Farmworker housing proposed in Pajaro, next to another one under construction.

A farmworker housing project proposed in Pajaro abuts another such development under construction that faced litigation by neighbors.

The County of Monterey Planning Commission was scheduled to consider the project on Wednesday, Feb. 14, but agreed to postpone its decision to April 10.

Proposed by property owner Anthony Nicola, Inc. of Prunedale, the plans call for two three-story buildings to house up to 250 seasonal farmworkers on a 1.3-acre site at 124 Gonda St.

Nearing completion next door on Susan Street is another project expected to house 360 farmworkers.

Both projects sit next to the Pajaro River Levee, which breached a couple of miles east in March 2023 and flooded the town of Pajaro. A $599 million project to rebuild the levee is expected to begin in the summer.

Christine Shaw, who lives on Susan Street and sits on the planning commission, joined other neighbors in suing the county in January 2023 following the board of supervisors’ approval of the project, saying a thorough environmental review should have been required. A Superior Court judge rejected the suit.

Shaw is now questioning the safety of the current residents of Gonda Street as well as the future residents if the new project is approved, saying the narrow road leading into the property would be dangerous for people to evacuate in the event of an emergency.

In a letter, she urged the county to conduct a full environmental review.

“These three-story monstrosities, that loom over the neighborhood, will have an adverse impact on the human ecology of our neighborhood,” Shaw wrote.