Seaside City Council Cites New State Law to Justify 4-1 Vote for Moratorium on New Water Service Hookups
 
The City of Seaside has a small municipal water system that serves about 790 customers. On November 4, the Seaside City Council voted 4-1 to prohibit new water hookups within the district. This is in response to a new state law, Senate Bill 9, which tries to nudge local governments into approving more housing that’s affordable to ordinary households.
 
The city council declared that the Monterey Peninsula water supply shortage forces them to exercise a provision in the new state law that allows denial of new housing if there is a risk to public health or safety. However, city council members also mentioned “parking” and “investors from the Bay Area” as concerns about new water hookups, suggesting that opposition to population growth is an underlying motivation for this action - in fact, the one city councilmember who voted against the moratorium (Jon Wizard) openly made that accusation. According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, the population of the City of Seaside dropped from 33,025 in 2010 to 32,366 in 2020.
 
A representative of your Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce asked the city council to delay the vote for the moratorium until there was a valid reason for it, pointed out that a legitimate risk to public health and safety would require a ban on ALL construction that would accommodate new water users (including Accessory Dwelling Units - ADUs), and asked why no one from the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District - including Seaside’s own MPWMD board member - was at the meeting to answer basic questions and present the district's perspective on future prospects for more water supply.
Serve as Business Representative to Your School District’s Bond Oversight Committee
 
The Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (MPUSD) has a Citizens Bond Oversight Committee that serves as a check and balance to ensure the District administration and its elected Board of Trustees spend bond proceeds in compliance with law and in conformity with what voters were told when they were asked to approve Measure P in 2010 and Measure I in 2018. There is now a vacancy to represent the business community on the eight-member Bond Oversight Committee.
 
Your Chamber’s Government Affairs Liaison Kevin Dayton is the committee chair. He says the committee meets quarterly to do important work, especially as some Monterey residents criticize the school district for planning lights at the Monterey High School football field and proceeding with other building improvements at the high school. “District enrollment is dropping, schools are closing, and some residents obviously resent the continued presence of schools in neighborhoods that now have relatively few children living there,” Kevin says. “It's important to have committee members who rise above the politics of demographic change and fulfill their responsibilities under the law.”
 
The Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce encourages business representatives to contact the Chamber if interested in applying for a school board appointment to the oversight committee. Contact Monica Lal at monica@montereychamber.com or 831.648.5359.

Join Us TONIGHT at Sea Haven!
As many of you know, the government is requiring businesses to have a business retirement plan through a program called CalSavers. Edward Jones will be holding an interactive educational event regarding new and existing retirement plans.

This will be an opportunity for you to ask specific questions regarding your unique business situation. For your convenience, the event will be held in person and via Zoom. 

Seating limited for in person attendance. Please RSVP to Priscilla Cota at 831-647-9861 no later than Monday, November 15th, 2021.
P.S. 30 Off Local is KRML's local shopping program that works exclusively with local businesses, including many MPCC Members! Keep your eyes peeled for great deals, PLUS a new look coming soon!
MPCC LEADERSHIP CIRCLE
Please forward this e-blast to your colleagues, customers, clients, friends, family and fellow community members!