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

• The County of Monterey is updating its Housing Element.

• The County released a Draft Housing Site Inventory in June 2023 for RHNA’s 6th cycle.

• Letter: LandWatch Submits Comments Requesting Alignment of Housing Element & General Plan (574K PDF)
  LandWatch recommends changes in the County’s draft Housing Element to better align the proposed opportunity sites with the County’s adopted General Plan. Nine sites are recommended for removal from the plan. (08.19.24)
• Letter: LandWatch Comments on the County’s Housing Inventory
  LandWatch writes to follow up on our comments at the recent Planning Commission meeting and our April 18 letter, requesting a discussion on an alternative site inventory for the housing element that meets RHNA allocations while limiting sprawl and emissions. Additionally, I want to address the inadequacy of Monterey County’s reliance on its Inclusionary Housing Ordinance to meet affordable housing goals, citing both legal and economic concerns, and highlighting the unrealistic expectations for market-rate housing development and historic underperformance in affordable housing production. (05.21.24)
• Letter: LandWatch Comments Again on Housing Element (196K PDF)
  LandWatch’s preliminary feedback on the County’s recently released Housing Element highlights significant shortcomings in sound planning principles, RHNA requirements, community engagement, and sustainable practices. They recommend reducing the number of sites to prevent sprawl, ensuring consistency with the County’s general plan, accurately counting eligible sites for lower and moderate income housing, and resolving discrepancies in pipeline project counts to align with RHNA goals. (05.13.24)
• Letter: LandWatch’s Comments on the Housing Site Inventory (526K PDF)
  LandWatch has conducted a preliminary review of the Monterey County Public Review Draft of Sites Inventory and offers the feedback in hopes that the site inventory can be refined to meet the needs of Monterey County residents and the requirements of Monterey County’s 2010 General Plan. Specific comments on the draft site inventory, including a Housing Site Suitability Analysis, which draws on General Plan policies and siting criteria are included. (06.27.23)