By Keith Griffin | Realtor
A war over zoning regulations is pitting neighbor against neighbor in the idyllic coastal enclave of Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA, where a faction of residents is desperately attempting to block a new mixed-use development, despite the village’s dire housing shortage.
Earlier this month, tensions erupted at a city council meeting in the quaint historic town, after the group opposing the development, known as the JB Pastor project, filed an appeal to block construction on the grounds that the plans lacked adequate parking, among other reasons.
Although the local planning commission had unanimously approved the project after six painstaking years of review, and a report from city staff recommended denying the appeal, the council failed to reach a final ruling on the objections, punting the decision until at least next month.
The decision left billionaire European developer Patrice Pastor, who named the mixed-use commercial and residential project in honor of his late great-grandfather, in bitter disbelief.
“Following this latest city council meeting it’s clear that I need to reconsider my investment in Carmel,” Pastor said in a statement to SFGate. “It’s time to leave this strange community, if you can call it a community.”
