the carmel pine conepineconearchive.com/171117pcfp.pdf · shield of her daughter’s car, resident...

SEVENTH & DOLORES PROPONENTS HAVE WORK CUT OUTBy MARY SCHLEY

NOW THAT it’s home to a busy steakhouse, the formerbank building at Seventh & Dolores could see furtherchanges. But developer Fred Kern and architect AdamJeselnick’s proposal to relocate the smaller of the two build-ings from the Dolores Street side to the Seventh Avenue side— so it could be better used for the restau-rant and make space for more outdoor seat-ing and fire pits — failed to generate sup-port from the majority of the planning com-mission when the idea was raised last week.

Jeselnick’s drawings call for moving the608-square-foot, one-story building fromthe south side of the main building to theeast side, and building a 2,380-square-footbasement below it. A new outdoor seatingarea with five fire pits, planters and a trelliswould be constructed, and the existing 530-square-foot basement below the mainrestaurant would be expanded to 1,207square feet.

The trellis would have a canvas canopy todampen noise from outdoor diners, andthere would be no increase in the number ofrestaurant seats. The southern half of theproperty would be used for parking.

Planning director Marc Wiener raised several issues. Hesuggested requiring landscaping to soften the parking area,and wanted assurance the small building would be used as anextension of the restaurant, not as a bakery or coffee shop orother separate “specialty restaurant.”

Commission says ‘terrifying’ tree must stayBy MARY SCHLEY

DESPITE THE years-long pleas of a homeowner andthe public works director’s view that “extraordinary circum-stances” warrant the removal of an otherwise healthyMonterey pine, the forest and beach commission last weekunanimously decided that Kristin and Fred Wolf, who live onCrespi Avenue, should have the tree trimmed instead of cut-ting it down.

The hearing was the Wolfs’ second attempt to convincethe commission to let them remove the towering pine, whichis half located on their property and half on city land. Thecommission first denied their request in 2014, and theirappeal to the council failed to change the outcome. Over theyears, the tree has repeatedly dropped branches, and after alimb fell and shattered the rear windshield of her daughter’scar in September, Kristin Wolf renewed her efforts.

“As I predicted, the Monterey pine which stands at thecurb in front of our home has, once again, caused sig-nificant property damage — to a vehicle this time —as well as extreme distress to my 18-year-old daughter,Molly (and to our family),” Wolf wrote in a Sept. 12email to city forester Mike Branson.

‘Insensitive and cruel’She reminded Branson that the last time they spoke

three years ago, her other daughter, Sara, who was 11at the time, was nearly hit by a falling 6-foot-longbranch.

“As you know, prior to Sara’s near-miss, my formerneighbor, Ilsa Lowrey (now deceased), had a hugelimb fall from the tree and pierce her roof and bedroomceiling while she slept one night,” she continued, afterwhich Lowrey was terrified to sleep in her own home.

That the city allowed the situation to continue,rather than granting permission to cut down the tree“was insensitive, and in my opinion, perversely cruel,”Wolf wrote. “As you are well aware, this tree has beenshedding limbs and terrifying residents of my houseand our neighbor’s house for the past 20 years.” Sinceher family purchased the home in 2001, Wolf said she’sreplaced four windshields, two rain gutters, landscap-ing and a fence.

“Where is your sense of care and concern for thewell being of the eight citizens of the City of Carmel(including four children), who currently live under thistree?” she asked. Wolf included photos of the damageto her daughter’s car.

Public works director disagreesAs he did in 2014, Branson examined the tree,

which stands more than 80 feet tall and has a nearly 3-foot-thick trunk, and concluded it’s healthy, though ithas dead limbs that need to be removed. According tothe staff report, he also provided Wolf with a list ofcontractors who could do the work, and she contactedtwo who declined to provide quotes due to the limbs’proximity to power lines.

While Branson recommended keeping the tree,public works director Bob Harary said commissioners

The Carmel Pine Cone

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Volume 103 No. 46 On the Internet: www.carmelpinecone.com November 17-23, 2017

PHOTO/COURTESY KRISTIN WOLF

After a dead branch fell off a towering pine and shattered the rear wind-shield of her daughter’s car, resident Kristin Wolf renewed her quest to getthe tree cut down. She lost again at city hall last week.

GRAPHIC/CARMEL PLANNING DEPARTMENT

A graphic shows where the small building on the south side of the Seventh & DoloresSteakhouse would be moved, if the city OK’d it.

See 7D page 17A

PHOTO/KERRY BELSER

Renovations at Carmel Plaza have been underway sinceMarch, and are being blamed for the severe drops in businesssuffered by some tenants. But management says everything is ontrack. See the story on page 7A.

Facelift can’t be done soon enough

By KELLY NIX

GOV. JERRY Brown last month rejected two CaliforniaEnvironmental Quality Act-related bills that would haveadded to the litany of hurdles for developers in California,including proposed legislation that would have required envi-ronmental impact reports for ballot initiatives.

On Oct. 15, Brown vetoed SB 80, a bill introduced earlythis year by state Sen. Bob Wieckowski (a Democrat from theEast Bay) that would have required cities and counties tonotify the public when they determine a development projectisn’t subject to CEQA requirements.

The proposed bill by Wieckowski would also haverequired lead agencies to provide additional public notice incases when a “mitigated negative declaration” has been pre-pared for a development project. (Such projects have “lessthan significant” impacts on the environment.)

‘Process already very detailed’Brown, in his veto statement, said the proposed bill was

unnecessary and explained briefly why he didn’t sign it.“While I agree with the author’s desire to provide greater

transparency, the current CEQA process already is verydetailed, and requires an incredible amount of notice,” Brownwrote. “For that reason, I am reluctant to add the additionalrequirements mandated by this bill.”

Assemblyman Mark Stone voted against SB 80, whilestate Sen. Bill Monning supported the bill. Both men repre-sent Monterey County.

Also on Oct. 15, Brown vetoed AB 890, a bill introducedby Riverside County Assemblyman Jose Medina that soughtto hamstring the initiative process for certain planning deci-sions and zoning changes by requiring CEQA review forvoter-approved development proposals.

In a veto statement for this bill, Brown said that instead ofa “piecemeal approach” taken in Medina’s bill, he prefers a

Brown vetoes two billsto make CEQA tougher

By CHRIS COUNTS

AGREEING WITH residents who complained that specialevents at Cima Collina’s Hilltop Ranch were creating a danger anda nuisance in their Carmel Valley neighborhood, the MontereyCounty Board of Supervisors voted 4 to 1 Nov. 14 to uphold an ear-lier decision by the county’s planning commission requiring vine-yards in residential neighborhoods to get permits if they want tohost events.

Before the planning commission ruled, the county’s planningdirector, Carl Holm, said the vineyard would not need a permit tohost “marketing events” for up to 75 people.

This week, attorney John Bridges, representing Cima Collina,

Supes: Cima Collina must get permit for events

See TREE page 18ASee WINERY page 18A

See CEQA page 12A