Carmel Valley Unites Against Misplaced Suburban Sprawl
- Fova 911
- Jun 4
- 5 min read
Dear Friend of FOVA,
First, we want to express our sincere gratitude to all of you in the wide-ranging community of Carmel Valley for becoming actively involved in the opposition to the CV Airfield subdivision project.
THANK YOU!
For many of us, “participating” means stepping out of our comfort zones. After all, wouldn't we rather be doing anything other than fighting this ill-conceived development? Instead, we've come from neighborhoods all over Carmel Valley, determined to defeat a bad plan that is driven by profit, not need.
Carmel Valley unites against misplaced suburban sprawl
On May 31, Walter and Sylvia Georis graciously opened the gates of their Provence-style Georis Winery and Gallery to host a delicious barbecue for more than 200 locals.
The event completely sold out days in advance.
With music by jazz guitarist Bruce Foreman and a variety of Georis wines to taste, it was a very FUN fundraiser indeed, helping to fill the coffers of the Airfield Defense Fund.
Georis, who is a successful local restaurateur, winemaker, and artist, explained his passionate stance against the proposed airfield development this way: "I support capitalism, but not at any cost. The lack of vision on behalf of the developer will come at a cost to everyone, now and for the future of our beautiful Carmel Valley."
FOVA Steering Committee member Hubert Fabre added that the project is simply not a good fit for Carmel Valley. “We need housing for people who work in the valley so they can live in the valley—not houses for weekenders or commuters who will pay all cash. And, by increasing the density in our village, it increases the danger to everyone in case of an emergency evacuation caused by fire.”
Other residents enjoying the late afternoon party also shared their worries about wildfire and how, in an evacuation, everyone living in the hills above the village would have to drive down to the only road leading out of town, Carmel Valley Road. If you are tired of daily traffic jams now, imagine adding hundreds of extra cars to a frantic dash to escape an oncoming fire.
Please see our Blog on the FOVA911 website:
The Orosco Vision
In a flurry of non-FOVA driven social media comments and AI renderings posted in late May, the project’s developer, Patrick Orosco, shared his own vision of what his 90 housing unit development might look like:
This image above, offered by Orosco himself, shows more detail than what can be seen on the Monterey County Planning Department site. With no sewer service to the village, the developer has told certain residents that he plans to run his new septic treatment plant and leach fields in the green area just above Tularcitos School. Once built and the houses sold, maintaining that plant safely will likely become the responsibility of a new HOA.
Fundraising
At this time, with hundreds of you donating to the Airfield Defense Fund on FOVA911.com, we are doing very well, and ahead of schedule on fundraising.
Because Mr. Orosco has vowed that his project "is going to get built,” we do not think it is in FOVA's or CVA's best interest to publicly discuss our strategy or how your donations will be specifically directed at this time. FOVA and CVA continue to be all volunteer organizations. Money donated to the Airfield Defense Fund will be spent on legal fees, expert analyses, and outreach.
THANK YOU FOR CARING AND FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE!
Timeline
Here's what to expect over the coming months:
July 28th, 2026: deadline for developer to submit his complete project application to the Planning Dept.
Monterey County will have 30 days from the actual submission date to deem the application “complete” (i.e. contains the required information), or to ask the developer for more information or studies. The developer will then have 90 days to comply with the county’s request. This 30-day (county response), 90-day (developer response) schedule could continue for several cycles, depending on the complexity of issues of concern and the adequacy of Orosco’s assessments.
August - December 2026: Anticipate the Project Application is complete.
Official Agency Review begins, CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) determination
One of two possible outcomes:
CEQA Exemption / Negative Declaration or Mitigated Negative Declaration (i.e. fixable problems): proceed toward County hearings.
EIR required: Notice of Preparation and longer process begins, requiring additional effort and expense by the developer and the community.
Total Review Time - Standard process is 9-12 months after the formal review begins. If significant public and safety impacts are evidenced, deeper review extends the process to 12-18 months, perhaps into May-Dec 2027 or beyond.
As you can see, this will likely be a long and challenging fight requiring determination and unwavering commitment to saving our community. FOVA and CVA are engaged for the long haul and we both appreciate and rely on your help to defeat this unnecessary, unwanted and dangerous development.
Show your spirit!
FOVA donors have generously funded the production of high-impact yard signs:
Please contact us if you have a good place to display one of these signs. We have a few dozen left and they are available to FOVA members while they last. Contact us here if you’d like to display a yard sign: contact@fova911.com
Letter writing
Many of you have asked if you could help FOVA and CVA by writing letters.
YES!
But timing is important. An organized campaign can be a great way to let our elected representatives and county department heads know just how many people are concerned about the Airfield Park proposal.
If you want to act now, we suggest calling, emailing or writing your STATE representatives: State Senator John Laird and State Assembly member Dawn Addis. (links below) They are responsible for making changes to the Builders Remedy Law which, in many ways, is not serving communities like Carmel Valley well, nor fully achieving its intended goals to provide affordable housing. At the very least, we believe there should be an exemption to the law for certified wildfire prone villages that have nothing but a single two-lane road for evacuation.
State Senator John Laird: https://sd17.senate.ca.gov/
Assembly member Dawn Addis: https://addis.asmdc.org/
Letters to County Supervisors and Department Heads should wait until the developer’s application is complete (no earlier than August, 2026). That is when our county officials will begin studying the pros and cons of the project. We will provide more details and suggestions for wording in August.
Before you write, we strongly encourage you to read the excellent articles we’ve posted on our website BLOG ranging from those concerning the failures of Builders Remedy to some of the recent evacuation disasters in California:
Our mission to stop this poorly conceived development gives all of us a great opportunity to meet and get to know our neighbors and fellow Carmel Valley locals. We encourage you to discuss the issues and stay involved.
Monterey County’s “Housing Element”
The Carmel Pine Cone recently published an article on the status of Monterey County’s Housing Element, which is another step closer to acceptance by the State Department of Housing and Community Development.
It is the lack of an accepted “Housing Element” that has made Carmel Valley and other unincorporated areas of Monterey County subject to the Builders Remedy. You can read that article here, County Housing Plan starting on Page 8A. CVA and FOVA are actively working to ensure that Monterey County gets out from under the oppressive Builders Remedy before we are forcibly transformed into an urbanized collection of opportunistic, profit-driven developments.
To protect and preserve what we consider irreplaceable, please ask your neighbors to sign up for email updates if they have not already done so on the FOVA911.com website:
We will send regular updates as we move through this process. Feel free to reach out anytime to share your concerns or ask any question.
In gratitude,
The FOVA Team
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