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Carmel council adopts amended water allocation; limits new‑water ADUs to parcels within local floor‑area rules
Summary
Carmel approved a water‑allocation plan on Nov. 3 to distribute 14 acre‑feet of newly available Pure Water Monterey supply, and added a condition that new water for residential parcels — including ADUs — may not increase a parcel’s floor area beyond locally allowed limits.
The Carmel‑by‑the‑Sea City Council on Nov. 3 adopted an amended water allocation policy allocating 14 acre‑feet of water the city received from the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District as part of the Pure Water Monterey Expansion Project. The water may be used only by properties with existing meters while a district modification to a cease‑and‑desist order remains pending.
Staff presentation and Planning Commission history Marnie (planning staff) told the council the Monterey district allocated 14 acre‑feet to the city in March and noted that the Planning Commission recommended a distribution at its September meeting. Staff presented two commercial options (A: exclude full‑service restaurants from commercial allocations; B: create a separate restaurants line item) and flagged that housing element programs and incentives (including hotel key relocation and live/work projects) may require commercial allocations.
Public comment and community requests Nancy Toomey, representing the CRA board, urged more aggressive use of the city’s allocation—moving water out of an unallocated reserve and into categories so projects can proceed. Other residents expressed concern that restrictive allocations could impede ADU construction; one resident, David Amoui, requested water to convert a garage to an ADU to house elderly family.
Key council debate Council discussion focused on two questions: whether to place water into commercial use (and how to treat restaurants) and whether to use the new supply to limit or allow ADUs. Several council members emphasized deference to the Planning Commission’s recommendation and to the city’s Local Coastal Program (LCP). One council member pointed to the ADU statute’s ‘‘savings clause’’ preserving the California Coastal Act and argued that the council may allocate new water to ADUs only if those ADUs remain within locally determined floor area limits. Another concern was that unrestricted allocation could trigger a substantial increase in house sizes on Carmel’s small lots and erode the village character that local planning rules protect.
Council action After extensive debate staff prepared an amended Exhibit A for the allocation. The council approved the amended resolution by unanimous roll call. The approved distribution placed acre‑feet into these categories (as recorded in the approved Exhibit A): 3 acre‑feet to very low/low income housing programs, 6 acre‑feet to combined residential uses (with the explicit limitation that no parcel receiving new water may be increased in floor area beyond the limits set in CMC 17.10.030 (floor area ratios and exterior volume)), 2 acre‑feet to commercial uses (no restaurant restriction in the approved motion), and 3 acre‑feet as a municipal reserve; the total equals 14 acre‑feet.
What the action means - ADU and residential projects: New water may be allocated to residential projects, but council language bars allocating new water to projects that would both increase a parcel’s floor area and result in a parcel floor area greater than locally allowed limits (the council cited CMC 17.10.030). That means parcels that are already nonconforming in size would not be given water to expand beyond local LCP limits; smaller parcels would qualify for water only if the post‑project parcel remained within local floor‑area parameters. - Commercial uses: The council approved a modest commercial allocation without a blanket restaurant prohibition; council members asked staff to monitor commercial conversions and consider seat‑based limits where Ocean Avenue caps exist. - Follow up: Staff will coordinate with the planning commission as the housing element amendment and ADU ordinance proceed, and the council asked for a periodic reassessment of the allocations as projects draw on the available supply.
Votes and motions The amended allocation resolution (replacement Exhibit A) was adopted by unanimous roll call (motion and second on the floor; no recorded no votes).
