| All candidates are in alphabetical order |
Land Use Policy - Affordable Housing |
|
| Greg Hawthorne | |
| What is your position on affordable housing? Please be specific with regards to policies you support or oppose. | Affordable housing is needed in Monterey county. I think for every development there should be a certain amount of affordable and mid-range housing to keep our community diverse. |
| Do you support modifying city policies or regulations to make it easier and cheaper to build housing? If so, what specific policy changes do you support? | Most cities have a lot of red tape and fees that are charged to the developer for new construction. All that does is make it more difficult and more expensive to build. This elevates the cost of the building and as a result, makes the prices charged of rent less affordable. I would like to see fees for developers proposing to build affordable housing lowered. |
| Do you support requiring developers to actually build inclusionary units instead of paying an "in lieu" fee? | Obviously, that would be ideal. I would prefer we have the units rather than the "in lieu" fee. If we make the fees to high no one will develop. It needs to be a give and take. |
| Do you support requiring that "inclusionary housing" units be made permanently affordable, even upon resale? If not, please explain. | Its difficult to make inclusionary housing affordable in a permanent manner. I would suggest a minimum 50 year contract. |
| Do you support requiring developers of hospitality, commercial and industrial projects that significantly increase demand for already scarce housing resources to also build workforce housing? | We need to strike a balance. Large corporations should be required, but small corporations may not be able to support it and if we require them to do so, this could discourage them from wanting to build in the area. This would only inhibit the addition of much needed jobs in our community. We need to find a compromise that supports commercial growth and affordable housing for Sand City. |
| What other housing policies do you support or oppose? | I think Sand City needs more high-density buildings so that we can better accommodate more mid-low income citizens to help grow and diversify our community. |
Water Supplies |
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| Greg Hawthorne | |
| What specific proposals do you support to ensure your community can meet its water demands without increasing the overdraft of the County's groundwater aquifers or violating the SWRCB's Cease and Desist Order regarding taking water from the Carmel River? | I think Sand City needs more high-density buildings so that we can better accommodate more mid-low income citizens to help grow and diversify our community. |
| Do you support expansion of Pure Water Monterey as an alternative to building a desalination plant? | That would be moving backward as we already have a desalination plant in place. Sand City understood there was a water problem quite a few years ago, we had already decided to minimize pulling water from the Carmel river basin. This was a strong decision and we should continue to utilize the resource we already have in place minimizing the need to draft from the Carmel River. |
Sprawl Reduction |
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| Greg Hawthorne | |
| Do you support the creation of "urban growth boundaries" or expansion of the existing boundary as a way to prevent urban sprawl, and to insure that future growth is compact, efficient, and protective of the environment? If not, what measures would you support to prevent urban sprawl? If yes, will you sponsor an urban growth boundary in the upcoming year, and make it one of your top three priorities? | Sand City is such a small city. Proportionally we have one of the largest habitat areas of all the cities on the central coast. We continue to protect that space as well as try to develop for much-needed worker housing. Sand City takes pride in its protection of our fragile habitats but we also balance this with smart development to accommodate worker housing for the Monterey Peninsula. We don't have Urban Sprawl, we balance environmentalism and growth equally. |
Transportation |
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| Greg Hawthorne | |
| Poorly planned, non-infill commercial developments and hotels create more trips and additional vehicle miles traveled on already overcrowded roads and highways. Both residents and visitors pay the price of delay and increased pollution. What specific traffic congestion relief solutions do you support? | Sand City does not yet have a hotel. It is much needed for our area. The development of a well-designed hotel would decrease the Short Term Rentals in the area and help to alleviate some of our desperate need for worker housing. This would then help to reduce traffic in the area because our workers would not need to commute such great distances. The advantage would also be that Tourists would be confined to smaller areas and reduce traffic congestion. |
| Do you support roundabouts on Highway 68 and other roads? What other transportation policies or practices have you seen that local governments should incorporate? | Roundabouts have proven to be necessary and extremely efficient in alleviating congestion. A perfect example being the roundabout on Highway 1 and 68 going into Pebble Beach. They've also been proven safer than traditional four-way intersections. Adding more roundabouts to Highway 68 would be a great advantage for our community. |
Leadership |
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| Greg Hawthorne | |
| If you are elected, what will be your top three priorities? | 1) Sand City's tax base is primarily retail we need to diversify with much-needed hotel rooms (ToT tax) 2) Housing is an issue on the Monterey Peninsula, Sand City needs more condominiums for workers. 3) Infrastructure, improvements, underground power lines, repairing roads, and overall beautification of the city with murals and sculptures. |
| What land use policies would you champion for the community? | I would like to see more implementation of Land Use proposals regarding a more pedestrian-friendly Sand City. More live workspaces and access to the beach as well as the continued support of our habitat areas. Sand City is a unique city in that we have great natural beauty and a successful industry in our small area. We would benefit from a continued balance of our recreational and business-related successes. |
| What accomplishments in your career or public service are you most proud of? | I was the founder of the now infamous West End Event. A festival celebrating the unique art and music that makes Sand City so special. I had built a live/work space in the City, that was then featured in Architectural digest designed by Jerry Lomax. This set a precedent for future developers that our buildings in Sand City should not only be functional but also beautiful. A standard I look forward to watching Sand City continue to help set for the rest of the Peninsula. |
Background |
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| Greg Hawthorne | |
| Occupation | Artist/Gallery Owner |
| Years Lived in Area | 38 |
| Education | Michigan Technological University, Pre-Med - 1969-1972 Wayne State University, Human Anatomy, and Sculpture - 1972-1973 |
| Experience | Professional Artist since 1973 Married to Susan Hawthorne 47 years Father of Taylor Hawthorne (39) and Shelby Hawthorne (31) Owner of Hawthorne Gallery in Big Sur since 1995 Founder of the West End Event Former Board Chair for the West End Event Chair of the Sand City Arts Committee Member of the Sand City Architectural Design Review Committee Member of the TAMC Board of Directors, as a Sand City Representative Owner of Hawthorne Metal and Glass Building on Elder Ave and The Hawthorne Building on Ortiz Ave featured in Architectural Digest. |
| Kayhan Ghodsi, Donald Difede, and Kim Cruz did not respond. |