Return to
HOME PAGE

Return to
COUNTY OF MONTEREY

CONCERNED RESIDENTS OF PEBBLE BEACH and Monterey County a Non-Profit California Corporation Dedicated to Preserving the Natural Environment and Quality of Life in Del Monte Forest and Peninsula Communities

April 16, 2004

Ms. Sally Reed
Monterey County Chief Administrative Officer
230 Church Street, Building No. 3
Salinas, CA 93901

Dear Ms. Reed:

We are writing this letter to you because of our concerns about how the Monterey County Planning Department is handling the processing of Measure A and the Pebble Beach Company's "Del Monte Forest Preservation and Development Plan".

Simply stated we believe the Planning Department has scheduled hearings and decisions on this project that do not follow a logical sequence. The result is the real possibility of wasting County general funds and scarce County personnel resources. The County's proposed processing sequence is out of phase with the Coastal Commission's requirements and actions. We are enclosing two flow charts showing what we believe clearly illustrates our point.

Ms. Diane Landry, District Manager of the California Coastal Commission's Central Coast District Office, in her March 22, 2004, Draft Environmental Impact Report response to the Monterey County Planning Department has clearly stated her position with respect to the County's proposed processing of the Pebble Beach Company's project application. We have enclosed a copy of her letter.

On pages 2 and 7 of her letter she states:

"As we have previously communicated, inasmuch as the PBC project is contingent on the Local Coastal Plan (LCP) amendments of Measure A, these amendments must be submitted to the Commission for review and action under the Coastal Act before the PBC project could be affirmatively and finally acted on by the County. Similarly, the project relies in part on Coastal Development Permit (CDP) (Spanish Bay Permit) amendments that have not yet been applied for by PBC. In the interest of facilitating the public review and decision-making process, therefore, we recommend . . . that the County first submit the Measure A LCP amendment request to the Commission (and wait for a final action) before taking any further action on the project."

"As such, we recommend that the County first submit the Measure A LCP amendment request, and wait until after the Commission has acted on it, before further considering or acting on the PBC project".

"In terms of process, we recommend that Measure A be submitted and acted on, and that the required CDP amendments be applied for and acted on, before the County further considers or acts on the proposed project."

Ms. Landry's comments with respect to processing Measure A LCP amendments first have been unchanged since the passage of Measure A in November 2000.

It is not at all a certainty that the Coastal Commission will find Measure A consistent with the Coastal Act. The PBC's project application assumes the Coastal Commission will find consistency. The County will hold public hearings based upon this assumption.

The Draft EIR (Executive Summary, page ES-3) states:

"Although the existing ("pre-Measure A") LCP is utilized by this document for analysis, the development of the current project proposal by the applicant and the County's acceptance of it for processing were done in recognition of the voter approval of Measure A and in anticipation of it becoming law."

If the Coastal Commission finds a lack of consistency with the Coastal Act all of the County's valuable personnel time (both volunteer and paid) and general fund money will have been wasted.

The DEIR for the PBC's development project is in excess of 1,200 pages. We understand that the responses to the DEIR consist of approximately 1,000 pages. The EIR consultants are in the process of reviewing and evaluating these comments. Because of the effort to accelerate the County processing of this application the Monterey County Sub-division Committee will hold its next hearing on April 29. We understand that Final EIR (FEIR) will not be available for this meeting. According to our understanding the FEIR will be released just before the Monterey County Planning Commission's first public hearings. How can the Planning Commissioners and the public even digest the FEIR with such a short time available before the hearings begin? We believe this will effectively reduce meaningful public participation and will not lead to well-reasoned Commission actions.

We would appreciate it if you would review the Planning Department's plan to determine if proceeding on the current schedule is in the best interest of the public and the County of Monterey. We would also appreciate a summary of your findings in a reply letter.

Sincerely,

s/s Ted R. Hunter
s/s Carl E. Nielsen

Cc: Scott Hennessy
Thom McCue
Charles J. Mckee
CRPB Steering Committee Members