Addresses are not coming to Carmel anytime soon after a council majority delays decision.

In what is becoming an increasingly divisive issue in the village, a majority of the Carmel City Council members declined to make a decision on bringing street addresses to the village on Tuesday, Sept. 10, instead voting to let the residents decide in an election over a year from now. 

The motion, made by Mayor Dave Potter—an incumbent running against two challengers—was to put the issue to voters in November 2025, either as an advisory vote or as a measure. He was joined by Mayor Pro Tem Bobby Richards and Councilmember Alissandra Dramov in a 3-2 vote.

A visibly frustrated Councilmember Karen Ferlito voiced a firm "no," along with Councilmember Jeff Baron, who is running against Potter for mayor. 

"It would make our first responders' job easier, not counting houses in the middle of the night in the dark," Ferlito said ahead of the vote, referencing how houses and businesses are currently identified, by counting from the nearest cross street (on its website, the city gives the example: "west side of San Antonio Street, 3 houses south of 12th Avenue”).

"We have people whose lives depend on this and their health depends on this," Ferlito said. "It's criminal to delay past February or March."

Noting that "the world changed" after 9/11 and Covid, Ferlito said that the requirements by the government and companies for an exact home address instead of a post office box make street addresses necessary. She said she and her husband had difficulty getting car insurance because their "car does not live at a P.O. box."

She and Baron attempted a motion to move forward with a plan for addresses that comply with California fire codes and conform to United States Post Office rules, to be completed in about six months. That motion failed, and Potter's motion won.