(click the links below for latest information)
A New Quarterly Newsletter from
The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District
A quick look inside the first edition ...
The General Manager Looks Back
From the 1975 Joint Powers Authority with the Peninsula mayors and the county to the mayors' JPA announced this month, our General Manager takes a historical look back at governance for peninsula water.
Alternative Solutions
With California American Water's mid-January announcement that they were withdrawing support for the Regional Desalination Project, we briefly revisit possible alternative solutions to the peninsula's water supply problem.
Saving on a rainy day
Progress continues on the District's Aquifer Storage and Recovery projects. Water Project 1 is complete and underway, with the exception of construction on a few ancillary facilities. Water Project 2 is in an earlier stage of construction and should be complete by 2013.
Catch the rain
The District is pleased to host two rainwater harvesting events in late February. The first is a free public workshop on the basics of rainwater catchment. The second event is a two-day accreditation course offered by the American Rainwater Catchment System Association.
Click here to view the newsletter
Private Road Ordinance
A CVA backed proposal for a Private Road Ordinance is being reviewed by County Staff. If adopted, it will require an applicant who wants to intensify use on a private road, to get the agreement of neighbors first. About 50% of the roads in Carmel Valley are private roads.
42 Unit Val Verde Drive
Project
Denied by Planning Commissioners
Thanks to Margaret Robbins, neighbors on Val Verde, and CVA members who spoke against this poorly planned 42-unit development project on less than 8 acres on Val Verde Drive, a private road zoned for one unit per acre. Val Verde Drive is a surprisingly rural area near the mouth of the Valley. Horses, stables, pastures, agriculture, open space. And either one house per lot, or vacant lots. The project was DENIED 7-1 (2 commissioners absent). Thank you to Commissioners Diehl and Vandevere for the right questions and to Supervisor Potter for appointing them.
Monterey County Superior Court Judge Lydia Villarreal ruled in favor of Save Our Peninsula, represented by Richard Rosenthal, in their suit to force Monterey County to adhere to a more visible records system.
In approving projects, the Planning Department generally imposes a number of conditions, like tracking water use or planting trees, to mitigate environmental impacts. But Rosenthal says there’s never been a mechanism to effectively determine whether those terms are actually followed once developers sell property and residents or businesses move in. making them follow the law,” he says. “It’s never really been done.”
Under the agreement reached in September, planners will make their records electronically available to the public, conduct an audit of 10 previously approved projects, and red-tag projects that aren’t keeping up with conditions. This is a big step forward for our county and will help insure that conditions negotiated between our community and developers are actually followed.
Save Our Peninsula has also brought legal action against the county for allowing Cottages of Carmel to move forward without installing an originally required gray water system. Save Our Peninsula is claiming that without the gray water system there is only have enough water for 56 beds, not 78. The trial will take place in March.
Read the Water Committee's Complete Report
What a win!!!
Villas de Carmelo Rejected by the Board of Supervisors!
The neighbors near Valley Way and Carmel Valley Road have been persistently well organized, attending FOUR planning commission meetings, and the Supervisor meeting today. They ponied up the money to hire Molly Erickson to represent them.
CVA got involved on the traffic impacts; other neighborhoods showed up; and the City of Carmel (having rejected the project in their sphere of influence) showed up, LandWatch spoke. Project? Villas de Carmelo, 46 unit condo where the convalescent hospital sits at Hwy 1 and Valley Way. Supervisor Potter took the lead on the many reasons to deny a density change, and surprisingly Simon Salinas seconded the motion by Potter. And then the vote, a rare 5-0 to deny the rezoning. This means it cannot go to the Coastal Commission. It's done. Great work by the organized neighbors and Molly Erickson!
Learn More About the Carmel Valley Association
Who Are We and What Are Our Concerns?
Learn
about our sixty year effort to preserve, protect, and defend
our beautiful Carmel Valley.
