Bay View Community

The Monterey County Herald

To the Editor:

Two excellent features by Herald reporter Sukhjit Purewal (May 31 and July 18) about the proposed sale of the 52-acre Bay View Community on Coe Avenue in Seaside have drawn little or no public reaction from city officials or citizens.

Because of our concern for the families who face uncertainty as to when they will be evicted, the League of Women Voters of the Monterey Peninsula offered to sponsor a community forum with the City where tenants and anyone interested could get more information about the public process required in reviewing any proposed redevelopment of the property. We have had no official response.

If the Bay View homes are demolished, Seaside will lose 223 attractive family homes currently rented at “workforce” income levels. Like other Peninsula cities, it has difficulty filling vacant positions, yet some Bay View residents are city employees. A recent inventory of existing and future housing projects on the former Ft. Ord, prepared for Congressman Farr, shows few site-specific plans for more affordable and workforce units in Seaside’s jurisdiction.

City officials should make it clear to the public what policies will guide their decisions regarding demolition of Bay View housing and redevelopment of the property.

Sincerely,
     Marilyn Maxner, President