Substantial Environmental Review Underway for New 42-Room Hotel at Unused and Underused Land Parcels in Monterey

The City of Monterey has begun the process to prepare a full environment impact report (EIR) for the 2101 North Fremont Hotel Project at the corner of North Fremont Street and Casa Verde Way. This entails demolition of the existing one-story, 18-guest room Casa Verde Inn and 134-seat Caruso’s Corner restaurant, followed by construction by Lakshmi Hotel Partners Inc. of a new four-story, 42 guest room Avid Hotel. The City of Monterey estimates transient occupancy tax (TOT) revenue of $18.3 million over 40 years from this hotel and creation of 34 full time positions and 11 part time positions. See the city’s economic review of the project here: Economic Development Subsidy Report, 2101 North Fremont Street Hotel Project - Final.
 
This expensive, time-consuming review process is necessary because of the threat of environmental litigation from property owners in the neighborhood. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is frequently used in Monterey County and in the state as a strategy to try to stop projects or extract concessions of financial value from project owners.
 

State of California Insists on Monterey County Local Governments Increasing Their Supply of Housing

Tomorrow (Wednesday, August 10), the board of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG) will consider appeals of its Draft Regional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA) Plan. In a July 21, 2022 letter to AMBAG, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) states that it "acknowledges that many local governments will need to plan for more housing than in the prior cycle to accommodate a [plan] that more fully captures the housing need and to accommodate statutory objectives of RHNA that shift more housing planning near jobs, transit, and resources. The Monterey Bay region's housing crisis requires each jurisdiction to plan for the housing needs of their community and the region.” In other words, the State of California does not believe state laws allow local governments to avoid housing construction under the claim that there isn’t any space available to build anything.
 
Your Chamber of Commerce continues to receive occasional criticism for its support for additional housing units at a time of climate change, water shortages caused by drought and restrictive public policies, and intense resident interest in maintaining community character and quality of life. Your Chamber is also working to find areas of agreement with other organizations so we can continue to advocate for additional housing development with a louder voice. We expect this issue will be discussed by panelists at our Leadership Luncheon on Monday, September 26. Be there to hear the comments!
Monday, September 26 | 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Monterey Conference Center
$75 per person


Presented by Aera Energy, our 20th Annual Leadership Luncheon gives community leaders, local business owners and engaged citizens an opportunity to gain further insight into the current business climate on the Monterey Peninsula. An impressive panel of federal, state and local elected officials cover topics such as: new projects taking place in their jurisdictions, new business coming to the region and important issues that have impact on the future viability of our local economy.

Monterey Car Week 2022 & Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance are Almost Here!
Nearly 90,000 visitors are expect to visit the Monterey Peninsula for one of the year's most anticipated events: Car Week. For 2019—the last “normal” year— MCCVB cited visitor spending in Monterey County during Car Week at $67 million. With hotel occupancy nearly full and many events already sold out, similar numbers are expected this year.

The economic impact of events like Car Week on our Members and the local business community can not be understated. We are excited at the full return of this classic Monterey County event.

Here's too a happy & prosperous Car Week for all!

Car Week kicks off this Friday, August 12. Visit the See Monterey's Monterey Car Week Travel Information page for all things Car Week, including an interactive event map.
MPCC LEADERSHIP CIRCLE
Please forward this e-blast to your colleagues, customers, clients, friends, family and fellow community members!