LAFCO approves annexation for Vista Lucia, a 3,500-home development in Gonzales.

Gonzales residents celebrated with clapping, big smiles and hugs on Monday, on Sept. 28 after the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) of Monterey County approved the Vista Lucia project 6-0.

“I’m elated,” says Gonzales Mayor Jose Rios, noting the unanimous decision. “Can’t ask for anything better.”

“There's just not enough housing,” says Anna Mae Gazo, a long-time Gonzales resident and board member of nonprofit housing developer CHISPA, which is named as the developer of 211 affordable housing units in Vista Lucia’s first phase.

Two LAFCO commissioners, Matt Gourley and Chad Lindley, recused themselves from voting on the project, citing potential conflicts of interest. Both live in South County, and the geographical composition of LAFCO has recently come under fire as Gourley seeks reappointment to the public member seat. (Commissioner Kate Daniels, a county supervisor, was absent and South County’s Chris Lopez attended as an alternate.)

“There is real work ahead, and homes don’t build themselves. But from tonight on, Gonzales is in the driver’s seat of its own destiny. This is a night I won’t soon forget,” Lopez said in a statement after the vote. He has consistently championed growth plans for South County cities.

The Vista Lucia project will add 771 acres to the city and calls for 3,498 homes over a 30-year period in four phases, doubling the number of homes in the city. It also calls for 79 acres of parks and three news schools.

LandWatch Monterey County has opposed various elements of the project, citing the cost of the eventual housing, that an agricultural easement is located nine miles away rather than adjacent to the land, and the use of groundwater.

“We definitely need more housing, but we don't need more large single-family homes that cost you $700,000 or $800,000,”  LandWatch Executive Director Michael DeLapa says. “That isn't going to help the people in our community.”

Commissioners met behind closed doors earlier in the meeting to discuss a potential lawsuit from LandWatch over the project's water supply. “LAFCO cannot approve the annexation without a legal water supply and must instead deem the annexation application incomplete,” attorney Mathew Emrick wrote to LAFCO on Sept. 14 on behalf of LandWatch.