CRA News February 2001

Selected articles from the newsletter of the Carmel Residents Association

Featured speaker in January, Gary Patton, second from left,
enjoyed meeting new CRA members, from left, Carolyn
Bardsley, Hank Bardsley, David Marsh and Susan Marsh.

Acting Police Chief Floyd Sanderson and Detective Sergeant Pete Poitras are Speakers for Feb. 22 CRA Meeting

Citizen of the Year Nominations due by March 1

If you know a worthy recipient for this coveted award, please write a letter to:

    Citizen of the Year Committee
    P.O. Box 13
    Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93921

Include with your letter all related background material you can find on the nominee: his or her activities and contributions to Carmel-by-the-Sea. Nominees must be residents of Carmel or its sphere of influence but do not have to be members of the CRA. Any person or group may make a nomination.

In making your nomination, please consider the following guidelines:

Previous Citizens of the Year are Jim Wright, Joyce Stevens, Enid Sales, Jack Billwiller, Skip Lloyd, Noel Mapstead, Clayton Anderson, Roy Thomas, Jean White, Bob Kohn, Linda Anderson, John Hicks and Noel Van Bibber.

The Energy Crisis Hits Home

We are disturbed to hear that in the recent chilly weather some residents have been keeping their heat at uncomfortable, possibly dangerous levels in fear of not being able to afford their PG&E bills. We all should conserve and, judging from conversations around town, everyone is taking this seriously and doing his or her part. But, no one should have to physically suffer because of the power crisis. There are programs available for rate relief depending upon income level.

o The Federal Low-Income Home Energy Program (HEAP) assists with gas and electric bills, wood or propane for eligible low-income households. For information, call the Alliance on Aging at 646-1458. To qualify for this program you must have a maximum annual income of $17,228 for a single-person household; $22,529, for two. Proof of income is required.

o California Alternative Rates for Energy (CARE) provides a 15% discount on gas and electric bills. Household's gross income cannot exceed $18,200 for 1 or 2 people, or $21,500 for three. Both this and HEAP are administered by Energy Services-Community Action Board in Watsonville. Their toll-free telephone number is 1-888-728-3637.

o A third program, Relief for Energy Assistance through Community Help (REACH) is funded by PG&E and managed by the Salvation Army. REACH provides onetime energy assistance to customers who have no other way to pay their bill. Its intent is to assist low-income customers who experience severe hardships. However, the customer has to have previously applied to the HEAP program (above) to qualify for assistance under REACH. The Salvation Army will be happy to answer any questions at 899-4988.

Unfortunately, there are people above these income levels for whom bloated utility bills will still be a hardship. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the city would decide to set aside the money it plans to spend on subsidizing private mail courier service to help offset utility bills for those who need extra help. After all, the CRA volunteer service is totally free and already in place for those who physically cannot get to the Post Office.

New Coastal Land Use Plan Will Greatly Affect Carmel
by Melanie Billig, President, Carmel Residents Association

The draft of our city's new Local Coastal Land Use Plan and the Initial Environmental Study are now available for public review and comment. They can be read at the Harrison Memorial Library, purchased for $11 at Copies-by-the-Sea or seen on the Library's web site. These documents and the public debate on them will be of significant long-term importance to the future of our village.

Most of the goals, policies and objectives have been taken from other elements of the General Plan. There are, however, some topics for which major new policies were required, including conservation of character in the commercial district, shoreline protection and environmentally sensitive habitat areas.

This new element of the General Plan covers three broad topics: Community Character and Development, Access and Recreation and Coastal Resource Management. In each of these areas the plan sets forth goals, objectives and policies which will guide decision-making. The topic of community character is of special importance because of deep concern over the erosion of our neighborhood character and changes in the downtown.

The plan discusses elements important to our community character, such as maintaining a human scale in all development, preserving and enhancing the natural environment, and "respecting the past as a continuing legacy that challenges each citizen to preserve the city's character in spite of on-going change." The close connection between the natural and the built environment is strongly recognized and reinforced. The new policies for the commercial district are in response to the weakness in the existing General Plan, which does not provide strong support for the special features of our downtown.

The Coastal Act does not specifically talk about historic preservation. However, it has very strong policies protecting "community character," which is a part of historic preservation. The policies in the city's draft are not as strongly supportive of historic preservation as many Carmelites may like.

Everyone will have ample opportunity to comment on this document. See the box below for public hearing dates. Also, be looking for a city newsletter in the next few weeks on all of this. Please give it a good read.

President's Message

by Melanie Billig, President, Carmel Residents Association

This month I have been reflecting on the enormity of village issues that will soon be debated. Many have been discussed in past issues of the CRA News. Rather than do another article, I would like to share with you some perceptive quotes from Neal Owen Kruse, former chair of the visionary 2016 Committee and our speaker at the January, 2000, general meeting.

"It's never enough in Carmel to do nothing. Carmel will change one way or the other. Carmel has remained special because it has actively resisted the tide of the world around it. If the resistance stops, Carmel will become like any other modern city."

"Money-first thinking is not the way to run a family or a city. First, you decide what it is you want, what it is you must have and then you look at whether or not you can afford it, and if you can't, how to create the funds you need. You use the vision to create the money. Using money to decide which vision to create makes of your city or your family just another corporation, whose main concerns are its shareholders."

"From the very first, when the railroad was not continued into Carmel, one sees the spirit of Carmel as having resisted the ordinary life of progress, business, money and efficiency. From its inception, when firmly in the hands of 'contrarians,' it has pushed against the tide of maximum efficiency and dug in its feet to preserve a way of life more true to the human soul, more nourishing to the inner life."

"Carmel is not about efficiency and effectiveness. Those are the concerns of business. Carmel is concerned with living. No street lights, having to go the post office and see your friends to collect your mail, having to wind your car past trees, these things created by people who are concerned with creating a wonderful life, not a successful business."

Flanders decision on hold

The report and a decision on the disposition of the Flanders property, along with its adjacent parkland, were removed from the City Council's February 6th agenda at the eleventh hour. Many people had planned to attend this very important meeting. The alert and ever-helpful city staff notified enough people so that those planning to attend could be informed of the change and we thank them for their courtesy. Staff made the change because it believed more in-depth information was needed in order to make a thorough recommendation to the council. No date has been set as to when the council will hear this issue. We will keep you posted.

Council supports concept of a Business Improvement District

The committee set up by the City Council to study the feasibility of a Business Improvement District (BID) reported to the Council at its last meeting that they recommend proceeding with this concept, which they estimate will raise $500,000 annually. The committee has divided all city businesses into four categories, with resident-serving businesses paying the least, retail more and hotels paying the most. Landlords are excluded. It was pointed out that businesses can pass these taxes on to their customers. Merv Sutton, committee chair, said that the BID should be tried for a year and then reevaluated.

One of the committee's charges from the Council was "to determine proposed member support for the BID program." The committee was unanimous, but it is not clear how the totality of Carmel business feels. However, Mel Kline, Chair of the Business District Advisory Committee, pointed out that the BID can go forward unless more than 50% of businesses by dollar value object. The hotels and innkeepers have more than 50% of total revenues, so they have control and are in favor of it.

BIDs were created via state law to help promote the economic viability of downtown areas. They are to be formed with the support of the businesses in the specified area, who agree to assess themselves in order to raise monies for marketing and downtown improvements. This concept was originally designed to assist decaying downtowns, although any community can use it.

An advisory board would be established with two members from each assessment category and one at-large member. This board proposes a budget for how monies are to be spent and the City Council must approve it. In response to a question by Dick Ely, the City Council would not be represented on the board.

There was some confusion as to how the $500,000 collected each year would be used. According to Merv Sutton, the funds would be used only for marketing Carmel. This could include picking up the $117,000 the city now spends for marketing plus a proposed $182,000 contribution to the Monterey County Convention and Visitors' Bureau. These marketing efforts focus on bringing visitors during off-peak times. However, innkeeper John Wilson said that "parking facilities could be a use of funds in the first or a future budget." And, in response to an audience question, there seemed to be general agreement that a parking structure would be the second priority after paying for the marketing program.

The City Council voted unanimously to direct staff to work out the details and craft an ordinance which must be approved before the BID can proceed. Included in the staff report, which should be ready by the April 3 council meeting, will be a list of uses for the funds raised as well as recommendations on the selection of the advisory committee. At that time, the public will have more information on which to comment and any inconsistencies can be explained.

Remember, you could have seen all of the above in living color if you had tuned in to Channel 26 at 8 a.m. Sunday!

The kind of shop that made Carmel famous

Looking for an elegant and unique mother-of-the-groom outfit, Frankie Laney found it at smARTwear on Dolores, 2 southwest of Fifth. According to Frankie, "This is the kind of shop that made Carmel shopping famous, a one-of a-kind place carrying one-of-a-kind-clothing. Owner Renee Sherrer-Bonifas seeks only hand-made pieces with integrity and quality that will hold up over time. Encouraging artists from the U.S.A. and all over the world, she supports indigenous craft traditions and is careful that fair-labor practices are employed. No slave or child labor is used. Renee holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in textiles and has a background in the theater. You can enjoy and invest in these pieces of wearable art Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and by appointment."

Local history lecture features the legacy of Ella Reid Harrison

The Henry Meade Williams Local History Lecture Series on Monday, Feb. 26, will feature well-know antiquarian book dealer Cecil Wahle, who will discuss the book collection owned by Ella Reid Harrison. What does Harrison's book collection reveal about her life at the turn of the last century? In 1922, Mrs. Harrison bequeathed to the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea land and money to build our beloved Harrison Memorial Library in memory of her husband, Judge Ralph Chandler Harrison. Her books form an important part of the library's special collections and help shed light on this generous and cultured woman.

Lectures will be given at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at the Library's Park Branch, at the corner of 6th and Mission streets. Come early to get a seat.