Carmel residents will get their further say on the age-old dilemma of street addresses.

Katie Rodriguez here, thinking about all the great stories in this week’s newspaper. There was news on the big win for the County of Monterey, when its vacation rental ordinance was approved by the California Coastal Commission, and another about the beloved West End Celebration, slated to return this year with new leadership and a new lineup.

One story, however, was resonant personally—it’s one of those topics that keeps resurfacing in conversations I’ve had with other Carmel residents over the past few weeks. My colleague Pam Marino wrote an update on where things stand with the age-old question of Carmel’s perpetual divide: addresses or no addresses? 

The rift always centers on preserving “village character,” but preservation of such charm continues to get in the way of, say, getting a loan or a credit card, or obtaining insurance. For example, personally, if I want to get a credit card, I need not only proof of an address but a consistent one. Other folks I’ve spoken with in Carmel know this problem well—often the “address” listed on your utility bill and lease doesn't match, so you need other ways to prove where you live. For me, that means changing my driver’s license to my P.O. box and using one other item they’ll accept with that same address. Hopefully, that other address change accepts a P.O. box (many don’t).

Add the difficulty of family finding your home—let alone emergency services reaching you quickly—and the charm is overshadowed by the inability to manage a long list of basic necessities.

Proponents of keeping addresses away argue it’s doable. The other side argues: “At what cost?” Village character—a vague idea but one that clearly holds meaning for many—is surely supported by more than just the lack of addresses within a one-square-mile radius.

Marino writes that on Aug. 5, Councilmember Bob Delves, who serves on an ad hoc committee studying the issue, released a report detailing meetings with police and fire representatives, utility companies, and the creation of possible address systems, which he then floated by a USPS official.

That system and other details will be laid out in two upcoming public workshops, where residents “will get a chance to air their opinions for and against, as they have off and on for years since the issue first surfaced,” Marino writes.

Take a read, share your thoughts. As always, my inbox is open.