One Monterey County development hinges on “antiquated” subdivisions

A Monterey County judge is wrestling with the validity of an "antiquated" subdivision map.  The county and a developer are all set to go with a developement that will increase by 40% th size of Spreckels, which the Mercury News describes as "a Norman Rockwell factory town just south of Salinas".

Local activists aren’t so sure.  The case hinges on whether a 1907 subdivision map is valid. The state Supreme Court has ruled that subdivisions before 1893 are invalid, but it left open how to deal with those created betwen 1893 and 1929.  This case is expected to be be appealed to a higher court.

San Francisco attorney Matthew Francois and Dennis LeClere, deputy Monterey County counsel, argued vehemently Wednesday that the 1907 subdivision map was legal under the 1893 law and thus still valid.

But Santa Cruz attorney Jonathan Wittwer, representing the Spreckels homeowners and LandWatch, argued that because the county didn’t have the discretion to say no to the 1907 map, it did not create "legal lots of record.’‘