You can shape Monterey County’s future by completing the Monterey County Housing Element Update Community Survey. To guide you, here are suggested responses. Thank you!

Monterey County Housing Element Update Community Survey Model Responses

Questions 1-5, 8, 11-16, 18-19, 23-26, 28, 30-31:
Your answers depend on your own circumstances and experience.

Question 6: Are you satisfied with your current housing situation? (Select one response)
No.

Question 7. What kind of housing is most needed in Unincorporated Monterey County? Unincorporated Monterey County is defined as all area within the county boundary that is outside of any city boundary. (Select all that apply)
LandWatch’s priorities for housing in Unincorporated Monterey County are: Duplex/Attached Housing Unit, Apartment rentals, Adding units to existing single family properties (e.g., granny flat, in-law unit), Housing for agricultural workers, and other low-income seasonal employees, Employee housing for service industry and other low-income workers.

Question 9: For each of the following groups, please identify their level of need for housing and related services in your community.
Your answer depends on your own circumstances and experience, but in general LandWatch focuses on housing for local working families and individuals. In our community, many such workers live on low or fixed income, such as low-wage workers in the hospitality or agricultural industries. Unhoused people also, clearly, experience acute housing challenges for a wide range of reasons.

Question 10: Rate your level of support for each strategy listed below to create more housing in your community. (Check one box per line in table below)

LandWatch recommends:

  • Allow more housing units to be built on residential sites
  • Allow more apartments and condominiums on residential sites
  • Change commercial/business sites to residential to allow for more housing
  • Ease the permit requirements for building housing

LandWatch opposes:

  • Change farmland sites to residential to allow for more housing (e.g., food crops, wine grapes, orchards)
  • Change rangeland sites to residential to allow for more housing (e.g., cattle grazing).

For the Other housing strategies, we strongly support ministerial approval and objective design guidelines for dense, multifamily housing.

Question 17: What do you feel are the top two issues with finding housing in your community? (Select top two only)

LandWatch recommends:

  • Not enough housing units for rent
  • Housing is not located in the right places (e.g. near schools, jobs, grocery stores, health care, etc.)

Question 20.
Your answers depend on your own circumstances and experience, but LandWatch recommends you identify these as “Very Important:”

  • There is a need to create mixed-use (commercial/office and residential) projects in the community where residents can walk to work and services so there is less driving.
  • There should be many types of housing, including single-family homes, townhomes, apartments, and condominiums.
  • Mix affordable housing throughout housing in the community to promote income diversity.
  • Create programs for energy conservation using site and building design.

Question 21: Do you think there are factors that prevent affordable housing from being built or created in Unincorporated County of Monterey? (Select one response) Unincorporated Monterey County is defined as all areas within the county boundary that is outside of any city boundary.

If yes, please select what you think are the top three ways to get more affordable housing built.

Yes, LandWatch strongly believes that there are factors preventing affordable housing from being built in Unincorporated Monterey County.

Question 21 pt. 2: What do you think are the top three ways to get more affordable housing built? (Select top three only)

LandWatch top three recommendations:

  • Incentives for private developers to build more affordable housing
  • Ease the process for housing permitting and approval
  • Locate affordable housing near jobs

Question 22: For the next eight years, what are the top three types of programs or activities that you believe the County of Monterey should focus on to support fair housing opportunities? (Select top three only)

LandWatch top three recommendations:

  • Facilitate more access to water, sewer, and utilities for new housing in Unincorporated Monterey County.
  • Provide incentives for developments that include low-income or affordable units.
  • Ease permit requirements or processes for housing projects.

Questions 27. Of the following, which do you think experiences the greatest housing discrimination in Monterey County? (Select one response).

LandWatch recommends:

  • Income source (i.e., employment, job, work, occupation)

Question 29: What do you think are the top three ways to support availability of housing opportunities to all residents of Unincorporated Monterey County? (Select top three only) Unincorporated Monterey County is defined as all area within the county boundary that is outside of any city boundary.

LandWatch top three recommendations:

  • Target outreach to underserved groups about new affordable housing
  • Ensure affordable housing units are built throughout the County
  • Improve infrastructure, transit, and services in underserved communities