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Mid-Year Evaluation of Your Chamber’s Government Affairs Goals and Objectives
Your Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce annually establishes goals and objectives for its Government Affairs Committee. Below is a brief list of some things that are happening related to the 2025 Government Affairs goals.
Ensuring a Long-Term Sustainable Water Supply
- Progress on the Three-Legged Stool of the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project (MPWSP): Desalination Plant, Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR), and Pure Water Monterey.
- Ongoing process of a government takeover (Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD) of the privately-owned (Cal-Am) water supply system.
- Finding a new location for a shallow aquifer extraction well for the Sand City Desalination Plant. This new well would help the plant to produce water at capacity.
- Marina Coast Water District recently completed construction of tanks for its drinking water system and continues to advance its recycled water system.
Housing Affordability for Local Workforce - A Balanced Choice of Options
- Chamber staff prepared and distributed tables showing the progress of Monterey County local governments toward achieving their Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) goals.
- Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (MPUSD) and York School planning for workforce housing.
- Development of new housing projects including housing near Monterey City Hall, South of Tioga in Sand City, Seagrove and Campus Town in Seaside, The Dunes and Lightfighter Villae in Marina.
- Monterey County still hasn’t approved its long-overdue Housing Element of its General Plan. Some residents are opposing any county actions that would allow construction of affordable housing.
Quality of Life Issues
- Demolition continues of blighted buildings on the former Fort Ord
- Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has upgraded its large Del Monte substation in the City of Monterey near the intersection of North Fremont Street and Canyon Del Rey Boulevard. These upgrades should significantly reduce the frequency of power outages.
Transportation Improvements
- Groundbreaking has occurred for construction of a new terminal at Monterey Regional Airport.
- Groundbreaking has occurred for the Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST) SURF! Bus Rapid Transit Project.
- Preparation is underway for a roundabout in Carmel Valley at the intersection of Carmel Valley Road and Laureles Grade.
- The Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC) Measure X sales tax continues to support local and regional transportation construction projects.
- The Measure S sales tax (funds improvements to streets, sidewalks, and storm drains in the City of Monterey) and Measure Q sales tax (funds public transit services for seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities) are scheduled to expire unless voters renew them.
Promoting Military Capabilities of Existing Bases
- The U.S. Navy continues planning for construction of the Naval Innovation Center at Naval Support Activity Monterey (NSAM).
- Currently there is no serious public discussion of a new round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) and no chatter about base closures on the Monterey Peninsula.
- The County of Monterey has applied for a federal Defense Community Infrastructure Program grant to help fund the Jolon Road Safety Improvement Project near Fort Hunter Liggett.
To read the full update, including detailed insights on each of our 2025 Government Affairs Committee goals and the latest developments impacting our local business community, please click here.
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