Monterey Downs EIR proposes to build housing, commercial phases—then wait for more water.

If we build it, the water will come.

That’s the messaging in the draft environmental impact report (EIR) for Monterey Downs, a proposed mixed-use development with a horse racetrack on 550 acres of the former Fort Ord.

The city of Seaside released the EIR March 30 after repeatedly delaying it for 17 months. Last December city staff placed a legal notice announcing the EIR’s imminent release, only to yank it when the Weekly reported on a leaked attorney memo calling for more details on the project’s water supply.

According to the EIR, the complete Monterey Downs project needs more than 852 acre-feet of water per year: 366 for residential development, 167 for a horse racetrack/sports arena, 129 for a horse park, 155 for commercial development, 23 for parks/open space and 12 for the city’s portion of the Central Coast Veterans Cemetery and related endowment parcel. Of that total demand, 550 is for potable water.

As things stand today, that’s more than what’s available. Even if the city of Seaside and the unincorporated county funneled every last drop of their combined 413 acre-feet of unallocated potable water credits to Monterey Downs, the project would be 137 acre-feet short.

That’s a big “if,” because Seaside is already negotiating with developers on proposed Fort Ord projects that would dip into the city’s water-credit bucket.

But Seaside Project Manager Teri Wissler Adam says city and county officials—who are working on a pre-annexation deal to transfer the county’s water credits, and the unincorporated Monterey Downs acreage, to Seaside—get the final call in divvying up those remaining water credits.

“The allocation of the water [to Monterey Downs] is not an unreasonable assumption,” she says.

As for the missing 137 acre-feet, the EIR emphasizes several water-supply proposals are in the pipeline, including California American Water’s large-scale desalination plant, Marina Coast Water District’s smaller-scale desal plant and Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency’s groundwater recycling plan. All of those projects, however, still face a number of formidable legal and permitting hurdles. Under California environmental law, the EIR can’t assume any of them will be built.

Without more water, the EIR states, Monterey Downs’ final two phases—275 housing units and the horse racetrack anchoring the whole proposal—simply won’t be built.

That’s exactly what one insider with ties to the California race-horse community predicts will happen: The developers will secure the land for the early phases, sell the entitlements to other developers and scrap the rest.

“They’re really just interested in the commercial and housing side of the development and will never build anything related to a horse track or racing, ever,” says the insider, who asks not to be named. “Horse racing is what they’re using as the economic engine, but they didn’t bring the engine to the party. Once they have the dirt, they can do whatever they want.”

Developer Brian Boudreau did not respond to the Weekly’s repeated requests for comment by press time.

Check out the Weekly's analyses of other sections in the Monterey Downs EIR, including public safety, population growth and traffic.

“Monterey Downs is a deeply flawed project and has no chance of being built,” says attorney Molly Erickson who, with Michael Stamp, is representing Downs opponent Keep Fort Ord Wild. “It has many, many problems, including water, traffic, the removal of some 50,000 trees. The list goes on and on.”

Find the complete document at http://bit.ly/DownsEIR. Public comments can be emailed by June 1 to wissler@emcplanning.com.