Carmel-by-the-Sea planning commission reviews streamlined Design Traditions 1.5 draft and debates adding wildfire 'Protect' principle

The Carmel-by-the-Sea Planning Commission on Tuesday reviewed a revised, shorter draft of the city’s Design Traditions 1.5 guidelines and heard widespread calls to add explicit wildfire-resilience measures.

Chair LePage, speaking to the commission as the body’s representative on the wildfire committee, said the draft “emphasize[s] heritage, and modesty and forest preservation,” but “the guidelines are missing, explicit wildfire resilient measures.” He urged adding a seventh core principle, called “Protect,” to codify defensible-space zones, require vegetation compliance in permitting and tie aesthetic guidance to vegetation and ember-resistance standards.

Staff told the commission the revision is intended as an incremental update — a "1.5" rather than a full rewrite — and that Winter & Company and a steering committee produced competing drafts after extensive public outreach. The packet before commissioners includes a residential draft and supporting appendices; staff said hyperlinks, images and an index were planned to make the document more usable for applicants and reviewers.

Public commenters and…