Carmel steering group narrows design-guidelines format, agrees to new photo strategy

Carmel-by-the-Sea’s design-guidelines steering committee on Oct. 26 reviewed a revised layout of the draft residential design guidelines and agreed on several editorial and production steps, including commissioning professional photography, reducing repeated "hero" images and keeping illustrative diagrams for negative examples rather than photos marked with red Xs.

The meeting focused on how images, captions and diagrams should work with the guideline text. Brandon, staff facilitator, explained the approach to the committee and said the draft’s changes were primarily visual: "All we've done really is, bigger pictures, fewer pictures," he said, describing a new "hero motif" intended to re‑use a small set of exemplar houses sparingly across the document.

Why it matters: The committee’s choices will shape how residents, builders and the planning commission interpret the rules. Visual examples are the document’s primary teaching tool; members said pictures must clearly match the short parenthetical guidance that will point readers to what to look for in each image.

What was decided and directed - Photo sizing and layout: The steering committee signaled broad support for the revised photo sizing and for putting guideline text close to the photo it illustrates. Mary Anne (steering committee chair) said, "I think the smaller of the picture sizes ... is the right size," and several committee members concurred. Staff recorded the committee preference for the smaller of the larger photo options and the caption‑adjacent layout.

- Hero images and repetition: Committee members debated using a repeated set of "hero" houses across the document. Several members, including Melanie (steering committee member), voiced objections: "I'm not wild about the idea of hero homes," she said, arguing against elevating a small cast of homes through repeated placement. The group directed staff to reduce repeats, avoid using any single house excessively (committee guidance: at most two repeats when necessary) and to prioritize a wider sample of houses when possible.

- Historic vs. new construction balance: Members discussed whether the photo set should lean toward historic houses or modern examples. Victoria (steering committee) recommended aiming for roughly a 50/50 mix of historic and well‑executed recent construction so the guidelines teach how to implement the standards in new work while still reflecting local character. The committee asked staff to consult the city’s Historic Context Statement when selecting examples.

- Treatment of negative examples: The group agreed to remove photographs overlaid with red Xs and instead use simplified diagrammatic drawings to show explicitly what not to do. Brandon explained the change in tone: "you won't see any pictures of actual homes with red x's over the top of them anymore." The committee accepted diagrams for contravening conditions (for example, overly tall walls or floating chimneys) but cautioned staff to drop a diagram if a clearly illustrative photo would do the job.

- Photo sourcing and production: Staff (Jake and others) will compile and expand the photo catalog, pursue professional photography and perform image retouching (including removing cars/irrigation where needed). Jake told the group he "tried to do as little repeating as possible and use as many of the homes as possible" in the current draft; staff will now refine selections and arrange reshoots. The committee also asked staff to offer a short, disciplined parenthetical note for each image (for example, "see above image: front gable proportion") so users know exactly what to observe.

- Diagrams, captions and formatting: Members asked staff to make the guideline numbering and the parenthetical cues more legible (bold section numbers or subordinate headings) and to ensure parenthetical captions precisely point to the feature being taught. The committee approved an electronic table of contents and a hyperlinked index so readers can jump to topics (e.g., "windows," "driveways").

Scope and next steps: Staff will take the committee’s votes and comments, rework photo choices and captions, commission professional photography, and return with a revised draft for another review. The group agreed it is acceptable to stage or reshoot some properties (with homeowner permission) to avoid distracting elements in photos. Committee members emphasized that when a photo must illustrate a negative or technical point, a diagram may be a clearer alternative.

What was not changed: There were no formal ordinance or code changes; the meeting addressed design-document presentation and asset selection. No regulatory text was adopted at the session.

Quotes from participants "All we've done really is, bigger pictures, fewer pictures," Brandon said, describing the visual reformatting. "I think the smaller of the picture sizes ... is the right size," said Mary Anne, the steering‑committee chair, when members voted on preferred photo scales. "I'm not wild about the idea of hero homes," Melanie said, urging the committee not to overemphasize a small cast of repeated examples. "I tried to do as little repeating as possible and use as many of the homes as possible," staff member Jake said about the current photo catalog. "You won't see any pictures of actual homes with red x's over the top of them anymore," Brandon said, explaining the decision to replace X‑marked photos with diagrams for negative examples.

Bottom line: The committee endorsed a cleaner, image‑forward layout, asked staff to reduce repeated "hero" houses and to prioritize a balanced set of historic and contemporary photos, and directed staff to hire professional photography and refine concise parenthetical captions. Staff will return with a revised set of images and tightened captions for final review.