Monterey County Land Use & Development Articles

On Thursday night, Jan. 16, the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas was packed with people attending the California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s hearing on the regulations surrounding the pesticide 1,3-dichloropropene, also known as 1,3-D or by the brand name Telone.…

Bodie Shargel interviews two of the organizers behind the Workforce Housing Solutions Act, which kicked off its signature-gathering effort last week. Andrew Goldenkranz, the current chair of the County Democratic Party and Grace Stetson, signature gathering coordinator discuss the details …

Soon after the Big Red Barn received approval for a permit to host larger events, activists and researchers appealed the decision, citing inadequate review of the potential environmental impacts.

Housing policy is climate policy; the bridge connecting the two is exactly what the nonprofit LandWatch Monterey County aims to fortify. The environmental watchdog group monitors land use policy decisions made by local governments, encouraging the public to get involved…

Walking around downtown Salinas can be an architectural adventure. There are dramatic bas relief busts on the original courthouse (now county offices) by artist Jo Mora, and large Queen Anne homes with asymmetrical facades, art deco flair and embellishments on…

For conservationists, the dream of preserving Ferrini Ranch, an approximately 870-acre property that straddles Toro Park along Highway 68, has been in the ether for decades, long before the County Board of Supervisors, in a 3-2 vote, approved a development…

Smoke and burned trees are pictured near Sylvan Lake State Park during a wildfire that erupted south of Eagle in the White River National Forest on June 20, 2021. With intense wildfires becoming a greater threat in the West, homeowners …

A lecture hall, Sunday school, dance studio, Boy Scout headquarters, gym and tent storage during the winter between summer Methodist camp sessions in the late 1800s. Pacific Grove’s Chautauqua Hall has served many purposes over 143 years since it was…

David Schmalz here. Over the better part of the last decade, I’ve reported on the former Fort Ord and efforts to develop it, and one of the things that’s surprised me is how many people—including elected officials—don’t have a firm…

After 13 years of planning and building, the Hester Marsh Restoration Project had its unofficial “ribbon-cutting” moment over the weekend of Nov. 15-17. Project researchers, managers and volunteers gathered at the marsh on the edge of Elkhorn Slough to observe…

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – California's 30×30 goal was a topic at the Sierra Nevada Alliance Conservation Conference held at Lake Tahoe Community College, Nov. 7-8. In 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom committed the state to conserving 30% of lands …

On Oct. 2, about a year-and-a-half after the Pajaro River levee failed, flood agencies broke ground on the long-awaited Pajaro River Flood Risk Management Project. The five-year, $599 million project sets out to protect the river valley and its tributaries…

“This is a local story about a global issue, the future of water. In a three-part series of field reports and podcasts, Bay City News reporter Ruth Dusseault looks at the tunnel’s stakeholders, its engineering challenges, and explores the preindustrial …

GREENFIELD — EAH Housing, a nonprofit housing development and management organization, has announced that construction is underway at Greenfield Commons, with the last modular stack for Greenfield Commons Phase I recently completed.

Long-empty train tracks west of Highway 1 offer a spectacular view of the dunes and the Monterey Bay. Since 2021, people who signed up for handcar rides have enjoyed it while feeling the breeze.

MONTEREY COUNTY — The imbalance between housing supply and demand is a key challenge to economic growth in Monterey County, according to a new report that makes clear the need for increasing housing supply.

The Pacific Grove City Council voted 7-0 on Wednesday, Oct. 16 to vacate Sloat Avenue and sell it to landowner Foursome Development for $1.9 million, a crucial step toward the construction of a 222-unit luxury hotel where the American Tin…

GONZALES — City of Gonzales celebrated the “topping out” of the Dennis and Janice Caprara Community Center Complex with a ceremony Friday, marking the milestone of lifting the final structural beam into place.

Celia Jiménez here, thinking about Terracina at The Dunes, a 142-apartment affordable housing community right off Highway 1 in Marina. It’s a project I’ve seen from start to finish while driving on Imjin Parkway, and I’ve reported extensively about it.

MONTEREY COUNTY — County of Monterey Vacation Rentals Ordinances, which regulate vacation rental operations in inland unincorporated Monterey County, will take effect Oct. 14.