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CRA News October 2001
Selected articles from the newsletter of the Carmel Residents Association
Donna Pribble and Dick Andre had a wonderful
time with their respective spouses at "CRA Dines Out" in September at
the elegant Anton and Michel Restaurant. Everyone agreed that the food,
its presentation and the ambience were first class!
(See Photo Gallery for more photos
from this event.)
MIIS Afghanistan expert is October 25 speaker
| Thursday,October 25 -- CRA Meeting | |
| 4:45 p.m. -- Glynn Wood: The bin
Laden Crisis Vista Lobos Meeting Room, Torres between 3rd & 4th |
|
CRA's October meeting will feature Glynn Wood, Professor of International Policy Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. His talk, The bin Laden Crisis--the American Response Evolves, will be a knowledgeable and colorful discussion of Afghanistan and its infamous guest. An expert on South Asia who has spent a great deal of time in that area, Dr. Wood served with the U.S. Information Agency for five years, with postings to Lebanon, Afghanistan and India. He was acting cultural attaché in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1961-62.
Our speaker received a BA from Louisiana State University, an MA from Stanford University and a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He served as Academic Dean and Provost of the Monterey Institute for seventeen years. Previously, Prof. Wood held a faculty appointment at the American University, Washington, D.C., where he also was Dean of the School of Government and Public Administration. While in Washington, he served as South Asia Chairman at the State Department's Foreign Policy Service Institute. Glynn Wood writes and lectures on American foreign policy and on South Asian politics.
Carmel problems
intense because it is "coveted part of planet"
It was standing-room-only
when Executive Director Peter Douglas of the California Coastal
Commission spoke at the CRA's regular meeting Sept. 27. California "has
the most powerful, comprehensive coastal plan in the world," the speaker
said, and people from all over the world comment on the state's unspoiled
coastline. Much of the credit for this goes to the executive director
himself, who helped author Proposition 20 and the legislation which
implemented the program. The Commission, according to Douglas, is the
most extensive example of participatory government he has ever seen. Everything
they do is transparent and open, with endless public hearings, its practice
at which, Mr. Douglas says, many other public agencies scoff.
The plan, he said, "was born in controversy and matured in controversy.
If we weren't controversial, we wouldn't be doing our jobs." The Commission
is continually faced with thorny decisions, some turned over to them when
officials find it too difficult to buck local opinion.
Much controversy has centered around Carmel and the increasing pressure
to demolish older homes, replacing them with larger, more modern structures.
Mr. Douglas feels that his Commission is caught in the middle. Preservation
of community character is an important goal of the coastal plan and should
be handled locally. But, he said, "if the community doesn't do it, the
Coastal Commission must hold the line." Because of this, the Commission
may deny all demolitions until the City has completed its Local Coastal
Plan (LCP).
The Commission is anxious for Carmel to complete its LCP, planned for
December. (See related article.) However,
Peter Douglas said that he would rather see the city slow the pace than
to short circuit public input. As well as the community character issue,
the beach management plan will face close scrutiny.
Asked if other California coastal cities are experiencing similar problems,
Mr. Douglas said that all communities with historic roots are facing change,
called "gentrification" by some. And all deal with it in different ways.
Sometimes, he said, it affects the outcome of city elections. Carmel's
controversy is more intense, he suggested, because "it is such a coveted
part of the planet."
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We're bullish on Carmel In the days following
the unimaginably tragic September 11 attack, we have continually
been reminded by the pundits that this was not only an assault
upon our freedom but upon the financial foundation of our country.
Already shaky, the economy is now tipping into recession.
|
President's Message
by Monte Miller, President, Carmel Residents Association
Members' poll elicits thoughtful responses
We have received interesting results from
our members' poll which I would like to share with you. First, thanks
to all the participants. To date we have had a 38% rate of return, which
is excellent. A 10% rate of return for most polls is considered successful
and we are receiving more responses each day. In addition, we appreciate
the many useful comments.
The most gratifying result of the poll was to find that the board's view
of issues facing our city was supported by an overwhelming majority of
members. These results ranged from 97% down to 62% agreement with our
position on 15 of the 16 issues. Only one issue, the rail commuter service,
received 64% disagreement with the board. Most members liked the concept
of rail service, feeling it would lead to fewer cars on the road. However,
the board feels that the trains would allow more Santa Clara County workers
to move to the Peninsula, resulting in a decrease in the number of affordable
housing units that would be available for rent or purchase. More education
is needed on this issue. Board member Walter Gourlay is issue chair
for this subject and welcomes your comments. Please see his
article below.
We also learned from the poll other concerns of our members, which the
board will address in the future. These include use of pesticides on our
forested canopy, the proliferation of art galleries, fire station safety
and the raccoon problem. Members rated the following issues as most important:
preserving our residential and commercial historical character, preserving
our city parks and open spaces and protecting our city's traditional character
(no street lights, sidewalks, etc.).
The Carmel Residents Association's mission
is to maintain the quality of life in Carmel-by-the-Sea through education,
community activities and advocacy. The results of the poll are helping
the board to pinpoint areas for added education--those issues where members
have indicated they need more information before determining their positions
and their assessment of the level of importance.
Carmel
Fun Night--a delightful success
by Melanie Billig, CRA Fun Night
chair
A happy group of Carmelites
gathered on the terrace of Sunset Center on September 19 for the first
annual Carmel Business Association/Carmel Residents Association scavenger
hunt and fund-raiser to benefit the Sunset Center Project. On October
9, CRA President Monte Miller, CRA committee member Laurel
Whorf, CBA Executive Director Brenda Roncarati and Sunset
Center for the Arts chief fundraiser Nancy Doolittle presented
a check for the event proceeds--$9,000--to the City Council. $150 will
go to the Red Cross from the sale of a beautiful American flag donated
by Laurel and David Whorf. Word has it that CBA's Alan
Cordan added to the proceeds to bring the total to $9,000.
The highlight of the evening was the scavenger hunt. Marauding teams
set out in the business district to accomplish the near impossible--finding
all the items on the list made up by CBA's Gary Luce and Debbie
Alexander, who did an outstanding job of taxing our creative and
physical limits. There was great rivalry between the teams but also
camaraderie as time ran out and opposing team members shared secrets
about where to find colored tortilla chips or a dog-friendly inn. The
business people were helpful in aiding scavengers, as were police officers
who got into the act by giving tips.
Tired and hungry, the teams returned to Sunset to revive themselves
with delicious food and wine, all donated by generous local businesses.
Lisa Budlong applied her floral artistry to the tables, while
Richard Peterson, Bill and Alice Englander and
Wendy Brown handled the refreshments.
The Carmel Fun Night Committee, Alice Englander, Laurel Whorf,
Anne Bell, Diane Flanders, Richard Peterson, Lisa
Budlong, Bill Wright, Alan Cordan, CBA President Larry
Hoover, Lou Ungaretti, Mary Pankonin and Melanie
Billig, would like to thank all those businesses and individuals
who made the event such a success, including CRA and CBA volunteers
and judges for the hunt. Special kudos to the CBA staff for their incredible
organizing efforts and cheerful assistance. Please see the article
with a list of everyone who donated. We hope that those of you who missed
this year's event will join us next year and be part of the fun!
Commuter
trains?
by Walter E. Gourlay
There's a plan to open
a CalTrans commuter service from Gilroy to Salinas, with stops in Castroville
and Pajaro, linking Salinas and Monterey County to San Jose and Silicon
Valley. What's wrong with this? Isn't rail transit generally preferable
to highways for environmental reasons? Think again.
People working in Silicon Valley would find it cheaper to move to Salinas
and commute than to live closer to San Jose. We'd have a population
explosion. New residents would need their own cars for local use. We'd
have greater traffic congestion, not less, and more air pollution. We'd
need more roads, more shopping malls, more housing developments, more
look-alike, no-design houses, more schools, more paving over of agricultural
land, and more services that we'd have to pay for with higher taxes.
Do we want this?
Already our water levels are dropping, salt water is intruding, air
quality is worsening and traffic is gridlocked. Do our county "leaders"
know what they're doing? To see what our future could be, look at Walnut
Creek, once a livable, not unattractive place, somewhat like Santa Cruz,
before the Bay Area Rapid Transit system turned it into a bedroom community
for the Bay Area. Now it's the fastest growing city in the state! Is
this what we want? Farmlands, open spaces, natural resources would be
lost. Estimates are that 60% of new development would be on agricultural
lands. Salinas Valley, the richest agricultural area in the state, and
a powerhouse of our economy, might well disappear.
If you're inclined to favor the proposed commuter line out of nostalgia
for the old Del Monte Express, think again. Some day in the future you
may well look back nostalgically to the present, before the commuter
trains came. What then will you remember about our Peninsula and Salinas
Valley?
Who today wants to visit Walnut Creek?
OLD CARMEL
by Connie Wright
Harrison Memorial Library--the heart of Carmel
Located
at the corner of Ocean Avenue and Lincoln Street, Harrison Memorial,
Carmel area's public library, is a center of Carmel life. Its predecessor,
the Carmel Free Library Association, was established October 5, 1905,
by a group of ten people headed by Frank Powers. (It wasn't free--patrons
paid $1 a year). The Carmel Development Company, of which Frank Powers
was a partner, donated a little brown shingled building and a lot to
place it on. It is surprising that an isolated village with an unpaved
main street, connected to the outside world by a one-horse wagon which
served as a stage and mail carrier, should decide that it needed a library.
But it is a fact that people in Carmel have always read a lot, if not
voraciously. By 1907 the membership of the Association was seventy persons,
almost the entire population.
In 1918, Ella Reid Harrison, widow of Ralph Chandler Harrison, Justice
of the Supreme Court of California, discussed donating land for a new
library with the Trustees of the City of Carmel (the City Council of
that day). In 1922 Mrs. Harrison died in a fire which also destroyed
her Carmel home; in her will she left money and land for the construction
of a new library to be named after her husband.
Some of the City Trustees wanted to proceed with the building immediately,
others wanted delay, still others were for further consideration and
possible abandonment of the project. There were law suits and meetings.
For four years the controversy went on until May of 1926, when a new
Board of City Trustees accepted Mrs. Harrison's bequest. Six sets of
architectural plans were submitted, reviewed and rejected. Finally,
Bernard Maybeck, architect of San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts among
other projects, in collaboration with M.J. Murphy, local builder, submitted
a set of plans which were accepted. The building was dedicated March
31, 1928.
Mrs. Harrison had frequently said that she wanted "the exterior of the
building to resemble the Old Custom House of Monterey ..." (Janet Gaasch,
Carmel Pine Cone, 3/7/74). Purportedly, Maybeck stated at the
dedication in 1928: "The new library was created fundamentally as the
Spanish would have designed it, were they living here in their day.
It was meant to be more club like than any other library--with its large
fireplace and cozy reading room." (Janet Gaasch, Carmel Pine Cone,
6/6/74) The Harrison Library does in a sense follow Mrs. Harrison's
wishes and Maybeck's description since the style of the exterior is
Spanish Colonial Revival, with low pitched red tile roofs, stuccoed
exterior walls and Carmel stone columns. The interior of the building
consists of a checkout desk, reference room with very knowledgeable
reference librarians, stacks and a reading room. It is in the Reading
Room that the influence of Maybeck shows with the very large arched
window at the south end of the room and two smaller arched windows to
the west, the exposed wooden rafters, the large stone fireplace and
Mission Style furniture.
Throughout this room and other parts of the library are the works of
local artists: Ferdinand Burgdorff, Paul Dougherty, Eunice MacLellan,
M. DeNeale Morgan, William Silva, John O'Shea, Sydney Yard, Jo Mora
and Arnold Genthe. The Reading Room is a wonderful place to browse through
its many volumes or to read out-of-town newspapers or periodicals, particularly
when it's cold outside and a fire is burning in the fireplace.
In 1989, the Park Branch of the library at Sixth Avenue and Mission
Street opened. It houses the facilities for the Children's Reading Program
and the Local History Department, with its archives of Carmel's past,
closed stacks of rare books and works of local authors.
The Library also has an outreach program for seniors and children. It
takes great pride, and justifiably so, in the fact that it is a free
library for all the citizens of Monterey County and that all the funds
for books, equipment and programs are raised by donations.
Frankie Laney is "Volunteer of the Quarter"
The CRA Board has initiated
an award to recognize the contributions of our hard-working volunteers.
At the September meeting, Linda Anderson presented this award,
on behalf of the board, to Frankie Laney with the following remarks--
"The recipient of this first 'Volunteer of the Quarter' award is the
epitome of a great volunteer. I'm not sure the words, "No I can't,"
are even in her vocabulary. No matter what the task, she is always the
first to say with a smile, "I'll be happy to do that" -- making a gallon
of beans for a barbecue, an hors d'oeuvre or cleaning up after an event.
"A former CRA Board member who ably chaired the Issues Committee, this
volunteer is a former chair of the Community and Cultural Commission,
just finishing a four-year term on that body. She served on the Design
Traditions Steering Committee, is a zone leader for the St. Bernards
and manages to find time to volunteer at the Yellow Brick Road shop.
A talented watercolorist, she has served on the board of the Carmel
Art Association, which has a hard time keeping her popular paintings
on the walls of their gallery, and not sold.
"Within the week, she will embark on a totally new and different project,
becoming a first-time grandmother, which will take her volunteerism
to a new level."
CRA will march in
Halloween parade
Once again, Beach Cleanup volunteers and all other interested CRA members will march in the city's annual parade on Saturday, Oct. 27, with their familiar chant:
| In this town of pride and beauty | |
| To clean the beach is our first duty. | |
| Join us in our monthly quest | |
| And keep our beach the very best! |
Please meet at the Vista Lobos parking lot, Torres between 3rd and 4th,
at 10:15 a.m. The parade begins at 11 a.m. For more information, call
Clayton Anderson at 624-3208.
The marching takes the place of the October Beach Cleanup. The next
will be held on November 17.
Tickets for the barbecue lunch celebrating the city's 85th birthday
at noon on the 27th are available at City Hall and Nielsen
Bros. Market, or you may mail a check to Alice Englander, Box
6328, Carmel, CA 93921. Please include your name, address and telephone
number; tickets will be mailed to you. Adult tickets are $12 each; children
12 and under, $3 each. On the day of the event, adult tickets will be
$15.
CRA members on the committee are Bob Condry, Alice Englander,
Wayne Kelley, Barbara Livingston and Ken White.
The committee is looking for volunteers to clear tables and decorations
after lunch. If you can volunteer an hour of your time, please call
Barbara Livingston at 626-1610.
CRA PROFILES
by Howard Skidmore
Portrait of an involved woman
When Diane Flanders accepted the invitation to become a board member of the Carmel Residents Association she perhaps was seeking an activity to help fill her spare time.Five days a week before 5:30 a.m. Diane leaves her Carmel cottage, where a magnificent twin redwood graces the front yard, and heads for the Pebble Beach gate. At the Gallery Restaurant, overlooking the first tee of the world-famous golf links, she starts her day supervising several dozen employees and a dining room seating well over a hundred.
The Gallery, open for breakfast and lunch, serves golfers, tourists and others, who come in great numbers. That Diane treats them well is indicated by the fact that she was the Pebble Beach Company's 1999 Employee of the Year, chosen one of 1600. It won her a trip to Hawaii and cash.
When her business day ends at 3 o'clock, Diane plays tennis or goes to one of her civic activities. She is on the board of the Monterey Bay Symphony. She is a volunteer coordinator at the Monterey Museum of Art. She assists at a full schedule of CRA events, and now must fill the duties of a board member--more about that below.
If it were not for the physical impossibility of going to bed at midnight and arising a few hours later, Diane would be singing and dancing on local stages as she did for many years elsewhere, and briefly when she came to Carmel nine years ago.
Because she had restaurant management experience in Rye, a small place on the coast near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, it was the Gallery position that brought Diane to Carmel. And she considers it one of the luckiest moves of her life.
Diane was born in Columbia, South Carolina, there because her father was in the Air Force. At age three she was taken to Concord, New Hampshire. She graduated from Columbia College, in Columbia, Missouri, where she studied singing, and as one of the Jane Froman Singers, named for the actress, traveled in singing groups all over the state.
In Concord, marriage and children next claimed Diane's attention, varied with appearances in musicals and children's theater. Her husband, the late Jack Flanders II, was state comptroller and associate highway commissioner. A son, William, and Diane's mother live in Concord; there are four grandchildren.
A daughter, Jennifer, 18, was killed in an automobile accident ten years ago. She was a New England ranked tennis player, and an annual memorial tournament is held in her honor.
Diane, who on occasion answers the phone "Flanders Mansion," says she is very honored and a little overwhelmed to be a CRA director. She loves it all and will spend the first year learning about legal issues, ordinances and other aspects of city government. Monitoring council and planning commission meetings on behalf of CRA members who may not be able to attend themselves is part of a director's duties.
There is no doubt in this CRA director's mind about what she would like to see for her village. She wants Camel to stay just as it is. "The houses being torn down make me ill," she says. Diane adds this thought: "I believe that one of the most important functions of the residents' association is to educate the people, not only in Carmel-by-the-Sea but on the Monterey Peninsula and beyond, to the importance of preserving this village--this unique and precious village that we can be so close to losing."
What properties will
be defined as historic in Carmel?
by Melanie Billig
The City of Carmel has
hired preservationist Kent Seavey to develop a survey of historic
properties in the village. The intent of the survey is to clarify for
owners and public agencies which properties are historic and must be saved
and which ones do not meet the new criteria and may be demolished. These
designations go to the heart of the new preservation program and ordinance.
Mr. Seavey explained that landmark designations are easy for everyone
to agree on. There are eight in Carmel, representing people, architectural
styles or cultural contributions which are recognized nationally or statewide
such as the Mission, Forest Theater, Charles Sumner Green Studio, Sunset
Center and Carmel Art Association. The more controversial category involves
those properties designated as "Locally Historically Significant." According
to Seavey, he has identified approximately 200 properties based upon the
criteria of the state and national register. There is sure to be much
debate on the sole use of these criteria since so much of significance
in Carmel relates to our own local history and character.
Among the interesting new information to be included in Seavey's report
concerns the Tortilla Flats area in northeast Carmel, which was an important
Hispanic neighborhood. Another, "The Barn," on Carpenter, dates from 1898
and is an important reminder that Carmel had a significant agricultural
element. A shed-roofed adobe near the site of Carmel Mission's old pear
orchard dates from 1774 and may be one of the oldest homes in California.
An important category about which Seavey feels strongly is the Modernists,
those Bay Area architects, including Albert Henry Hill and Charles W.
Moore, who left a significant imprint on Carmel from 1929 to the 1960's.
Moore was a noted museum architect and preservationist. His master's thesis
was based on his vision for the preservation of Monterey and he is the
architect responsible for the addition to the former Work house, La Mirada,
now owned by the Monterey Museum of Art.
Seavey has looked at "Character Properties," related to the neighborhood
and community character issue discussed in the Design Traditions Project.
His treatment of this category, which he believes is subjective and difficult
to document, will probably be of greatest concern to the community and
open to the most discussion. The report will also include a major discussion
of historic districts, which ultimately provide the best protection for
areas or neighborhoods with a significant number of historic structures.
Seavey believes there are four such areas in Carmel. We look forward to
his report and his recommendations. One thing is certain--it will encourage
a lot of healthy debate.
Hearing
on Coastal Plan draws sparse comments
Only a handful of residents
expressed opinions at the Planning Commission's public hearing on the
Coastal Implementation Plan (IP), a thick book of ordinances which will
carry out the policies of the city's Land Use Plan (LUP).
Brian Roseth, of city staff, explained that many of the ordinances
in the IP were the same. The revisions include changes to the beach overlay
district, creation of a new environmentally sensitive habitat overlay
district, a revised tree ordinance and new provisions on urban runoff
to comply with the Federal Clean Water Act. The new historic preservation
ordinance is missing because its EIR is still circulating. [See schedule
of dates concerning the EIR.]
Planning Commission Chairman Frank Wasko started the hearing saying,
"In an ideal world, we should have the LUP before us first, but since
[the Coastal Plan] has to be done by December we are doing the IP and
LUP concurrently. We didn't pick the timetable. It was picked for us."
Jim Wright, of CRA, followed Wasko's comments asking, "How can
the Planning Commission review a Coastal Implementation Plan when the
underlying Coastal Land Use Plan has not been adopted by the city or approved
by the Coastal Commission? Furthermore, since the Land Use Plan is incomplete,
how can you determine the effectiveness of the Implementation Plan and
its consistency with the Coastal Act? The executive director of the Coastal
Commission in his remarks to the CRA and as quoted in the Herald urged
the city to take its time and get it right. Isn't anyone listening?"
Holding up a 1988 Carmel Pine Cone, Wright quoted architect Fred
Keeble, who was concerned about the residential district being adversely
affected by so many demolitions of older homes, lamenting that in 1958
there were 4 demolitions; in 1987, 6 and 1988, there were 8. "What would
he say," Wright wondered, "given our recent history with 81 demolitions
since 1997 and 19 in the pipeline now?"
Schedule for Historic Preservation EIR
| Comment Period: | September 7 to October 22 | ||
| City Council Study Session: | October 23, 5 p.m. | ||
| Historic Preservation Committee Review: | November 19 | ||
| Planning Commission Review: | November 21 | ||
| City Council Certification: | December 6 |
The EIR is available for
around $7.50 at Copies by the Sea, Dolores at 5th.
Special Thanks
The CRA and CBA thank
those generous businesses and individuals whose contributions to the
first Carmel Fun Night made it such a success--
Prize Donors: 5th Avenue Deli & Catering Company, Adam Fox, Inc.,
At Home in Carmel, Bay Publishing, Benedetti's Catering, Bruno's Market
& Deli, Carmel Bach Festival, Carmel Engraver, Carmel Magazine, Carmel
Music Society, Carmel Performing Arts Festival, Chalone Wine Foundation,
Club Jalapeño, Coast Gallery, Debra Woolley, ANA, Donlé-Elan at The
Lodge, First American Title Company, Flaherty's Seafood Grill & Oyster
Bar, Grasings & Kurt's Carmel Chop House, Inns by the Sea, Jack London's
Grill & Taproom, Little Napoli, Lugano Swiss Bistro, Maxine Klaput Antiques,
Merlot Bistro, New Masters Gallery, Nico Ristorante Mediterraneo, Pacific
Etched Glass & Crystal, Pacific Repertory Theater, Patisserie Boissiere
Restaurant & Bakery, Pauline Allen Designs & Interiors, Pebble Beach
Company, Redeem, Restaurant 211, Roy Rogers of Carmel, Saks 5th Avenue,
Sherlock Holmes Pub & Restaurant, smARTwear, Staff Players Repertory
Company, Stefano di Carmel, The Dutches, The Fabulous Toots Lagoon,
The Monterey Symphony, Thom Gregg Fine Jewelry, Village Corner and David
and Laurel Whorf.
Food Donors: 5th Avenue Deli & Catering Company, Caffe Cardinale
Coffee Roasting Company, Gwyn Romano, Il Fornaio, Inns by the Sea, Jack
London's Grill & Taproom, Nielsen Brothers Market, Patisserie Boissiere
Restaurant & Bakery, The Cheese Shop, Upper Crust Bakery.
Wine Sponsors: Inns by the Sea
Contributors: Alan H. Cordan, Realtor, First American Title Company,
First National Bank of the Central Coast and Lou Ungaretti.
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
