Title
PLN250216 - HAMMER GREGORY B TR
Public hearing to consider action on a Commercial Vacation Rental to allow the use of a single-family dwelling for transient lodging for a period of 30 calendar days or fewer.
Project Location: 23900 Fairfield Place, Carmel, CA 93923
Proposed CEQA action: Find the project Categorically Exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15301, and there are no exceptions pursuant to Section 15300.2.
Report
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is recommended that the Zoning Administrator adopt a resolution to:
a. Find the project qualifies for a Class 1 Categorical Exemption from CEQA Guidelines Section 15301, and that none of the exceptions from Section 15300.2 apply to the project; and
b. Approve a Use Permit for a Commercial Vacation Rental to allow the use of a single-family dwelling for transient lodging for a period of 30 calendar days or fewer.
The attached draft resolution includes findings and evidence for consideration (Exhibit A). Staff recommends approval subject to 5 conditions of approval.
PROJECT INFORMATION
Agent: Craig Langkamp
Property Owner: Gregory B Hammer Tr
APN: 103-051-005-000
Parcel Size: 1.00 AC
Zoning: Rural Density Residential, Building Site District 6, Urban Reserve District, Design District, Site Plan Review District or “RDR/B-6-UR-D-S”
Plan Area: Greater Monterey Peninsula Area Plan
Flagged and Staked: N/A
Project Planner: Kyle Benalcazar, Assistant Planner
benalcazark@countyofmonterey.gov; 831-784-5716
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION
The project site is located at 23900 Fairfield Place, Carmel, within the Greater Monterey Peninsula Area Plan. The Applicant/Owners submitted an application seeking to use their existing single-family dwelling located in a residentially zoned neighborhood, as a Commercial Vacation Rental. The site is developed with a single-unit dwelling, a guesthouse, and a carport (Exhibit A.2). The applicant does not propose to include the guesthouse as part of the Commercial Vacation Rental and only proposes to use the single-family dwelling and carport. The existing single dwelling is 2,612 square feet with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a kitchen, and living room. The Applicant/Owner is proposing that the single-family dwelling be occupied by a maximum of 7 people overnight and 10 people during daytime hours at the property at a time. The property will retain its potable water through California American Water, and the onsite septic system will be sufficient to provide sewer treatment for the dwelling. The property will retain its solid waste services to Waste Management, a waste management company. If approved, the granting of this use permit would allow the establishment of the 27th permitted vacation rental in the Greater Monterey Peninsula Land Use Plan out of a maximum of 155 use permits that may be issued at any given time pursuant to Title 21 Section 21.64.290.F.3.f.
Based on staff’s analysis, the proposed project is consistent with the policies and regulations pertaining to zoning uses and any other applicable provisions of the 2010 Monterey County General Plan (General Plan), Greater Monterey Peninsula Area Plan (GMPAP), County Code Title 7 Chapter 7.120, and applicable sections of the Monterey County Zoning Ordinance (Title 21).
Land Use
The parcel is zoned Rural Density Residential, Building Site District 6, Urban Reserve District, Design District, Site Plan Review District or “RDR/B-6-UR-D-S”. Title 21 Section 21.16.050.RR allows for the Commercial Vacation Rental use subject to the granting of a Use Permit. Title 21 Section 21.64.290.F establishes the regulations for a property operating as a Commercial Vacation Rental on such property for transient lodging for a period of 30 calendar days or fewer.
The parcel is located within an Urban Reserve District. Title 21, Section 21.50.030.C requires the application be referred to the appropriate city prior to action by the Zoning Administrator. On March 25, 2026, the proposed project was sent to the City of Monterey Planning Division. No communication was received during the course of review of the project indicating any inconsistencies with the text, policies, and regulations in these documents.
The parcel is located on Fairfield Place within a Design District overlay and in a visually sensitive area of the Greater Monterey Peninsula Area Plan. However, the project also does not propose any physical changes that would have any potential to impact scenic resources: no construction, exterior alterations to structures, land alteration, or vegetation (or tree) removal are proposed.
The property complies with Title 21, Section 21.64.290.F.5 in that it has been demonstrated that the response time for County emergency services for fire and emergency medical are adequate pursuant to the requirements of the 2010 County of Monterey General Plan Safety Element PS-1.1 and Table PS-1. The subject property is considered within a rural center, considered limited area of public services as defined by the General Plan and therefore is subject to an emergency response time of 12 minutes. The subject property is within a 10-minute drive from the Cypress Fire Protection District and a 7-minute drive from Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula, which provides 24-hour emergency medical and fire response services. The Vacation Rental Operation License requires that guests be provided with the contact information on the response time for emergency medical and fire services as a part of the informational notice posted within six feet of the front door.
Parking requirements outlined in Title 21 Sections 21.64.290.F.6 and 21.58.040 requires that a Single-Family Detached residential dwelling unit have two spaces/unit. The application includes adequate parking spaces (6 guest parking spaces), which exceeds the minimum requirements by 4.
The subject property complies with the limitation on the number of Commercial Vacation Rentals per legal lot requirements of Title 21 Section 21.64.290.F.7, which allows one Commercial Vacation Rental per legal lot of record. The subject property will be the only Commercial Vacation Rental on the legal lot of record. The owner of the subject property complies with the ownership requirements of Title 21 Section 21.64.290.F.10, wherein the owner of the subject property is allowed to have an ownership interest in one Commercial Vacation Rental within unincorporated Monterey County. The owners of the property do not have an ownership interest in other already operating Commercial Vacation Rentals in unincorporated Monterey County, and this would be their first and only Commercial Vacation Rental in unincorporated Monterey County.
As detailed in the draft resolution (Exhibit A), the Applicant/Owner has provided evidence of compliance with the applicable requirements. The designated Property Manager for the Commercial Vacation Rental will be Craig Langkamp, who will reside at 850 Maple Street, Pacific Grove, CA 93950, approximately 6 miles (13 minutes) from the subject property. Mr. Langkamp’s contact information will be provided to the guests of the property, and Mr. Langkamp will be available 24/7 to respond to guest or neighborhood questions or concerns, and has the ability to arrive within 30 minutes. Mr. Langkamp’s contact information will be provided to guests as a part of the informational notice posted within six feet of the front door as required pursuant to Title 7 Section 7.120.040.L.
The property has a maximum occupancy of 7 overnight guests and 10 daytime guests. The proposed occupancy does not exceed the limits set forth in the California Uniform Housing Code and the requirements enumerated in Title 7 Section 7.120.070.C, which limit the maximum overnight occupancy to two persons per bedroom plus one and not counting infants (zero to twelve months), with a not to exceed total maximum overnight occupancy of 10 overnight guests, regardless of the number of bedrooms in the property.
To ensure the proposed use will not affect the residential character of the neighborhood, the following two conditions have been incorporated. Condition No. 3 has been incorporated to ensure that the property will not be rented for the purposes of holding a corporate or private event venue and Condition No. 4 to ensure that the property will remain in compliance with the regulations for Vacation Rentals in Title 7 Chapter 7.120, Title 21 Section 21.64.290 and the Conditions of Approval. Additionally, the proposed Commercial Vacation Rental is subject to Monterey County’s Noise Ordinance (Chapter 10.60), which prohibits loud or unreasonable noise between the hours of 9:00PM and 7:00AM. In accordance with Title 21 Section 21.74.060, if the property is found to be in violation of the approved operations plan or conditions of approval attached to this Use Permit, the permit may be revoked for non-compliance.
Access
The property is accessed through Fairfield Place, a County owned and maintained public road and therefore is not subject to Title 16 Chapter 16.80, which regulates private roads in Monterey.
CEQA:
The project qualifies as a categorical exemption from environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15301. This exemption applies to the operation of existing private structures, involving negligible or no expansion of an existing use. The Applicant/Owner proposes to use a residential single-family dwelling for transient lodging where the term of occupancy, possession, or tenancy of the property by the person entitled to such occupancy, possession, or tenancy for a period of 30 consecutive calendar days or fewer. This project does not propose or authorize any additional exterior development and/or expansion of the existing structure currently on the project site.
The subject property will be limited to one rental contract at any given time. All facilities, as planned and approved, have been confirmed by County agencies to be adequate for this use. Therefore, the proposed use is consistent with the CEQA Guidelines Section 15301. None of the exceptions under CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2 apply to this project. Additionally, there will be no significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances. Further, there is no evidence that “the cumulative impact of successive projects of the same type in the same place, over time is significant.”
The County prepared a Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the Vacation Rental Ordinances project, which was certified by the Board on August 27, 2024 (SCH# 2022080643). The FEIR analyzed the project for environmental impacts and did not identify any significant impacts of Commercial Vacation Rentals up to the Commercial Vacation Rental cap set for each County of Monterey Planning Area. This Commercial Vacation Rental does not exceed the cap on Commercial Vacation Rentals in the Greater Monterey Peninsula Land Use Plan. It would be the 27th Commercial Vacation Rental in the Greater Monterey Peninsula Land Use Plan. The FEIR did address public comments that vacation rentals have the potential for negative side effects including nuisance issues such as traffic, parking and noise. However, no significant environmental effects were identified. County regulations have been developed and are in effect to ensure that vacation rentals remain compatible with existing residential uses. Cumulative impacts of the regulations taken together with other past, present, and probable future projects were analyzed and no significant effects were identified. There is no evidence suggesting that approving this project would result in significant environmental impacts.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
The following agencies have reviewed the project, have comments, and/or have recommended conditions:
HCD-Planning
HCD-Environmental Health Bureau
City of Monterey Planning Division
Prepared by: Kyle Benalcazar, Assistant Planner
Reviewed and Approved by: Jacquelyn Nickerson, Principal Planner
The following attachments are on file with HCD:
Exhibit A - Draft Resolution including:
- Recommended Conditions of Approval
- Site Plans
- Operational Plan
- Home Inspection Checklist
Exhibit B - Vicinity Map
Exhibit C - Aerial Image
cc: Front Counter Copy; HCD-Planning; Kyle Benalcazar, Assistant Planner; Jacquelyn Nickerson, Principal Planner; Gregory B. Hammer Tr, Property Owners; Craig Langkamp, Agent; Interested Parties: The Open Monterey Project (Molly Erickson); Laborers International Union of North America (Lozeau Drury LLP); Christina McGinnis, Keep Big Sur Wild; LandWatch; Planning File PLN250216