Housing Element Update (6th Cycle) – Monterey

Through the Regional Housing Needs Assessment, Monterey is updating its housing element to accommodate the 6th cycle housing allocation.

Quick Facts

  • The Housing Element was updated by the City of Monterey.

Status

Maps

The City of Monterey Housing Element shows site inventories for housing.

Housing opportunity sites mapped in Monterey.

Full Size Map (623K PDF)
Credit: City of Monterey (Housing Element Update) May 2023

LandWatch Involvement

  • Unpublished Letter to the Editor: LandWatch Comments on the Use of Fort Ord as Buffer Lands
    LandWatch applauds the City of Monterey’s use of Fort Ord as buffer lands to more urban development instead of sprawling development onto these sensitive, species rich lands. (09.10.24)
  • Letter: LandWatch Supports Revised Draft of Housing Element Update (256k PDF)
    LandWatch Monterey County has expressed its approval of the April 2024 Revised Draft Housing Element for the City of Monterey. They commend the City for its adjustments to the site inventory, prompted by a letter from HCD on December 22, 2023. These alterations are expected to expand possibilities for dense infill housing, particularly affordable housing, within the urbanized core of the City. (04.29.24)
  • Letter: LandWatch Comments on General Plan Update (312k PDF)
    LandWatch Monterey County supports a housing element that provides dense, infill housing in existing urbanized areas affordable to those who live and work in the City of Monterey. Environmental justice demands affordable housing that minimizes environmental harms. Accordingly, LandWatch urges the City to adopt the Relocated Housing Alternative, which would provide denser infill housing sufficient to meet the City’s 6th Cycle Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) while avoiding significant environmental impacts to the City’s natural lands in the former Fort Ord. (03.21.24)
  • Letter: LandWatch Comments on Housing Element Update (2.69M PDF)
    LandWatch has reviewed the City of Monterey Public Review Draft Housing Element and supports almost all of the policies and programs that the City proposes. Additionally, we propose modifications to some programs to make them even more effective and remain concerned about the City’s lack of leadership in addressing climate change and other environmental impacts, the plan to locate 2,100 housing units on the former Fort Ord — approximately 60% of the City’s RHNA allocation — and see it as a significant step backward. EcoDataLab provided the analysis on this below. (08.07.23)

    • Report: EcoDataLab Analysis of Ryan Ranch and Fort Ord Sites (525K PDF)
      EcoDataLab has reviewed and analyzed the City of Monterey’s proposal to include the Ryan Ranch and Fort Ord site (“Fort Ord”) as a Tier 1 Opportunity Site for its 2023 Housing Element. Based on our analysis, I believe that new development at Fort Ord is likely to have per-capita vehicle miles traveled (VMT) which are higher than the countywide average, and that this increase in VMT would constitute a significant impact under CEQA using the City of Monterey’s adopted VMT policy. (08.22.23)
  • Letter: LandWatch Provides Feedback on Draft Housing Element (124K PDF)
    LandWatch provides substantive feedback on the Draft Housing Element supporting the goal to reduce housing production constraints. The letter also provides direct comments about putting residential units on the former Fort Ord due to unexploded ordinance. (06.20.23)

Monterey Peninsula
Issues & Actions