Carmel planning commission backs moving water to affordable housing and divides remaining 14 acre‑feet among local uses

The Carmel‑by‑the‑Sea Planning Commission on Sept. 9 recommended that City Council formally place the 14 acre‑feet of water the city received from the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District into the city’s water allocation tables and shift 3 acre‑feet into the low and very low income housing category.

The recommendation, made during a public hearing on the city’s Water Management Program, includes combining single‑family and multifamily residential into one category and allocating 6 acre‑feet there; allocating 2 acre‑feet to commercial uses and 3 acre‑feet to municipal uses; and leaving the balance in an unallocated reserve to be reviewed annually by the commission.

Why it matters: The city is under a Monterey Peninsula Water Management District allocation process and a state cease‑and‑desist constraint that limits new meter hookups. How the city assigns the 14 acre‑feet affects whether projects — particularly deed‑restricted affordable units, ADUs and hotel‑to‑housing conversions in the adopted housing element…