Supervisors reject Carmel Valley's Val Verde housing development—again.

Five years ago the Monterey County Board of Supervisors sent Brian Clark and his development partners packing when they asked for approval of a 42-unit housing project in Carmel Valley off of Val Verde Drive, just east of the Carmel Crossroads shopping center.

The developers included a plan for affordable housing units, a needed commodity in both Carmel Valley and the county at large. 

The project went down in flames, however, after neighbors came out in force complaining the project was too dense and would disturb the valley's rural character.

A slimmed down 31-unit project came back earlier this year, and both the Carmel Valley Land Use Advisory Committee and the Monterey County Planning Commission voted it down, again largely based on density concerns.

Clark appealed the Planning Commission denial and was back before the supervisors on Sept. 12.

Also back were neighbors living near the parcel of land off of Rio Road, as well as the Carmel Valley Association, represented by environmental lawyer Molly Erickson.

"Everyone is opposed to this project," she said. "There is a lot not to like about the project."

Erickson called the plan to build 24 market-rate homes selling for more than $1 million each—with a seven-unit apartment building on a 1-acre corner of the property—inadequate. 

She contended the project provided less than 25 percent affordable housing units for the entire project, when the land-use plan requires 35 percent. 

Another issue, Erickson said, was that the apartment plot would also include two wells and accompanying equipment, turning it into "essentially an incorporation yard."

The supervisors voted 5-0 to deny the project, with little discussion. 

"This does not preclude you from coming back with another project," Adams told Clark after the vote. "There might be another project for this spot [but] this simply isn't it."

Clark says he and his partners were prepared to pay a $206,000 mitigation fee to off-set the 10 percent difference in affordable housing units.

He also disputes the arguments over rural character. The project is surrounded on three sides by development.

Bottom line says Clark, "They don't want affordable housing."

He says he and his partners won't be back anytime soon with another development proposal.

"I’m going to mothball it at the moment."