CRA News May 2001

The economic realities of historic preservation
by Melanie Billig, CRA President

One of the most surprising aspects of the recent debate on historic preservation has been the lack of understanding on the part of some as to what a great financial resource historic preservation can be for any community, particularly one like Carmel. Carmel's cultural heritage, its small-scale environment, its eclectic architecture and outstanding physical environment are the foundation for our tourist economy. If we demolish the cottages and landscaping and replace them with cookie-cutter look-alikes, make most lots 40' x 100 ', change the human scale, neglect the forest and intensify downtown uses, we will watch our tourism decline. Historic character attracts visitors. People visit places that respect their heritage. Once Carmel's past, both homes and shops, is gradually demolished, will as many visitors come? How then would city government find the economic resources to provide for services and infrastructure needs?

Other communities like Monterey, Salinas, Pasadena and the Gold Rush towns appreciate and preserve their cultural heritage, earning money from it to enhance their communities. Cultural tourism is viewed by many across the country as a very good investment, especially if historic character is properly linked with the arts. This would be a natural for Carmel. To some, this may seem crass. However, economic arguments convince many of the worthiness of historic preservation as a community goal.

It will take real political will on the part of our current city leaders to look at what is in the overall best interests of Carmel and to not be blinded by short-sighted special interest groups who do not yet understand that preservation benefits everyone. I would encourage the City Council to foster historic preservation rather than fight it, if for no other reason than that it makes good business as well as political sense.

April cottage tour was a huge success for Carmel-by-the-Sea

What a fabulous Saturday afternoon! The rain stopped. The air was fresh and clear. The flowers, trees and shrubs showed all the signs of Spring. It was a perfect day to tour some of Carmel's most charming homes. We applaud the Carmel Preservation Foundation and the Carmel Cottage Society for a fabulous opportunity to visit ten delightful homes, all of which so wonderfully displayed how easy and satisfying it is to preserve and restore the characteristic cottages of Carmel's past. It was especially rewarding to know that these jewels so easily could have been lost to the wrecking ball had their owners not had a sense of place and preserved them for the future. For one day, almost 800 of us had an opportunity to look inside the walls of these special places. For the rest of the year, as we walk by, we will smile and remember the day we toured the cottages with neighbors, visitors and friends, who had all come to celebrate the real Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Council passes Design Traditions Ordinance

After four years of countless meetings, workshops and public hearings responding to the community's increasing concern and frustration about the mass and bulk of new houses, the Design Traditions Ordinance was presented to the City Council on May 1. Following a marathon public hearing and discussion, the final vote was 4-1, (Gerard Rose dissenting), to adopt the ordinance, which will become part of the recently-adopted Local Coastal Plan.

Key elements of this ordinance are increased variable side yard setbacks to allow for more landscaping, incentives for voluntary lot mergers, a new residential design-review process and a bonus system allowing more square footage for applicants who are willing to put some of their building in a basement level.

The most critical and controversial portion of the ordinance is a new system of controlling the size of new homes by calculating the total volume of the structure rather than just square footage. This concept was developed by a subcommittee which included three architects. In April, the Planning Department conducted a well-attended and informative public tour of homes to explain how this new volumetric measurement system will work. According to retired architect and former Planning Commission chair Olof Dahlstrand, "We didn't want to be too harsh, but wanted to curb mass and bulk. We did a lot of research and think the numbers are fair, will not penalize people and will encourage designers and architects to produce something that is great for the community. Designers and owners have much more freedom, but the community will be saved from starter castles."

The Planning Commission voted unanimously for the ordinance on April 17, noting the importance of the occasion by thanking the staff and all who had dedicated so much time to bring this project to fruition. Special praise was given to consultant Noré Winter, who worked so diligently with staff and the Steering Committee of 19 residents. During the public hearing, a number of designers, builders and realtors asked to have the ordinance passed without the volumetrics, many saying they thought the concept was "intriguing" but needed more study. Several disputed the increase in side-yard setbacks. One speaker suggested that those who were trying to postpone approval were those whose profits are related to the size of homes. Mayor Sue McCloud, Councilman Dick Ely and Councilwoman Barbara Livingston felt that it was time to respond to the concerns of the community, let the ordinance start working, and review it in twelve to eighteen months. Councilwoman Paula Hazdovac expressed many doubts but voted for the ordinance with the proviso that before the second reading in June, staff would come back with answers to questions about the cost of making volumetric calculation, availability of computer programs and information on other cities which are using this system. Councilman Gerard Rose, whose brother-in-law is a prominent Carmel builder/developer, citing strong opposition to the volumetrics and the increased setbacks, voted no.

12th street beach access stairway approved

Two important civic projects, both funded by grants, have for unknown reasons been kept waiting in the wings for City Council approval. The beach stairway access at 12th Avenue and Scenic Road, an established goal of the city since 1983, was brought to the front burner after three former mayors, Charlotte Townsend, Jean Grace and Ken White, among others, asked during recent budget hearings that this project be addressed. During the El Niño storms of 1982-83, the stairs were washed away. In May of 1999, the Coastal Conservancy awarded the city a grant of $165,000 and a project design was completed and approved by the Planning Commission in September, 2000. The Forest and Beach Commission and Beach Task Force have also reviewed and supported this plan. The City Council approved it on May 1.

The San Carlos improvement project, whose goal is to improve the safety and ambiance of this major Carmel street, will hopefully also be looked upon favorably by the Council. The neighborhood group which proposed this project has donated over $6,000 of its own funds and secured a grant of $155,000. They expect to hear soon about a second grant of $40,000. The improvements are especially fitting since the soon-to-be-remodeled Sunset Center sits on San Carlos Street.

Forest Theater Master Plan Presented to Council

Architect Brian Congleton made a special presentation to the City Council in April on the Forest Theater Master Plan. Prepared under the direction of the Community and Cultural Commission, the process included many meetings involving users, neighbors and the public. The goal is to make the theater experience better for everyone involved.

The all-inclusive report has a bottom line of $1,423,000. The Cultural Commission, however, has outlined priorities to be completed first: audience safety with improved pathways and handicapped parking, improved patron and on-stage rest rooms, improved circulation in the theater and tree planting and reforestation.

One of Congleton's most innovative ideas is to have the audience enter the theater at mid-section rather than through the crowded orchestra pit. The row of seats in front of the stone wall would ultimately be taken out to make room for pedestrian traffic, with the removed seats replaced at row ends. Other improvements include a larger ticket booth, modifications in the Indoor Theater and improved traffic circulation with a drop-off area for passengers and their picnic supplies. Sound and light studies are proposed to deal with noise and glare in the neighborhood.

Parking and traffic are especially difficult problems with the surrounding narrow, dark streets. The city is removing some parking spaces because safety vehicles cannot get through with cars on both sides of some streets. A possible solution is to implement a shuttle service from Sunset Center or Vista Lobos.

A major challenge is balancing the increasing impact of the theater on surrounding residents with the needs of the user groups. The increased length of the season, the addition of two movie nights per week, nightly scheduled performances or rehearsals, enhanced amplification and late-night cast parties are a concern. The Cultural Commission voted to cap seating at 540 persons, which the Forest Theater Foundation has said it will support. A study by Sunset Center staff showed that average audience size over the past eight years is 200 - 250. Over the next few months, the Cultural Commission will hold public hearings to determine the appropriate use level of the theater and the length of the operating season.

Local History Lecture is on World War II

The year's final Local History Lecture, The Carmel Home Front - Life during World War II, will be held Monday, May 14, at 7 p.m. in Carpenter Hall at Sunset Center. The speakers are Charles and Hazel Mohler, who lived in Carmel during the war years. Charles, a wounded veteran, worked as an author and editor and Hazel was involved with the USO. Local citizens worked hard in the war effort. The USO was nationally known for its theatrical and musical events and for making service personnel feel at home during those stressful years.

Beach Cleanup

Saturday, May 26
10 a.m. - noon (weather permitting)

* Volunteers meet at foot of Ocean Avenue
* Please bring gloves
* Coffee and pastries served courtesy of Carmel Bakery and Caffe Cardinale

A Conversation with City Planner Ron Fleming
by John Hicks, former president, Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation

Ron Fleming, a distinguished urban design scholar, writer and preservation advocate, was a recent house-guest of CRA members Pope and Constance Coleman. A Californian by birth, and familiar with Carmel, Fleming is the president of the Townscape Institute of Cambridge, Mass. The author of Do We Have to be Ugly?, among many other books on urban design, he is widely known for restoration and preservation projects in this country and abroad. Fleming has long watched Carmel's struggle to sustain its traditional character and uniqueness.

Over breakfast Fleming talked with Pope Coleman, chair of Carmel's Design Traditions Project, and with John Hicks. Our dialogue began with Fleming's asking, "What institutions define and transmit the values and identity Carmel wants to protect?" We found ourselves talking when we had hoped to be listening.

For a start, we mentioned CRA and Carmel's other groups that remain vigilant of the town's appearance and welfare. We also cited the city's Design Traditions Project. County-wide, we pointed to the work of LandWatch and Big Sur Land Trust. Fleming took up this theme with enthusiasm. It was necessary, he said, "to create a resonance between people and place." To do so, he continued, "ideas and ideals have to be clearly stated, firmly joined, easily grasped." It is best when "the people's sense of place is kept focused and sharp." For illustration, he proffered a possible sample statement: "Carmel is a pedestrian's town; the automobile is subservient." He encouraged us when we amplified his illustration with other statements often repeated among our villagers -- "Carmel is a residential community." "Carmel is a village in a forest." "Carmel is a city-by-the-sea whose streets are country lanes."

It would help immensely, he advised, if in precisely this manner we continued "to focus down to an intimate view of place and purpose." He thought that the natural beauty of Carmel had drawn people here originally and in the years since. The idea of protecting and sharing Carmel's natural beauty is still the best base "for building and sustaining a crucial consensus in the community."

We thought there was evidence in Carmel to show such process at work. There are vocal partisans making their voices and presence known. There are organizations promoting ideas and ideals: those already mentioned, and others such as the Carmel Cottage Society, Carmel Heritage, Carmel Preservation Foundation, Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation, et al. But we also wondered if these memberships were broad enough or vigorous enough to countervail the negative forces looming so ominously today. For powerful forces can now be seen to converge. There is always the threatened outbreak of anonymous commercial values and private interests over public values; of short-sighted, short-term gain and manipulation over long-term vision and devotion to the community. Today we see the influxes of great wealth, of huge homes and investment properties replacing formerly modest cottages. Fewer families with children are able to afford to live here. There is a growing percentage of absentee property owners--people who live and vote elsewhere and who tend to resent the imposition of building ordinances and other restraints whose value to themselves they do not comprehend.

In acknowledging the spread of such dangers, here, as well as nation-wide, Fleming spoke with memorable vigor and vividness. "Some forces are like Dracula. You have to drive a stake through their heart," he said. He further insisted: "Consumption values have to be balanced with spiritual values." "Yes, it takes constant effort, strategy and resolve."

To reinforce his point, Fleming asked a series of questions raised as a climax to our hour of conversation, and as material for further thought.

"Could wealth, or influence, or both, be channeled to work for Carmel instead of in opposition?" The Doris Duke fortune, for example, had helped to stabilize change and to restore historic properties elsewhere. Yes, we answered. It can and has. We mentioned Senator Fred Farr organizing to save Tor House; Clint Eastwood saving the artichoke fields and the viewshed on the southern approaches to Carmel, and the restoration at Mission Ranch. The Packard Foundation gave generously for repairs at Tor House and for other community causes; the Buck Foundation had endowed the Local History Room at Harrison Library.

"Do you," Fleming asked, "keep in the town's collective memory the challenges you have failed to meet? Regrets can be useful too. Sometimes it helps to juxtapose what is lost, or in peril, with what has been saved. Contrast can inspire fresh incentives." But again we wondered if incentives were going to be enough to save the smaller, less dramatic, but equally vital components of Carmel's special character and unique sense of place.

Fleming persisted. "Preservation doesn't just happen. It results from foresight, intelligence, work and persuasion. Recognizing inspired work and persons is important for local pride, for a patina of local history that will keep collective memory alive. Is Carmel's history and tradition well enough perceived to be transmitted effectively to changing generations and new population? By what means does Carmel recognize its legendary past, or the figures, whether remote or recent, who have helped define the way of life Carmel has traditionally offered?" It is important, he thought, for Carmel to keep "a high visual threshold, wisely using photography and paintings." Ron Fleming's contagious talk and probing questions left us energized and hopeful, but also cognizant of what it requires, of how much our community must still commit to do ... and keep doing over and over again as each new generation comes along. We owe it to ourselves and to this place, this magnificent place.

OUR FAVORITE PLACES

Thanks for the memories

Bully III
Carumba
Mediterranean Market
Nature Company
Pasqual's
Village Straw Shop
United Nations Shop

It was a great shock for your CRA News editor to hear about the Bully III, since we had taken our son, daughter-in-law and 17-month old grandson there just a few nights before it closed. It was a perfect place for young families and for all of us not-so-young locals. And, ironically, CRA President Melanie Billig was planning to write a recommendation this month in this column for Pasqual's.

If you don't want this list to grow, please remember to shop as often as you can in downtown Carmel. You won't be sorry. The service is better, the prices are good and the shops and restaurants are right here within our own square mile.

Farewell, Bill Hill--Welcome, Sidney Reade

At the April City Council meeting, City Administrator Rich Guillen introduced Sidney Reade, who will serve as Interim Fire Chief until the city hires a permanent person to replace Chief Bill Hill, who has just retired after 37 years. A native of Carmel, Sidney is currently Chief of the Carmel Valley Fire Protection District, which has contracted to help Carmel during this period. Sidney's husband is a deputy fire marshal in Monterey.

Remember that your City Council is on T.V.

City Council meetings are taped and re-broadcast
Sundays, 8 a.m. - 12 noon on
KMST Channel 26