A legal settlement firms up a cap on new residential units in the former Fort Ord.

There’s been a lot of talk over the last several months whether or not the Fort Ord Reuse Authority will in fact sunset, as established by existing state law, in June of 2020. In the context of that discussion has been an open question: Will the Base Reuse Plan – the blueprint for development on the former Fort Ord – still be legally binding if FORA goes away?

At least part of that question has been answered. The plan’s housing cap on new residential units – 6,160 – served by Marina Coast Water District water is now locked into a legal settlement between Marina Coast and land use watchdog groups Keep Fort Ord Wild and LandWatch.

The implications of that hard cap are huge, and mean the race is on to get projects approved before the cap gets maxed out.

The settlement stems from a lawsuit over Marina Coast’s proposed annexation of some parts of the former Fort Ord, including areas it currently provides with water and wastewater services. Keep Fort Ord Wild’s and LandWatch’s contention, in their respective lawsuits, was that the annexation required a full environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act.

Those lawsuits weren’t about saving oak trees or limiting housing – they were about keeping future development within the constraints of Marina Coast’s groundwater resources, some of which is in the “deep aquifer,” which is an ancient, finite water supply. Meanwhile, the other, shallower aquifers in Marina Coast’s groundwater supply portfolio are threatened by seawater intrusion.

Aside from the housing cap, the settlement also removes areas from Marina Coast’s proposed annexation that do not have already-approved and entitled projects. For Seaside, that includes Campus Town – a 1,485-unit mixed-use development north of Gigling Road that Marina Coast officials have already said they do not have enough water to serve.

Seaside Economic Development Director Kurt Overmeyer says the project is envisioned to happen in phases, and wouldn’t fully be built-out until a new water supply – like recycled water – could come online to serve it.

The settlement raises another question: How many “new” residential units are approved and entitled in Fort Ord?

According to a FORA report from April, there are 4,974 entitled new residential units on the former Fort Ord. According to a FORA report from June, there 4,346 entitled units. The difference, says FORA planner Jonathan Brinkmann, is that the 380 units at Seaside Highlands, and 248 units of the 1,050-unit Sea Haven development, are now considered by FORA to be “replacement” units for former housing.

Depending on which number sticks, that means only 1,186 or 1,841 new units can be approved until a new water supply comes online.

There are other things that aren’t yet entirely clear: It’s possible that student housing may not qualify as residential units under the cap, despite the water use being comparable. Another is that Seaside’s Main Gate project – which is already entitled but is now being re-worked – is adding 330 student housing units and 290 residential units.

What is clear is that the window for new housing projects on Fort Ord – until a new water supply comes online – is rapidly closing.