Latest Update on the Monterey City Council Meeting

December 9, 2007

To our friends:

Last Tuesday, December 4, the Monterey City Council unanimously voted to retain our buildings and to negotiate a 10 year lease with both Adventures By the Sea (ABTS) and us. They also directed the city staff to pursue feasibility studies on relocating MBK within the next 10 years when (and if) a new facility becomes available on the east Catellus property.

This is a huge, positive step for the City Council and us. While we still need to hammer out an agreeable lease, and develop a contingency plan for eventually moving, we are confident that the City Council and Mayor are supportive of our uses, as well as our need for a proper building to house our activities.

Thank you all so much for your letters, emails, phone calls, attendance at the meetings, well wishes and thoughts that you have sent. We could not have done this without you! I believe we have some of the best customers in the world. Your continued support reinforces that what we are doing, and whom we are doing this for, is all worthwhile.

Read the article from the Monterey County Herald.

Please stay in touch for various bits of news as we continue the negotiations and work towards IMPROVING the uses we already provide. Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions or comments.

Thanks again,

Cass Schrock
Owner
cass@montereybaykayaks.com

City Council Move Will Threaten Monterey Bay Kayaks' Future

The city council has postponed the voting to Tuesday, December 4th to decide the fate of our coastal dependent business and we still need your help.

It is expected that the City Council will make a decision between 3 alternative plans for the Catellus property and Window on the Bay Park, where we have been located for the past 22 years.

None of these alternatives include the Monterey Bay Kayak's building remaining on the beach. Although they might support our coastal dependent uses, they feel our building stands in the way of their long term vision.

We need your help to demonstrate to the City Council that our business and our building help create the vibrant, positive energy and atmosphere with marine related recreational and educational activities that the city of Monterey needs to thrive as an eco-tourism destination.

Removing our building would essentially remove our uses.

If you can, please join us at the Council meeting, Tuesday, December 4th at 7:00pm, to have your views heard. Your presence and a few words of support during the comment period may help sway their decision.

Below I have provided some background on this issue and provided some suggested speaking or writing points to help you as you prepare.

Sincerely,

Cass Schrock
Owner

Background:

The City Council's vision for the Window on the Bay Park was conceived over 25 years ago as a stretch of Monterey Waterfront without any buildings to impede views of the bay and offers passive open park space to the public. For city information on this go to:
http://www.monterey.org/parks/window_on_the_bay/

While the City Council has made it clear that they would like to keep our kayaking activities on the beach, some Council and community members feel that our building stands in the way of open views. Their ultimate goal is to finalize and complete this vision of a Park.

In fairness, over the past years the City Council and city staff have studied and worked diligently to come to a solution that keeps our uses but our preserving our building is not part of any plan. The following three new plans will be presented to the City Council on Tuesday, December 4th:

1. Passive, open space without any commercial activity.
2. Passive open space with approved commercial activity that would be trailered in from an off-site main location.
3. Demolish the MBK building but retain and expand the Adventures by the Sea building to accommodate both tenants.

We take over 9,000 people kayaking annually. Over the past 22 years, that is more than 200,000 people. Approximately 25% are youth groups to which we provide recreational and educational programs. We would not be able to continue this high level of outreach and service, and the quality of our programs would seriously suffer in any of the above scenarios.

MBK's facilities do not detract from the city's goals for the window on the bay park. We help create the vibrant, positive energy and atmosphere of marine related activities that the city of Monterey needs to thrive as an eco-tourism destination.

Removing our building would essentially remove our uses.

Our uses provide the "door" to the bay by providing safe and educational uses that further the stewardship of our marine sanctuary.

We have proposed and have already made huge financial investments to upgrade the attractiveness and visual appeal of our building. We have been committed for 22 years to make our presence a win-win situation for everybody and not just us.

We believe that with these improvements, our presence will continue to enhance the area's attractiveness to both locals and visitors and will encourage more healthy activity rather than passive open space.

Removing our building and pursuing relocation alternatives would cause such a significant impact to our business that we fear it would severely jeopardize our ability to be successfully competitive or even keep our doors open.

Monterey Bay Kayaks facts:

1. Locally owned and operated since 1985 by Jeff and Cass Schrock (Jeff Schrock passed away in 2004 from a brain tumor). They have two young children.
2. We are a "Coastal Dependent, marine related recreational and visitor serving commercial use". Our business is 100% compliant with the Coastal Commission's Coastal Acts of 1976 which was enacted to promote and protect appropriate uses along the coast.
3. Since 1985 our goals have always been to promote environmental stewardship through recreational and educational programs and retail services for everyone.
4. We pioneered eco-tourism with our guided natural history tours led by marine biologists and naturalists. Our business has helped spur many other businesses and bring significant value to the local tourism and hospitality industry.
5. Previously studied alternatives such as moving us to the harbor, Fisherman's Wharf, Cannery Row, or Breakwater Cove, would not work for many reasons, primarily because of the safety provided by the geography of Monterey Beach and the impact our business would have on these already crowded areas.
6. We have a temporary lease in our current building until December 2009. As a contingency of our lease, we accommodate public uses, pay market rates for rent and quarterly percentage of sales to the City of Monterey, and have made short-term improvements as needed. We have submitted our business operation sales figures and logistical requirements. We have submitted architectural plans for upgrading our facilities by $250,000.

Please attend and speak in support of keeping our building at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, December 4, 7:00pm at City Hall, Monterey. Each member of the public is allowed a maximum of 3 minutes to speak.

City of Monterey's website:

View the Agenda at:
(please click on the staff report of item 4, last agenda item of the evening).

Click for directions to the meeting.

If you cannot attend, please write a letter as soon as possible to:

Mayor Chuck Della Sala
Councilmember Libby Downey
Councilmember Jeff Haferman
Councilmember Nancy Selfridge
Councilmember Frank Sollecito
City Hall
Monterey, California 93940

Thank you to all our supporters!

Cass Schrock
Monterey Bay Kayaks
693 Del Monte Avenue
Monterey, CA 93940
831-373-5357
cass@montereybaykayaks.com
www.montereybaykayaks.com