Posted on 06/12/2005 8:35:31 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Monterey County has officially notified the California Coastal Commission of its approval of the Pebble Beach Co.'s plans for redevelopment of Del Monte Forest, an action that starts the clock ticking on any public appeal of the proposal to the Coastal Commission.
The mailing, outlining the county Board of Supervisors' decision on March 15, was sent out Friday, according to Tom McCue, senior planner in the county Planning and Building Department.
The supervisors unanimously approved the Pebble Beach Co.'s Del Monte Forest Preservation and Development Plan, which calls for new projects at 13 locations in the forest, including an 18-hole golf course, a golf driving range, 160 new visitor suites, a new equestrian center in the Sawmill Gulch area next to Holman Highway, 33 residential lots in five subdivisions and 60 employee housing units.
The company will set aside 492 acres of permanent forest and open space, relocate existing trails and construct new ones, and make improvements in roads and infrastructure, including a remake of the Highway 1 gate at Holman Highway.
Attorney Anthony Lombardo, representing the company, said the plan also sets aside Monterey pine forest areas for preservation on land it owns outside Pebble Beach: 139 acres of the Old Capital Site next to Del Monte Center and 279 acres adjacent to Jacks Peak Park.
The plan is designed around the provisions of Measure A, which was approved by a countywide vote in November 2000.
Coastal Commission staffers and local environmentalists have expressed concern about the plan's effect on the Monterey pine forest. The proposal would eliminate about 17,000 trees.
Residents of the Del Monte Park area of Pacific Grove near Sawmill Gulch have contended that moving the equestrian center there will create problems in their neighborhood with traffic, odor and flies.
Pebble Beach Co.'s application may be appealed to the Coastal Commission, McCue said, and on receiving the official notice, the commission establishes a 10-working-day appeal period.
"Providing the notice is adequate, that would start it," said Diana Chapman, commission secretary. "It has not come in yet."
The document, known as a Final Local Action Notice, or FLAN, must contain certain items, she said, and not having seen it, the commission staff can't say whether it is adequate or not. FLANs have to be sent through the mail, Chapman added, and are not accepted via e-mail or fax.
Coastal Commission planner Dan Carl said the appeal period starts the day after the final notice is received.
"We already have six appeals waiting," he added. "I'm sure there'll be more."
People interested in the project, she said, can call the commission office in Santa Cruz at 427-4863, or write to the office, 725 Front St., Suite 300, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, to learn if the appeal period has started and get advice on how to file an appeal.
Copies of the Board of Supervisors' resolutions approving the Pebble Beach Co.'s project can be found on the county Planning and Building Department's Web site, www.co.monterey.ca.us/pbi/major/pbc/bos_resos.htm ...
By 2065, nobody may legally live in Kali.
Only illegally...
Thanks to the environmentalists' hero, Gary Patton, those trees have pitch canker. So we have only to wait and they'll all be dead.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.