When Success Changes the Village

A Village, Not a Destination

When I was growing up in SoCal, we got our first driver training in the massive parking lot at brand-new Disneyland. That lot, now filled with parking structures, along with every sidewalk, restroom, restaurant, and well-trained employee, was designed to welcome tens of thousands of visitors every day. It was engineered for extraordinary volume.

Carmel was designed for something entirely different: a village. A place where neighbors walk to the post office, chat on the sidewalk, and know shopkeepers by name.

Both places are successful because they were designed for their purpose. Our challenge is that Carmel's circumstances changed.

Success Followed Preservation

Without setting out to do so, we became one of the world's most admired small-town destinations. Not because we intentionally built attractions, but because generations protected something authentic. They preserved our cottages, forest, beach, downtown architecture, and artistic character.

Success followed.

Today, hundreds of thousands visit Carmel Beach, our “water park,” every year. During major events, tens of thousands more fill our streets and drive their cars “inside the park.” They come because this little village is worth experiencing.

That's wonderful. But it’s a reality we didn't appropriately plan for.

Pressures We Didn't Design For

Our streets, parking, infrastructure, public works team, and municipal finances were created for a village, not an international destination. For years we managed through ingenuity, patience, and the willingness of residents and businesses to make things work. But pressures continue to grow. Visitor demand, state housing mandates, aging infrastructure, wildfire resilience, and rising public-service costs are no longer temporary.

That leads to an uncomfortable question: How should a village support itself after becoming a destination?

More Than Taxes...Partnerships

Many people understandably focus on taxes or bonds. Those are important tools, and, as a resident, I support asking voters this November to consider a small sales tax measure and a Transient Occupancy Tax increase. But even if both pass, they address only part of the challenge. They will fund infrastructure projects. They will not solve the mismatch between what Carmel costs to operate and revenue available to support tourism's pressures.

We also need to think differently about partnership. Our hotels, restaurants, galleries, and shops are vital to the community, but partnership should extend beyond City Hall and local businesses. We should work with property owners, investors, businesses, and other private partners who can bring resources and creative solutions to challenges created by our success. The goal should be partnerships benefiting residents, businesses, and visitors alike.

This is not about maximizing tourism. It is about responsibly managing the reality we face.

Protecting What We Have

Because parking has not kept pace with visitor demand, activity spills into residential neighborhoods. Postponing infrastructure investments magnifies costs. If we pretend today's pressures are temporary, tomorrow's choices become harder.

Previous generations faced similar moments. They built water systems, modernized sewers, paved Ocean Avenue, undergrounded utilities, improved fire protection, and made difficult decisions. None changed Carmel's character. They protected it.

Now it is our turn. The question is not whether Carmel should remain a village. That answer is easy. The real question is: How do we ensure a village loved by the world remains wonderful for those who call it home and those who visit?

Giving Ourselves Permission

I have surfaced temporary parking solutions and larger public-private partnerships involving structured parking, civic facilities, hotels, and housing. My Strategic Planning talk asked only that we give ourselves permission to explore options that can move the needle.

See Monterey's tourism study gives us an opportunity to listen, learn, and have an honest conversation about how Carmel can manage success without sacrificing what made it special. Let’s make sure real solutions emerge from it.

To hear a podcast generated from this column, go to cli.re/destination.

To see a presentation on this column click here.

Dale Byrne, Mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea

dbyrne@cbts.us