Monterey County Land Use & Development Articles

The planned new County of Monterey building in Seaside doesn’t have a name yet, nor has the county identified funding to build it, which the latest estimate pegs at $115 million. But what county officials do have is a vision.

It was very close, but Monaco developer Patrice Pastor got his historic home tax break, known as the Mills Act, on the Mrs. Clinton Walker House, a world-famous home on the beach designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Developer Patrice Pastor of Monaco has acquired a hefty portfolio of properties in the tiny village of Carmel, beginning with the purchase of a home in 2015, growing to at least 16 properties totaling nearly $124 million. The latest purchase…

The Williamson Act, passed in 1965, now keeps more than 16 million acres of farmland out of the hands of developers. Here's how the law puts the brakes on the development of California agricultural properties.

The California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA, is both the state’s signature environmental legislation, and is also often named as the villain in the state’s housing shortage. But the story may not be that simple.

In NYT’s “The Farmers Had What the Billionaires Wanted,” we meet a man who wants to build a city in the middle of nowhere, and folks who are slowing him down.

How California’s 10 state conservancies buy up open land and shield it from developers to preserve the natural environment for public use.

For more than 10 years, the County of Monterey has been working to create new regulations around short-term rentals in places visitors desire, like Big Sur, Pebble Beach and Carmel Valley. So far nothing has stuck despite repeated attempts. In…

California Forever, the company behind a proposed new city in Solano County, will submit a ballot measure seeking an exemption from local laws to allow development on the massive project to proceed.

The highest court in the land will soon decide how much leeway cities and counties have in offsetting new construction with fees to pay for infrastructure.

Over the past few months, Jennifer Robinson has fielded many questions regarding the anticipated opening date of the Tipsy Putt location on Cannery Row in Monterey. Some even wondered if the unique miniature golf pub would open at all.

The state has hundreds of millions to spend on affordable housing. Developers say they need billions.

David Schmalz here. Several weeks ago, Weekly Editor Sara Rubin suggested the time was ripe for a cover story about the Peninsula’s water situation. I agreed, as the many nuances of the current state of play are hard to capture…

By day, the derelict San Xavier Fish Reduction plant at 484 Cannery Row looks exactly like what it is: ruins of a bygone era when sardine fishing was king on the Monterey Peninsula.

Now that a landmark acquisition has been made official, the Big Sur Land Trust, in its 45 years of existence, has now put over 45,000 acres of land into conservation—an average of more than 1,000 acres per year.

On the Monterey Peninsula, the lack of available water is often highlighted by public agencies, and residents that favor a local desalination project, as the primary reason the region lacks adequate housing.

As Salinas Valley cities like Soledad and Gonzales look to expand their footprints by annexing surrounding farmland and converting it into housing and other uses, there’s an ongoing debate over the rules requiring that cities and developers make up for…

Logistics is one of the largest industries in California and keeps the state economy running. But it also comes with a heavy cost to the environment. Here are the facts on the most important industry you don't know much about, …

What is the California Coastal Commission? How one of the state’s most powerful agency protects public access to the state’s scenic coast from Mexico to Oregon.

GONZALES — Local Agency Formation Commission of Monterey County (LAFCO) has approved the annexation of about 49 acres east of Highway 101 and north of Gloria Road to the City of Gonzales for future agriculture industrial development. The annexation, which …