County revisits unmet condition on original Monterra plans.

When a developer proposes a project to a City Council or the County Board of Supervisors, they often start with a plan they know is too grand to get a nod. They'll ask for more homes on a bigger area than they're likely to get approval for.

They'll often negotiate down to a smaller project, and beyond that, they're likely to have to meet certain conditions in exchange for the right to build. 

Neighbors often weigh in closely on the proposed conditions of any given development. But a few land use watchdog groups have taken issue with Monterey County's system overall: With thousands of conditions imposed on hundreds of projects, who is watching to make sure developers are actually following through on what they promised?

The group Save Our Peninsula sued Monterey County in 2011, alleging county records failed to adequately show how and whether county officials had reviewed compliance. In a settlement agreement, the county agreed to make its records available electronically.

County planners also agreed to audit the files for 10 major developments, including Ferrini Oaks, East Garrison and Monterra, a housing subdivision off Highway 68 near Monterey. 

To hold up their end of the settlement, county officials have reviewed hundreds of conditions on those 10 developments. They've bolstered files to show how they determined the conditions were met, meaning members of the public should be able to now see the county's rationale for signing off on developers as compliant. 

But they got to one, Condition 74 on Monterra—a required park-and-ride lot for 20 cars—that was never met. 

Things have changed dramatically since that phase of the project was approved in 1987, including the bankruptcy of the developers and, in 2009, the sale at auction of the parcel for the proposed lot.

Today, May 3 at 1:30pm, the current County Board of Supervisors decides what to do about this unmet condition. 

They have a few options: One is to simply delete that old condition. They could also pursue a park-and-ride lot on Caltrans property, a dirt lot on the corner of Highway 68 and Canyon Del Rey. 

"It is unclear exactly why the lot was never constructed," according to a report by Chief Assistant County Counsel Les Girard. 

One possibility: the property slated to become a park-and-ride was within city limits in Monterey, so county officials thought their job was done. 

More likely, according to County Resource Management Agency Director Carl Holm, is that county officials at some point thought that informal dirt lot on the corner qualified as a legit park-and-ride. 

"There was an interpretation that [the lot was built], so it got cleared in our file," Holm says. They unearthed that old file to comply with the settlement agreement: "We made the current determination that the condition was not met."

Basil and Roger Mills bought Monterra in 1996, with plans for multi-mullion-dollar homes on 1,700 acres of oak-studded hills with views of the bay, and by 2006, they had sold 86 of 168 lots. They lived the dream for about a decade—until the housing bubble burst, and their debt became to big to bear. 

And now, if the county decides to keep the condition requiring a 20-car park-and-ride, they'll have to find some way (potentially grants) besides the developer's wallet to pay for it.