Alternatives sought for River Road project
SALINAS >> A controversial proposal for a senior living facility in Salinas that has been debated for years is headed for another twist in the saga as Monterey County elected officials begin to look at an alternative that would shift the project from a senior living facility into a residential development.
The project, called the River View at Las Palmas Assisted Living Senior Facility, would cover 90,000 feet atop a hill overlooking the Las Palmas neighborhood off River Road in Salinas. It is members of that neighborhood who have been putting up a fight against the project.
Neighbors claim the project would generate too much traffic, become a fire danger for those living in the facility and that they didn’t buy into a residential neighborhood to see a major commercial project go into a space that has been designated for residential homes.
On Tuesday, instead of voting up or down on the project, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors sent it back for planning staff to begin looking at a housing alternative that the developer has indicated would be a consideration.
The last time the project came before the board it resulted in a 2-2 tie with Board Chairwoman Wendy Root-Askew absent. On Tuesday she became the swing vote and raised concerns on both sides of the fence.
Askew questioned the lack of affordability of the project, saying she “was not excited about more market-rate homes” when the county is facing a crisis of affordable housing. But she also questioned the complaint by neighbors about not wanting a commercial project in their backyard.
She noted that behind her home in Marina is a wastewater treatment plant, a landfill and a senior living facility, possibly suggesting that a not-in-my-backyard attitude is not a great argument for neighbors to make. But she also noted that the location was not ideal for a senior care facility.
“We do need places for senior care housing that are smaller and in areas with existing infrastructure like roads,” Askew said.
While the staff report asked supervisors to approve a required study on the effects the project would have on the environment and to approve a use-permit that would all but clear the way for bulldozers, what was discussed were alternatives to the senior facility.
County Counsel Les Gerard said the “applicant has indicated he would like to see an alterna
tive” in the environmental study. Anthony Lombardo, a land-use attorney with Salinas-based Anthony Lombardo and Associates Inc. who is representing the developer, referred to a 30-home development.
Neighbors countered that the county’s Specific Plan for the area — which would have to be amended by supervisors to allow the project to happen — called for three homes atop the hill.
“Three doesn’t work for anyone,” Lombardo told supervisors.
Another suggestion that arose was the concept of a “community benefit agreement” that would be designed to offset the lack of affordability by having the developer contribute into a fund that could then be tapped to provide senior housing elsewhere.
The unanimous vote by supervisors did two things. First, it directed the Housing and Community Development office to come back with a housing alternative for the project and to look at the original project but with the community benefit agreement added.
Erik Lundquist, the director of the housing office, said that if supervisors decide on the residential alternative instead of the senior facility, then it would require the developer to submit a “subdivision map” that shows improvements and lot configurations.
It would also trigger a new environmental study. These multiple layers could take a year before coming back to the board for approval, Lundquist said.