On April 4, 2022, the City Council authorized a contract with PAST Consultants to prepare an update to the City’s Historic Context Statement. The City’s current Historic Context Statement was first adopted in 1997 and was last updated in 2008 (Attachment 2). The 2008 update covered the period 1940 to 1965; the present twenty-year extension effort covers the period 1966 to 1986. The project is funded with a $30,000 grant from the California Office of Historic Preservation (OHP). The Context Statement is a vital tool in the City’s preservation program, used to establish a baseline of information against which the potential historic significance of a property is evaluated. The Context Statement is maintained as directed by the Carmel General Plan and Coastal Land Use Plan (General Plan/Coastal LUP G1-4, O1-14, P1-85) and the City Municipal Code (CMC 17.32.060).

On April 14, 2022, (former) Historic Resources Board Chair Erik Dyar and (former) Board member Kathryn Gualtieri were appointed as subcommittee members for the Historic Context Statement update project. The subcommittee members met with City staff, Seth Bergstein of PAST Consultants, and consultant Kent Seavey on April 29, June 10, and July 21, 2022. On May 16, 2022, a Kickoff Workshop was held to introduce the project to the full Board and the public. A presentation by City staff provided an overview of historic context statements generally and Carmel’s Historic Context Statement; Mr. Bergstein and Mr. Seavey introduced themselves and discussed their approach to the project. The Historic Resources Board and the public expressed support for the proposed 1966 to 1986 update. They also identified a need for the entire document to be revisited and encouraged Staff to explore a future “Phase II” update. The fee and calendar deadlines associated with the OHP grant limit the present update effort to a relatively narrow twenty-year scope. Staff is exploring options to secure funding for a “Phase II” update once the current grant requirements are satisfied.

At the June 20, 2022 Historic Resources Board meeting, PAST Consultants provided a progress report and presented a topical outline to the Board. They presented a Working Draft at the July 18, 2022 meeting. At their August 15, 2022 meeting, the Historic Resources Board approved the draft update (Attachment 3 and Attachment 4) and passed Resolution 2022-010-HRB (Attachment 5) to accept the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea Historic Context Statement Update for the twenty-year period of 1966-1986 and recommend City Council adoption of the Update.

At the October 12, 2022 Planning Commission meeting, commissioners will review the draft update to the City's Historic Context Statement which covers the twenty-year period from 1966 to 1986; consider a recommendation of approval from the Historic Resources Board at their August 15, 2022 meeting; and provide a recommendation to the City Council regarding adoption of the draft update. All related staff reports and PowerPoint presentations are available online at the City’s Long Range Planning Initiatives page: https://ci.carmel.ca.us/post/long-range-planning-initiatives.