The long-planned East Garrison "village" on Fort Ord won praise Tuesday as a visionary blend of affordable housing and the arts and received unanimous approval from Monterey County supervisors.
The 1,470-home project, described by audience members as "wonderful," "exciting" and "unique," drew none of the rancor that typically overshadows large developments in the county.
Instead, the project was lauded by nonprofit-housing developers and members of an arts group that has worked for 14 years to create an artists' community at Fort Ord. County officials and project developers said East Garrison's compact design and wide range of housing would take a bite out of soaring county home prices.
"We appreciate that you acknowledge that artists are part of the work force," said Richard Mayer, a Carmel Valley sculpture and executive director of Arts Habitat, a nonprofit formed in 1991.
The 244-acre East Garrison plan calls for 1,470 homes and apartments, renovated Army buildings anchoring an artists' colony with 100,000 square feet of studio space and a town center with 75,000 square feet of commercial space. At least 420 of the homes and apartments must be priced below market rates for very-low- to work force-income households.
Anthony Lombardo, attorney for East Garrison Partners, said the project's "affordable by design" blend of housing types -- from single-family homes and condominiums to artists' live-in studios and townhouses -- could make 70 percent of the units available below the county's median home price.
"Only time will tell if we are able to meet that goal," he said.
Alfred Diaz-Infante, president of a Salinas affordable-housing nonprofit, said, "The time has come for the county to give East Garrison its approval."
Gwen Miller, executive director of the Salinas Valley Builders Exchange, alluded to the different tenor of Tuesday's 75-minute hearing.
"It's refreshing to be here with you with so much support (for a project)," she said. "Usually it's the opposite."
The East Garrison project will occupy a bluff south of Reservation Road on land that was used as a tent city by the Army during World War II. About two dozen of the historic, tile-roofed Army buildings are slated to be renovated for the arts district.
East Garrison Partners, composed of Woodman Development, William Lyon Homes and Urban Community Partners, completed negotiations on a development agreement last month. The deal requires about half of the commercial space to be built before all of the homes are built.
Gudrun Beck of the Ventana chapter of the Sierra Club offered the only testimony that fell short of praise for the project.
She questioned whether the arts district, scheduled for the third last phase of the project, would ever be built. And she urged the county to monitor sale prices at East Garrison to ensure that predictions of low home prices "by design" actually pan out.
Beck said home buyers may face higher than expected costs because of fees and special taxes to pay for part of the project infrastructure.
Ron Lundquist, interim public works director, said mortgage and tax payments on a typical $600,000 market-rate home could total about $4,100 a month.
East Garrison has been in the works for almost a decade and represents the county's flagship Fort Ord redevelopment project.
Supervisor Dave Potter recalled that when the county began discussing Fort Ord reuse the first proposal called for a generic project with a golf course, estate-style homes and a conference center.
"We have come miles from that," he said. "This is the kind of development that should occur in Monterey County."
Supervisor Fernando Armenta was pleased that East Garrison Partners followed through on his requests that nonprofit housing developers be included in project plans.
Supervisor Jerry Smith, whose district includes East Garrison, said the development would "be a model for other cities, other states."
Supervisor Lou Calcagno traced the project's difficult history, which included working out a land swap with Monterey Peninsula College for a proposed public-safety training academy and getting several groups seeking land at East Garrison to work together.
"I'm hoping we don't have to fight lawsuits," Calcagno said. "I'm hoping the people of Monterey County stand behind it 100 percent."
The only remaining political hurdle for the East Garrison project is to obtain a "consistency" determination from the Fort Ord Reuse Authority -- a finding that the development falls in line with overall base reuse plans. A county consultant's report said the project meets the FORA requirements.
The project also calls for a sheriff's field office, a library, a firehouse for the Salinas Rural Fire Department and several parks within easy walking district from every home, county officials said.
