Monterey Zoning Administrator Meeting - May 15, 2025
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Monterey Zoning Administrator Meeting - May 15, 2025
The Monterey Zoning Administrator, Levi Hill, convened a public hearing on May 15, 2025. The agenda included approval of the April 17, 2025 meeting minutes and consideration of two use permit applications: a retaining wall at 469 Toyon Drive and a motor vehicle rental use at 791 Foam Street.
Discussion Items
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Approval of April 17, 2025 Meeting Minutes: The minutes were approved as submitted without any edits or public comment.
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469 Toyon Drive – Retaining Wall Over 6 Feet (UP240044): Applicant Jack Camp of Central Coast Civil and Structural Engineering, on behalf of owner Larry Burkett, requested a use permit for a retaining wall exceeding six feet in height. Staff presented the project as CEQA exempt (Class 3) and recommended approval, finding the wall consistent with the R1 zoning and not detrimental to public safety. The wall would stabilize a hillside and was designed by a licensed engineer. Contractor Dustin Lilly spoke in support, describing a severe hillside slip that damaged the property, which the owner attributes to drainage changes from upstream permitted projects. He noted the owner had applied for FEMA assistance and that the cost and process had been detrimental to the elderly homeowner and his wife, who has dementia. No public comment was received. The Zoning Administrator approved the permit with conditions.
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791 Foam Street – Motor Vehicle Sales and Rental (UP250061): Applicant Alistair Clements, representing business owner Adam Foster, sought a use permit for a retail sales major / motor vehicle rental use in a mixed-use neighborhood under the Planned Community Lighthouse Specific Plan (PCLH). Staff recommended approval, noting no additional parking is required under the specific plan. The use would store small rental vehicles in a gated rear lot and operate with one to two staff per shift. The police department had no objections. Alistair Clements described the business as similar to Go Car Tours, providing recreational opportunities for tourists and locals. Adam Foster spoke via Zoom in support, thanking the committee. No public comment was received. The Zoning Administrator approved the permit with conditions.
Key Outcomes
- Approved the April 17, 2025 meeting minutes as submitted.
- Approved Use Permit UP240044 for the retaining wall at 469 Toyon Drive with conditions.
- Approved Use Permit UP250061 for motor vehicle rental at 791 Foam Street with conditions.
- Decisions are appealable to the Planning Commission within 10 days.
Meeting Transcript
Meeting to order. My name is Levi Hill. I'll be serving as zoning administrator for today's meeting. Recording Secretary Barrera, will you please announce staff president remind the public how they can participate in the meeting? Sure. We have our planning manager, Levi Hill, serving as zoning administrator. We have our senior associate planner, Matthew Bugart, and again myself, recording Secretary Eric Cabrera. Information on participating in this meeting and providing public comment, including remotely by Zoom or telephone is on this meeting's agenda, which is online at Monterey.gov forward slash agendas. Item two, the consideration of the April 17th, 2025 meet meeting minutes. I see no hands raised in the chambers, and there are no hands raised online. Thank you. Seeing and hearing none, I was present at the April 17th meeting. I have reviewed the draft minutes and have no edits. The April 17th, 2025 ZA meeting minutes are hereby approved as submitted. I'll now open the meeting to the public comments for items not on today's agenda. If there are any members of the public wishing to speak on items that are not on the agenda, please approach the podium or online, use the raise hand function. Anyone online? There are no hands raised. Thank you. Seeing no hands raised and no one at the podium in the chambers, we'll move on. Uh to our first public hearing item, which is item number three. Well, it's consideration of 469 Toyon Drive, use permit application UP twenty-four zero zero four four for retaining wall over six feet in height. Applicant Jack C. Camp, Central Coast Civil and Structural Engineering Incorporated, owner Larry Burkett. Uh CEQA exempt section fifteen three oh three class three. Do we have a staff report? Thank you. This would be the aesthetic of the wall uh with natural wood. Um this is a similar retaining wall in the area at Pacific Street in Bartolomeo A. There are three findings required to be made of the use permit. One that the use is in accord with the objectives of the zoning ordinance and the purposes of the zone. The land use map designates the site for residential use, and the improvements are consistent with continued use as residential. And retaining walls exceeding six feet in height are permitted with a conditional use permit, which is why we are here today. Additionally, the project must be found to not be detrimental to the public health safety or welfare of persons residing or working in or adjacent to the neighborhood of the use. The project would provide stability to the hillside, would promote improved safety. It's located entirely on the project site. It would not increase service water flows to the adjacent lots. That's included as part of the redesign as well. And the design was by a licensed engineer and will also require a building permit. Finally, the proposed use must comply with any specific condition and conditions included to comply with the recommendations of the project biologist and technical engineer are included as part of the resolution and attachments. With that, staff's recommendation is that the zoning administrator approve the use permit with conditions. That concludes staff's presentation. And I believe the applicant is here. Great. Thank you. Excellent report. Is the applicant present and would they like to make a presentation? Hi, I'm Jack Camp, the design engineer and uh applicant. Um, I didn't prepare a presentation for this meeting since we presented it last year, and I felt that Matthew would be able to put together uh the slides to compare what was proposed before and how it's been altered to get out of the boundary now. Um and then am available to ask answer any questions if anyone has any.
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