“State-Mandated Housing in Carmel”

Carmel Pine Cone – Sent in on April 13, 2024, not published

The editorial in the Carmel Pine Cone (April 12) states that the Carmel City Council “made the right decision” in approving state-mandated housing in the parking lots of the Sunset Center and elsewhere.   This, of course, is not because the council members necessarily see wisdom or equity in this decision.  After all, Carmel has long been extremely protective of their “quaint village” status staying pretty much as it is. This decision is more due to the desire for economic grants and other fiscal accommodations from the state (and federal sourcing) with little realization of the extremely coercive cost of accepting such largess.

The current housing mandates, highly oppressive and dangerous, starkly illustrate that cost.  The Carmel City government may well have gratified the immediate desires of the citizenry by “bringing home the bacon” over the years, but the long run of accepting this is coming to fruition today.

The Carmel City Council acquiesced to Sacramento’s strong-arm tactics in their decision, thereby diminishing the quality, character, and safety of the village.  Possibly after years of increasing dependency on irresistible funding, they felt they had little choice.  But to characterize the decision as the “right” one is simply pandering to the error.

Richard S. Hellam, Seaside