In the News
Lighthouse
Avenue Update |
Community Centers - Fun Places to Be
Focus on
Trees - Urban Forestry Team at Work | Permit Needed to Remove Trees
Youth in Action | New Tools to
Help Curb Bay Pollution |
City TV - LIVE Council Meetings
Automated Vehicle Makes Chalk
Passé
The City has a new high-tech
parking enforcement tool: a parking scooter equipped with AutoFind that
reads and remembers license plates and parking positions.
No more hand-chalking the tires because the new scooter can do it all,
using four cameras (two on the roof and two over the bumpers), a Global
Positioning System (GPS) antenna and a computer mounted in the trunk.
Here’s how it works:
As the parking officer drives down the street, the vehicles’
position, image, actual plate number and location as well as the time and
date are read and logged in the computer.
When the officer returns a second time, the plates will be scanned again
and an alarm will notify the officer when it detects a parking violation
based on time/location data.
Using a monitor in the scooter, the officer will make a visual
confirmation that the license plate matches, and review actual pictures of
the vehicle’s position, recorded during each pass by the officer.
“We will be able to patrol and enforce larger areas in less time and be
able to visit residential parking zones on a more regular basis,” says
Assistant Public Facilities Director Jo Lyons. In addition, the chalk-less
system greatly reduces the risk of injuries associated with marking
tires by hand.
For more info, visit us on the Web at
www.monterey.org/parking
Lighthouse –
the Road More Traveled
Tired of being stuck in traffic
on the Presidio curve? Ever worried about losing your door as you leave
your car to shop on Lighthouse?
We have been working over the past two years to find an environmentally
friendly traffic solution for Lighthouse that balances the needs of
residents and business owners.
Last fall, we held a series of public workshops regarding traffic on
Lighthouse Avenue. Based on the input received, the 19-member General Plan
Committee voted in favor of maintaining two-way traffic while improving
the pedestrian environment. One alternative still under consideration is
one lane of travel in each direction with a turn lane in the middle. On
April 15, the City Council is scheduled to review this and other issues
related to updating the traffic section of the City’s General Plan.
By the way, we suggest using Foam Street when travelling to Pacific Grove
or New Monterey.
For more info about traffic in the City, call Transportation Planner Doug
Bilse at 646.3472 (bilse@ci.monterey.ca.us)
Check ‘Em Out – Fun Places
to Be, Your Community Centers
Our community centers offer a variety of programs and classes for all age
groups.
Here’s just a sample: The Monterey Youth Center’s A Space Adventure offers
cosmic crafts, galactic games and Martian munchies. And Bunny Brunch at
Casanova Oak Knoll Park Center will include games and morning brunch with
the Easter Bunny.
Young chefs can prepare foods with Mexican and South-west flair at Archer
Park Center’s Tantalizing Tex-Mex Cookshop while Mind-Body Fitness at
Hilltop Park Center combines “emotional integration” along with nutrition
and exercise to promote weight loss.
At the Monterey Senior Center discover many free or low-cost programs for
seniors. See article below for more details for seniors.
To learn more and for location info, call the Recreation and Community
Services Dept. at
646.3866, pick up an Activities Guide or visit
www.monterey.org/communitycenters
Up close – Monterey Senior Center
The place to be for seniors and adults 55 years and older – the
Monterey
Senior Center.
The newly renovated Senior Center offers recreation classes, a lunch
program, plus space for nonprofit organizations to gather.
Line, folk, Scottish and Turkish dance classes meet weekly. Take an
exercise class or look into sewing, needlepoint, sculpting or ceramics. Or
try traditional favorites like bingo and bridge.
Golden 55 Travelers begin their adventures at the Center, which is also
home to The Tap Bananas performing troupe. You can also surf the Web on
three public access computers or set an appointment with our Internet
instructor to learn more about going online.
The Senior Center also offers bi-monthly blood pressure checks and Legal
Services for Seniors. Defensive Driving classes are offered monthly.
For more info, call 646.3878 or visit our offices at 280 Dickman Ave.
Focus on
Trees
Making it Green – It’s Your Urban
Forestry Team at Work
Discover what your urban forestry team
does for the community.
We currently maintain more than 15,000 trees, in parks and along streets,
and about 300 acres of Monterey Pine forest, part of the largest remaining
stand of native pine forest in the world.
In caring for our urban forest this past year, crews trimmed more than
1,800 trees and removed 150. A total of 768 trees were planted or replaced
on City property, and 1,500 native tree seedlings were donated for
planting on private property.
City arborists conducted 358 private tree inspections to review removal
and replacement of private trees. We have conducted nearly 4,000 tree
inspections since 1991.
To find out about tree inspections or how to get a permit to remove a tree
on your property, see article below. For questions about trees or our
urban forest, call 646.3866 or email
reid@ci.monterey.ca.us
Permit Needed to Remove Trees
Remember – removing a tree from private property in the City requires a
permit. In most cases, a replacement tree must be planted for each tree
that is removed.
Replacement trees can be as small as a 5-gallon native Monterey pine or a
15-gallon tree of an
ornamental species compatible with the area. Property owners can select
the tree type they like best and can replant anywhere on the property.
Advice from City arborists is always available.
Occasionally, more than one replacement tree can be required, depending on
the amount of existing tree cover on the site and the size and prominence
of the tree to be removed. The replanting of trees is very important to
property values and the overall health and appearance of the urban forest
within Monterey. Your effort ensures that the quality and character of our
neighborhoods are protected and preserved.
Remember to get a permit and plant a tree! Permits are available through
the City’s Parks Division. Call 646.3860 for more info or email
reid@ci.monterey.ca.us
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Youth in Action
Partnerships that Work
For the last two years, the
Monterey High School Spanish Club has been collecting cans and bottles to
recycle for cash.
Students coordinated the program and each weekend their teacher redeemed
the recyclables for cash.
This year club president Ashish Patel realized that with a little extra
coordinated effort they could expand the project, which supports families
in the community who can use an extra hand. Ashish talked with City Solid
Waste Program Manager Angela Brantley, who had enough recycling bins to
place in all classrooms.
Next Monterey City Disposal Services (MDS) stepped in and provided special
bins to place in students’ common areas. MDS also offered to pick up the
recycling at the curb and donate $1,000 to the club.
“It truly is amazing how a few people in a community, the City, a few high
school students and teachers and a few caring individuals can make such an
impact,” Ashish says. The club has already been able to adopt four
families, and the students are now gearing up for the Easter party they
host for the kids.
Club officers Kim Igoesia, Jennifer McAlmond and Katya Blick have worked
closely with Ashish on the recycling program. And all have noticed a
significant increase in campus recycling.
“Recycling in school will hopefully leave an immediate and long-lasting
impression on the students of Monterey High. If we teach students to
recycle early on, they might be inclined to continue to recycle throughout
their lives,”Ashish says.
We continue to meet with students and teachers to help streamline the
project and expand involvement on campus. In the near future, look for
student artwork, posters and dance performances with recycling themes.
For more info, call Volunteer Services at 646.3719 (sammon@ci.monterey.ca.us).
New Tools to Help Curb
Pollution
Reducing the amount of runoff
and pollutants that flow into City storm drains and into the Monterey Bay
is a necessity. It not only keeps the Bay healthy and beautiful, it is
also a federal requirement.
To protect our waterfront and meet the requirements placed on our
community, the City will be developing new programs over the next several
years to curb stormwater pollution. As part of the process, we will be
applying for two new required stormwater permits from the Central Coast
Regional Water Quality Control Board, our state regulatory agency.
What changes will we see?
Pollution prevention tools, design alternatives and structural controls
will be developed for construction sites, new development projects and
redevelopment projects. Examples of pollution prevention techniques could
include proper storage of materials such as fertilizers, pesticides and
other hazardous chemicals.
Some site design alternatives might include minimizing the amount of
concrete driveways, walkways and patios (impervious areas). On-site
structural controls would be designed to keep runoff from increasing due
to development and could include shallow grassy ditches, filtration
devices and infiltration systems, such as holding ponds.
Monterey is a member of the Monterey Regional Stormwater Management
Program, which is
helping communities implement the new federal stormwater requirements.
To learn more, call Associate Civil Engineer Jennifer Gonzalez at 646.3920
or send an email to
jgonzale@ci.monterey.ca.us
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