"Planning Commission backs map amendment to shift home site at Santa Lucia Preserve to protect oaks",1168,1361000,2529000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2405850-5ca7d911339ffcbf040d36841e9ce051&start=1361&end=2529","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2405850-5ca7d911339ffcbf040d36841e9ce051/thumbnail_1361000.jpg","/articles/6661795/Monterey-County/California/Planning-Commission-backs-map-amendment-to-shift-home-site-at-Santa-Lucia-Preserve-to-protect-oaks","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6661795-9fe12d0d7e3794d201161dbfc75d19b7/orig.mp4?Expires=1771081369&Signature=fruV8-oaQnuLCQ6zDw5WEDVNmWQywCwGj5n2uxYkRV6JF1h2BZ5wmNYNdkI-S29INBvhd-DWK~3MlmwsvY-EllBYNKCzRzjiT-GeCfCW5c1PjUL04y0CsGzVHjCwDmb24FrcYGZOrF0bfFn-j1v7G8Bg3adQm9vNGhuakWGC2e50tWeFOClwR0eI8v0JA3fhjoi7V5XnFkzKIm1FW473kj3V2dfieJNxOnRHIV~Zf47ejuzNNHm8WRjf5iqVXdvoo1wykmI~2kx~8o92hePSYuwtFqGtlOTV7nJIVoZV8y3oQGjTI02TehOy1UkftK0AvDUB0LnRYxuuD5REooRMQQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Monterey County Planning Commission on Feb. 26 recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve a final map amendment and combined development permit allowing a new single-family residence at Lot 38 of the Santa Lucia Preserve, with a reconfigured 1.4-acre home boundary intended to avoid removal of protected oak trees.

Staff said the boundary shift would move the home site from a forested location to an open meadow and save 31 protected oak trees, including 15 landmark oaks, while protecting raptor habitat and other sensitive resources. \"Moving the building envelope into the Ruderal Grasslands to the east as has been described will not negatively impact any sensitive natural resources,\" said Jamieson Watts, executive director of the Santa Lucia Conservancy, which reviewed and supports the conservation-easement swap required for the change.

The project presented by County planner Fiona Johnson and agent Joel Panzer would reconfigure Lot 38's recorded Phase A home boundary and place the former portion into an amended conservation easement. The proposal also includes a 5,441-square-foot single-family dwelling, an 889-square-foot garage and associated site improvements; staff said cut-and-fill for the site is limited and that the development would comply with Title 21 standards and the Santa Lucia Preserve comprehensive development plan.

Staff prepared an addendum to the certified 1996 Santa Lucia Preserve environmental impact report and concluded there are \"no substantial changes in the project, no substantial changes in the circumstances and no new information of substantial importance\" requiring a EIR revision. Joel Panzer, the applicant's representative, told the commission the reconfiguration was proposed \"primarily to save trees\" and noted fire-safety considerations for siting the home in a meadow that can be maintained. Panzer said the Santa Lucia Preserve Design Review Board had approved siting and materials; Watts said the Conservancy \"supports the protection of 31 oak trees as a result of this project, 15 of which are landmark oaks\" and that the Conservancy \"approves this project and supports it unequivocally.\"

Commissioner Diehl moved, and Commissioner Shaw seconded, that the commission recommend the Board of Supervisors consider the CEQA addendum together with the certified EIR and approve the final map amendment and combined development permit as presented. The motion passed during the hearing without recorded opposition.

The Board of Supervisors is the final hearing body for the proposed final map amendment; the planning commission made a recommendation only. Staff noted that any recorded amendments to conservation easements require Conservancy approval before recording and that the Board would record documents and consider the combined development permit should it approve the map amendment.

Proponents and representatives said the reconfigured home boundary would reduce impacts to oak woodland and preserve the visual character of the preserve while improving defensible space for wildfire safety. No public speaker opposed the map amendment during the hearing.

The planning commission packet and staff presentation identified the project as PLN 240004 and included biological studies, a design review board letter and the applicant's requested edits to draft resolution language. The commission's recommendation sends the amended map, the CEQA addendum and the proposed combined development permit to the Board of Supervisors for final action.","The Monterey County Planning Commission recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve a final map amendment to move the building envelope for Lot 38 of the Santa Lucia Preserve, preserving 31 protected oaks and avoiding sensitive habitat, and recommended approval of a combined development permit for a new single-family home.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Public comment urges moratorium on new visitor-serving units in Big Sur over disputed cap count

Planning Commission elects new chair and vice chair

Planning Commission approves Carmel Valley self-storage project with conditions to protect pedestrian access and drainage

Planning Commission backs map amendment to shift home site at Santa Lucia Preserve to protect oaks