Developer Brian Clark is laughing, but it’s derisive laughter, born of frustration. For the past 10 years he’s attempted to develop 8 acres off Rio Road and Val Verde Drive, just east of the Carmel Crossroads shopping center. The 31-unit project – down from an original proposed 42 – includes seven units of affordable housing, but opponents are fighting it, saying it’s urban infill in an area that leans rural.
“This has been a wasted decade,” Clark says. “The county is simply one of hypocrisy when it comes to affordable housing.”
The County Board of Supervisors denied the Carmel Rio Road Project in 2012. Clark and his partners sued the county, and reached a settlement requiring the supervisors to revisit their project by July 12, 2017. It’s on their June 27 agenda.
Opponents, including the Carmel Valley Association and Landwatch, have successfully lobbied to have the project rejected by the Carmel Valley Land Use Advisory Committee and the county Planning Commission. In minutes from an April 17 meeting, the LUAC noted the “design is terrible,” is inconsistent with the Carmel Valley Specific Plan, and is “too dense.” The Planning Commission voted down the project based on similar issues on May 10.
The most controversial feature is that seven affordable units would be grouped together in an apartment building on 1 acre, along with two wells, water tanks and water treatment equipment, surrounded by million-dollar single-family homes. Lawyer Molly Erickson, representing a coalition of nearby residents and business owners, told the Planning Commission residents there would be “second-class citizens.”
CVA President Pris Walton says the project would have major impacts on traffic and water, and that it would take away from the “agricultural, rustic feel of the area.”
Walton says the CVA is in favor of affordable housing, but first the county must follow through on a promise made about 10 years ago to make a plan to integrate housing into the community while respecting zoning and environmental regulations.
Clark, meanwhile, doesn’t hold out much hope the supervisors will approve the project. His lawsuit, he adds, could be resurrected.
(1) comment
Hillarious! So, if I read this right, residents dont want them to live there because they are 2nd class citizens? Wow. So basically, come back when you can afford the astronomical price or go live in Salinas because this is our place.
Has anyone seen the prices of rent? 2B/1BA homes are never below $2k/month. How is the middle class supposed to survive here, especially when affordable options aren't being built. I am a college graduate with a stable job and I can barely save enough money to come up with a down payment while at the same time being able to pay for rent. It just doesnt add up. I could live in a seedy part of town somewhere, but I don't feel comfortable with babies.
Screw us regular folks I suppose.
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