Planning Commission recommends how city should allocate 14 acre‑feet of new water from Pure Water Monterey

The Carmel-by-the-Sea Planning Commission voted unanimously on Sept. 8 to recommend that the City Council formally place 14 acre‑feet of water the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District allocated to the city into the city's water management program, and to move 3 acre‑feet of that supply into the low and very low income housing category.

The recommendation, advanced after a staff presentation and public comments, also asked staff to update older allocation categories carried forward from a 2013 resolution and to work with the council on how the remaining unallocated supply should be assigned.

City planning staff told commissioners the 14 acre‑feet will arrive through the Pure Water Monterey Expansion Project and is currently recorded administratively in the city's unallocated reserve. Staff said the city remains subject to an existing district cease‑and‑desist order that prevents new meters until lifted; allocations therefore reserve capacity rather than immediately enabling new hookups. "This water is not for sale," Planning Department staff said during the presentation,…