Carmel council pauses plan for November advisory vote, forms working group to study street addresses

Carmel city staff gave a multi‑hour briefing on April 1 reviewing research, legal analysis and public comments about whether the town should move from its long‑standing directional address system (e.g., “Casanova 3 NE of Twelfth”) to conventional numbered street addresses.

Administrative analyst Emily Goree summarized staff work dating to 2022: the topic was added to city priorities, staff explored alternative location systems (plus codes, what3words), worked with USPS Address Management, and investigated operational effects including mail delivery, consolidation at the downtown post office, compatibility with GPS and official databases, and California Fire Code requirements. City attorney analysis reviewed state codes (building, residential and fire codes) and advised the council that California standards require address identification visible from the street and described minimal size/contrast/placement rules. The attorney also said local code language that describes addressing by cross‑street description is inconsistent with state building/firing code and…