A funding opportunity for an affordable housing project behind Monterey City Hall is in jeopardy, as the state Office of Preservation (SHPO) remains concerned about the project’s aesthetic impacts in a district filled with historic buildings.
On Oct. 20, City of Monterey officials made their fourth submittal to SHPO asking the agency to find “no adverse effect” to the Monterey Old Town National Historic Landmark District if the project is built.
The Madison Street project is a proposed partnership between the City and nonprofit MidPen Housing that seeks to build 41 units – ranging from studios to three-bedrooms – entirely reserved for households making 60 percent or less of the county’s median income. The project is on land behind City Hall that is currently a parking lot and a handful of small buildings, some which are being used as storage.
This comes after several efforts by the City to obtain clearance from state officials.
The City sent SHPO a letter Jan. 3 asking for clearance, along with detailed reports from the city’s historic and archaeological consultants to demonstrate no impact on the historic district. The letter, sent by planner Levi Hill, asked that SHPO agree with the City’s findings of no impact within 30 days.
(This came after the City’s first request in 2023, which was then refined based on SHPO’s feedback.)
No response came, and the City sent another letter to SHPO to follow up in July. SHPO found that “the massing, size, and scale” of the project is “incompatible with the general character and setting of known historic properties” within the area.
It means the City may miss a chance to take advantage of a funding opportunity MidPen recently identified that requires a grant application this November. Monterey Community Development Director Kim Cole says construction could start as soon as spring, but another funding source would have to be identified.
“All of a sudden things have gotten more real,” she says.
The City’s Oct. 20 letter to SHPO emphasized that “the City has worked earnestly and diligently fulfilled the regulatory requirements” of historical preservation laws, and asked for an “expedient” review and response so the City doesn’t miss a critical funding opportunity.
“It will be infuriating if we miss our funding deadlines,” Cole says, “and we may very well. It shouldn’t happen.”
(3) comments
I agree with Peter Stanger.
The SHPO found that “the massing, size, and scale” of the project is “incompatible with the general character and setting of known historic properties” within the area. And that's 100% true. As much as the City wishes to provide affordable housing, the location for such a monolithic structure is absurd. Colton Hall was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River when constructed. California's 1st Constitution was debated and signed there. Yet, anxious City leaders would dwarf this and the other historic structures nearby. Use the area to build architectural compatible market rate housing, use profits from the development to build (soviet style?) affordable housing elsewhere where it'd be less objectionable.
"Colton Hall was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River when constructed. California's 1st Constitution was debated and signed there. Yet, anxious City leaders would dwarf this and the other historic structures nearby."
This is the single most, dumbest reason for not building housing, Peter. Just say that you hate poor people and don't want them in "your town". A historic building being dwarfed is a good reason to deny housing? In that case, let's level all buildings taller than two stories around Monterey because they dwarf all of the colonial houses. Let's raze the Marriott because it dwarfs Casa Soberanes. Let's demolish all of Monterey Conference Center because it dwarfs all of the historic stores and Customs House around Customs House Plaza.
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