Monterey County Superior Court hopes for state’s blessing on a new courthouse.

The Seaside City Council, on Sept. 20, will consider authorizing the city to conduct a feasibility study that looks into the possibility of locating a new county courthouse – the “Monterey Family Justice Center” – in the former Fort Ord east of Broadway Avenue and Gen. Jim Moore Boulevard.

The city’s report is clear as to what the potential courthouse could mean for the city: “Courthouses are necessary public facilities and economic activity generators in addition to being points of civic pride,” the report reads, adding that the site “could provide an efficient and accessible location for public affairs, in a setting of gravitas, beauty and repose.”

The location is indeed prime: The view from the chaparral-covered hill at the site, looking down Broadway, offers expansive views of Monterey Bay, as well as Monterey’s waterfront.

But the courthouse – or its timeline – remain unknowns. For one thing, the Monterey County Superior Court, in an undated September memo to the city, states the possible location would be contingent on the court getting a 5 – to 10-acre parcel for free, that construction would cost less than $1,000 per square foot and that there be “no environmental challenges.”

The memo adds, “Affordable housing nearby for the over 100 employees of this new court facility would also be highly desirable.”

The county superior court, which is overseen by the Judicial Council of California, has long been exploring the possibility of a new courthouse, and the need is only increasing.

“We’ve been challenged for a number of years on a couple of different things,” Presiding Judge Lydia Villarreal says. “One is, we don’t have enough room for all of our services, and judges have to share courtrooms.”

Another big issue, Villarreal says, is having so many different services spread out over a number of facilities, forcing residents to hopscotch to various places to get matters addressed, or South County residents having to drive more than an hour for a small claims suit.

The envisioned Monterey Family Justice Center would help alleviate that by addressing several needs in one place, including family and civil law matters.

But the decision of when and where to build new courthouses lies on the state level and currently, the Judicial Council is conducting a prioritization assessment as to which counties in the state have the most pressing needs.

Villarreal hopes Monterey County is elevated in that process because the Monterey courthouse – which is owned by the county – was ranked in the top 10 most at-risk courthouses in the state in the event of an earthquake.

“If we had an earthquake, the risk to life would be substantial,” Villarreal says. She adds that because the building is owned by the county, not the court, “there’s not a whole lot we can do about it.”

There are other locations envisioned for the possible location of the family justice center, including the UC MBEST Center off Reservation Road, and there is also a years-long hope to build a new courthouse in Greenfield. That project was put on ice in 2012 when state funding dried up, but is ready to go as soon as state funding is available for it.