SEASIDE GENERAL PLAN UPDATE EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT Prepared by: Raimi + Associates - Project Lead Rincon Consultants, Inc. Lisa Wise Consulting, Inc. TJKM Veronica Tam and Associates Inc. Whitson Engineers TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 2. DEMOGRAPHICS AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS 3. MARKET AND ECONOMICS 4. LAND USE 5. COMMUNITY DESIGN 6. TRANSPORTATION + PARKING 7. HOUSING CONDITIONS 8. PARKS AND PUBLIC FACILITIES 9. CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 10. HAZARD, AIR QUALITY, AND NOISE 11. UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE 12. HEALTH CONDITIONS 1. Introduction The City of Seaside is embarking on a significant and exciting multi-year effort to develop a new General Plan. This Existing Conditions Report is an initial step in the Seaside 2040 General Plan update planning process. The report will help inform the City of Seaside Aerial View. update of the General Plan, which serves as the City’s long-term blueprint for important topics such as land use, mobility, conservation, infrastructure, community character, and quality of life. This report provides background information about the Seaside General Plan Update, including the purpose of the document, City history, a description of the planning area, and information about General Plans. It also includes a range of information and data about the demographic, physical, natural, economic, and transportation conditions in Seaside. It is intended to document the baseline conditions in the City of Seaside, while also providing contextual comparisons with Monterey County and California where applicable. Data and information in the document were collected from a variety of sources, including statistics from the U.S. Census, conversations with community leaders, and City staff. The report is intended to stimulate comments, ideas, and further discussion during the General Plan update process. It is intended for use by a range of stakeholders, such as City staff, decision makers, property owners, residents, and community members of Seaside. EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT | 1-1 chapter 1: INTRODUCTION Figure 1-1: City of Seaside 1-2 | CITY OF SEASIDE chapter 1: INTRODUCTION What is a General Plan? A General Plan is a city policy document required by state law (Government Code Section 65300-65303.4) that provides a “long term, comprehensive, integrated, internally consistent and compatible statement” of goals and policies that reflect local conditions and the community vision. The plan serves as a basis for decisions that affect Seaside’s future. The law requires that a General Plan address the following seven mandatory subject areas, or “elements:” Land use. The land use element identifies the location and intensity of land uses throughout the City. Circulation. This element plans for the transportation system including roadways, transit, bicycle and pedestrian facilities; it can also address sewer, gas, water, and other infrastructure conveyance systems. Housing. The housing element seeks to accommodate housing needs for all incomes, groups with disabilities, and the homeless. Open space. The open space element identifies parks and open space throughout the City. Conservation. This element guides the use and conservation of natural resources such as soils, wildlife, water, energy, and historic resources. Noise. This element seeks to limit the community’s exposure to excessive noise. Safety. The safety element seeks to reduce the risk of death, injuries, property damage, and economic and social dislocation from natural and human-made hazards. State law also allows for optional “elements” and for elements to be organized or combined at the City’s discretion. For example, the City of Seaside’s 2004 General Plan includes an optional Economic Development Element. The State requires cities to maintain a regularly updated General Plan to keep pace with changing conditions and community priorities. Purpose of the General Plan Update Since the creation of the 2004 Seaside General Plan, there have been significant shifts in the City’s economic and housing markets, demographics, land use, transportation system, community character, and infrastructure demands. This General Plan Update seeks to bring the plan up-to-date by: Engaging community members to express their collective values to create a common vision for the City’s future. Refining the land use and community character vision for potential growth areas of the City. Incorporating recently created plans, such as the West Broadway Specific Plan, Main Gate Specific Plan, and the Seaside East Conceptual Plan. EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT | 1-3 chapter 1: INTRODUCTION Creating updated policies for land use, community design, transportation, infrastructure, and other topics. Ensuring that the General Plan is consistent with the Fort Ord Base Reuse Plan. Maintaining the City’s stock of housing, especially housing for those with low- and moderate-incomes. Addressing recent State requirements regarding climate change and transportation. Updating the Zoning Code to bring the development standards and regulations into conformance with the General Plan and Base Reuse Plan. A Short History of Seaside Resort Era and First Settlement The subdivision of Seaside was first planned in 1888 by Dr. John L.D. Roberts, who had come to California from New York the year prior. Roberts purchased an approximately 160-acre property where Seaside and Sand City are currently located. Accounts vary whether Roberts purchased the land from or in partnership with his uncle David Houghton. The land had previously been owned by the David Jacks Corporation. David Jacks had at one time been the richest landowner in Hotel Del Monte. Source: Monterey County, acquiring over 100,000 http://thedude.oucreate.com/ acres.1 Dr. Roberts marketed his subdivision as a shoreline resort and tourist destination because of its proximity to the Hotel Del Monte, which was located slightly west of Roberts Lake between the modern-day cities of Seaside and Monterey. The Hotel Del Monte was originally opened in 1880 although it was destroyed by a fire and was rebuilt between 1887 and 1888. Built by Charles Crocker, a railroad pioneer, the hotel resort complex included thousands of acres of land containing gardens and recreational activities. The elegant resort was a catalyst for the Monterey peninsula’s tourism industry.2 Although at one time the area was referred to as East Monterey, by 1891 the community had taken the name Seaside and had its own post office. The community expanded from the original cluster of homes near the slough (later called Roberts Lake). A street car line was built to connect Seaside with Monterey. The community developed into a working people’s town rather than a resort town.3 In 1910, Dr. Roberts, who was then a Monterey County Supervisor, lobbied President Theodore Roosevelt to locate a military training field on ranchland near Seaside. In 1917 the United States Army purchased land to use as a training ground for field artillery and 1-4 | CITY OF SEASIDE chapter 1: INTRODUCTION cavalry troops stationed at the nearby Monterey presidio. At one time it was called Camp Ord and was re-designated as Fort Ord in 1940, growing into a larger-scale training facility.4 The training base’s buildup during the World War II era and continued expansion in the following decades changed the character of the community. Thousands of workers and soldiers came to the area and Seaside's population began to be dominated by military families. Fort Ord had a very diverse military personnel with African American, Mexican, Indian, and Filipino solders. In 1948, federal policy ordered the integration of housing, facilities, and schools on military bases. Fort Ord was the first base to undergo complete integration. This occurred during the same time when Seaside was transforming from a subdivision into a City. The federal government’s influence extended into the small community making Seaside a dynamic multi-racial city.5 Depression, War, and the Creation of a Community The Depression brought new populations into Seaside from the Dust Bowl and from Southern Europe. A diverse population of Mexicans, Italians, Japanese, and Portuguese, and a few African Americans began to settle in Seaside, which gave Seaside a reputation both as a poorer subdivision of Monterey and a multicultural enclave. Seaside housed many of the cannery workers who were too poor to live in Monterey. New homes were built and small businesses were Seaside School Children in the 1930s. Photo established to serve the new population. courtesy of the City of Seaside Archive. Seaside residents established small businesses along the main thoroughfares of Del Monte Avenue, Broadway, and Noche Buena Street.6 To establish a sense of community, Seaside residents also organized chapters of different clubs and participated in many public events and parades. Churches also played an important role in Seaside civic life. Military families formed congregations based on race and on shared regional origins and by 1950 Seaside boasted 35 different churches, Parade in Seaside. Photo courtesy of the City of many of which were African American. Seaside Archive. The City of Seaside was incorporated in 1954. At that time, the oldest parts of Seaside in the southwestern portion of the City became part of the City of Monterey, and much of the shoreline on the west became part of Sand City. EXISTING CONDITIONS REPORT | 1-5 chapter 1: INTRODUCTION Seaside in the 1960s and 1970s The expansion of Fort Ord during the late 1960s through the late 1970s created a demand for housing and services to meet the needs of the growing population. Redevelopment and urban renewal included the construction of State Highway 1, a high school, and a new city hall designed by Edward Durell Stone. The federal government’s desegregation movement enabled local government to utilize federal funding during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations to redevelop portions of the city and create new infrastructure. “Substandard” housing was demolished and new units built, commercial areas developed, streets, sidewalks and parks were built. Seasiders focused on refurbishing homes and building up to code single-family homes.