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Carmel council declines to schedule 2025 advisory vote on street addresses; committee work to continue
Summary
By a 4–0–1 vote the council decided not to pursue an advisory ballot measure on street addresses in November 2025, directing the citizen-led addresses work group and staff to continue drafting implementation options and community outreach.
CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. — The Carmel-by-the-Sea City Council on May 5 voted to decline scheduling an advisory special election on street addresses for November 2025, saying more analysis and public outreach are needed before placing the matter before voters.
Mayor Pro Tem Delves and an ad hoc group of volunteers presented a status update on the city’s addresses work group and described a draft “book” of background information: history and goals, emergency dispatch and response considerations, utility and service-provider input, legal requirements, possible addressing schemes and a proposed change-management plan. Staff and the volunteers said the document — intended to give voters and the council a clear, factual foundation for a decision — could be available for community review this fall if the council chose to delay a ballot measure.
Administrative staff also delivered a timeline and cost estimate for holding an advisory vote in November 2025; the Monterey County Elections Office estimated a special election would cost the city roughly $40,000–$60,000 (at $16–$24 per registered voter, with ~2,500 registered voters in Carmel). Staff told the council that a resolution adopting the ballot language would be required in early August 2025 for a November 2025 election.
After public comment — which included repeated testimony from residents urging the council not to delay addressing public-safety concerns — the council voted 4–0–1 to decline pursuing a November 2025 advisory vote. Councilmembers said they wanted more time for the addresses group to complete prototypes and for staff to develop a clearer implementation plan and public outreach strategy. Councilmembers also discussed lower-cost options, such as sending a postcard survey to registered voters, as a way to measure community views without the expense of a formal election.
Council direction preserves the ad hoc addresses work group’s timeline for drafting a detailed report and conducting a community “book tour.” Staff said the group hopes to publish finished materials for community review in August and provide a formal report to the council in October; any decision about a ballot measure in 2026 would follow that outreach and further council discussion.
