Neighborhood Issues

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Click here for Neighborhood Schools (MHS, Colton and Monte Vista Schools)

Undergrounding utilities
Wildfires
Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR cameras)
Cielo Vista Dr. and Viejo Rd. Safety
Pickleball at Via Paraiso Park
Cellular and Wireless
Water
Quarry to Veterans Park Trail

NEW: Questions for MVNA (with answers)

MVNA members can email questions to the MVNA Board at mvneighborhood@gmail.com anytime. We will compile all questions and periodically answer them here.

Wednesday morning traffic being brought to a crawl up Madison St,

TRAFFIC ADVISORY:

Please avoid Madison, Herrmann and Larkin streets, M-F, 7:30-9am and 2:30-4pm.

  • Due to the closure of the Monterey High School entrance and parking lot off of Martin Street, all school drop-offs and pickups, as well as school buses, will be on lower Herrmann Dr.

Undergrounding utilities:

undergrounding.jpg

Wildfires


This map shows our rated fire hazard where significant portions of our City’s neighborhoods are in the “Very High” and “High” fire hazard areas. Click here for original searchable map showing every house in California.

Wildfires are an increasing risk for most or California, including much of our Monterey Vista Neighborhood that is in a “Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone” as shown by all the houses in red on this map of MVNA. MVNA and NCIP have long been supporting fuel-reduction in our open spaces and encouraging undergrounding our overhead utilities.
See montereyundergrounding.net.

Wildfire Management

Monterey, Pacific Grove, and Carmel-by-the-Sea created a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (Feb 2024).

How Vulnerable is the Monterey Peninsula to a Wildfire?
Article by Ray Meyers.

Firewise Communities

One direct effect is that Homeowner Fire insurance is rapidly increasing in cost, and even getting to be unaffordable to many new homeowners. To combat these significant price increases, Monterey could become a Firewise Community. MVNA had an excellent talk at our April Board meeting by MVNA member Jeanne Clark, who recently moved here from Nevada City that has done so. Her overview can be read here:

If you are interested in learning more and/or getting involved, please contact MVNA.

Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR cameras)

Example of stationary ALPRs.

The City council has narrowly approved a request by the Police Department to install cameras within and around the City of Monterey to record license plates of cars passing them. Due to the tradeoffs between catching bad guys and privacy issues, the City looked to get feedback from residents.

Watch: City Council meeting from Nov 21st, 2023 and scroll to 3 hrs. and 56 minutes

Cielo Vista Dr. and Viejo Rd. Safety

Monterey Police

Monterey Police Department

Please be aware of a potentially dangerous situation on Cielo Vista Dr and Viejo Rd:

David Schmalz, The Monterey County Weekly

Pickleball has rapidly become popular across the US, as well as on the Monterey Peninsula. Since the game uses smaller courts, two pickleball games can generally be played on a single tennis court. As local games have increased over time (promoted by NCIP that funded painting Pickleball lines at Via Paraiso Park and the Monterey Pickleball Club with MVNA members), the games have become a staple at our beloved Via Paraiso Park. The increasing popularity of the sport has been met by pushback from nearby residents who object to the noise created by the hard balls and wooden paddles and when larger groups gather to play, as well as parking issues. This issue is also a national phenomenon, and will only be fully resolved when larger Pickleball facilities without nearby neighbors are built (e.g., like the successful Basketball court NCIP funded near the Coast Guard Pier). After petitions with many signatures on both sides of the issue were submitted to our Parks and Recreation Committee, the City offered to fund Mediation Sessions between residents on both sides of the issue to work out a compromise. With the help of a professional negotiator, a pilot agreement was reached that was on trial for several months and is now permanent.

Monterey High School Field improvements (2019-present)

  • Note: This item has been moved to the new Schools tab.

Cellular and Wireless:

no cell towers sign.jpg

The Monterey Vista Neighborhood Association (MVNA) strongly supported the majority of residents opposed to the 13 closely-spaced cellular antennas proposed by Extenet for Verizon within our neighborhood in September of 2017. The large number of residents that submitted comments to the City and spoke at multiple City meetings convinced the Planning Commission to deny these permits.

To avoid a repeat of this significant effort, the MVNA formed a Wireless Committee of dedicated residents to study the issue. The results of this work convinced the City Council to form an official Wireless Subcommittee to update Monterey's outdated Wireless Ordinance to better address future Telecom applications.

See latest updates on City website here

Links to documents and articles
re: Cellular Antennas within Monterey

Residential Cell Towers – The Science Behind the Concern?
By Ray Meyers - Monterey Vista Neighborhood Association Board Member

Wireless Subcommittee formed to study and revise Wireless Ordinance
     (Meetings are open to the public)

Redrafting Monterey's Wireless Ordinance

Effort to regulate cellular antennas in other cities:

Links regarding cellular antennas in Monterey:

Research and further reading

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Quarry to Veterans Park Trail and Parcel B (2003-2009):