Planning commission approves All Saints Day School amendment to add 4,745 sq ft field house

The Monterey County Planning Commission on March 12 approved a second amendment to a prior combined development permit for All Saints Day School that authorizes construction of a 4,745-square-foot field house on the school’s Carmel Valley campus.

The commission voted to find the proposal categorically exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines section 15314 and to approve the amendment to combined development permit PLN 210068 (Amendment 2), with modifications staff described during the hearing.

Staff planner Steve Mason told commissioners the project site is at 8060 Carmel Valley Road and that the amendment would add a barn‑style field house containing two locker rooms, three classrooms/multi‑purpose rooms, storage and a kitchenette. Mason described the structure as approximately 110 by 42 feet, 22.5 feet to the ridge, and roughly 300 feet from the nearest point on Carmel Valley Road. He recommended approving the amendment with a corrected set of findings and the addition of a standard indemnification condition.

Joel Panzer, agent for the applicant and principal at Maureen Rock Planning Consultants, said the field house had been contemplated in earlier master‑planning work but was not permitted in the 2022 combined development permit because the school at that time lacked the funds. Scott Fujita, identified as chair of the All Saints Day School board of trustees, told the commission the school’s master plan from 2019–20 included the field house concept and that the school is now ready to proceed.

Commissioners asked whether the project represented “piecemealing” of the earlier permits because prior approvals addressed outdoor facilities and shade structures rather than enclosed buildings. County staff and the applicant said the earlier 2022 permit and 2023 amendment illustrated the field house but did not include the entitlements required for a building, and that the current proposal was a discrete application for the structure now that funding and a preferred location are in place.

Commissioners also discussed water and wastewater. Panzer noted the site has an on‑site well used for landscape irrigation and some remaining water credits from a demolished on‑site home; he said a small amount of well water might be used to supplement building needs subject to Monterey Peninsula Water Management District jurisdiction. Panzer also said the school already connects to the Carmel Area Wastewater District sewer system, and the field house would likewise connect.

The Planning Commission instructed staff to amend the last line of one finding to reflect that the existing well “may be used to supplement water needed for the building under Monterey Peninsula Water Management District jurisdiction,” and requested language in the findings that the field house was previously contemplated though not previously permitted. Commissioner Deal moved approval of the amendment as amended; Commissioner Mendoza seconded. The motion carried by voice vote. The record shows the commission found the project exempt under CEQA Guidelines section 15314 (minor additions to existing schools) and approved PLN 210068 Amendment 2 with the amended conditions and clarifications.

Votes at a glance: approval of PLN 210068 Amendment 2 — motion by Commissioner Deal; second by Commissioner Mendoza; outcome: approved (voice vote; no recorded opposition).