Salinas Agricultural Policy
Framework
March 2024
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 1. Executive Summary ■ 1 Table of Contents
1. Introduction 3
Background and Context 3
Key Findings 4
2. Agriculture Industry Economic and Land Use
Study 6
Introduction 7
Existing Conditions and Key Issues 8
Strategic Action Recommendations and Draft Policies 16
3. Farmworker and Grassroots General Plan
Engagement 22
Overview 23
Engagement Findings and Recommended Policies 24
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 1. Executive Summary ■ 2 Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 1. Executive Summary ■ 2 01 Introduction
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 1. Executive Summary ■ 3 Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 1. Executive Summary ■ 3 Introduction
Background and Context
Salinas is synonymous with the agricultural lands
that surrounds the city, which tens of thousands
rely on for employment, and millions more rely on
for food. Agriculture contributes an estimated
economic impact of over $8 billion per year to the
Salinas Valley and is the leading employment industry
in the city. The agricultural land surrounding Salinas
and its related industry are among the most valuable
features of the community, and of the utmost
importance to preserve. Salinas has grown in both
size and population since the current General Plan
was adopted in 2002.
Salinas’ relationship with the agriculture industry
continues to evolve as Salinas changes, growing
from 14,000 residents in 1940, to over 160,000
in 2023. As fields converted to neighborhoods,
commercial centers, and industry, Salinas became
the “value-add” hub of the region, packaging and
processing produce for distribution. Farmland within
municipal boundaries has shrunk and both the 1988
and 2002 General Plans envisioned the long-term
conversion of remaining fields to other uses. In the
past decade, Salinas has also emerged as a leader in
Agriculture Technology (Ag-Tech), and hosted the
Forbes Ag-Tech summit for five consecutive years
pre-Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2021, the City launched a comprehensive General
Plan Update, branded Visión Salinas 2040. This is the
time to examine Salinas’ current relationship to the
agricultural industry and how to plan for its future.
A lack of available industrial/commercial space,
development-ready land,and other factors make
business expansion/attraction difficult. The livelihood of many Salinas residents is tied directly or indirectly to agriculture, but its median household income
is below that of the state and Monterey County.
High housing and other costs exacerbate industry
workforce challenges. The General Plan Update is an
opportunity to position Salinas and the agriculture
industry for an adaptable and resilient future that
raises the quality of life for all in the community.
SALC Planning Grant
The City received a Sustainable Agricultural Land
Conservation Planning Grant (SALC Grant) that
funded an agricultural economic and land use
analysis and grassroots engagement of farmworkers
and Salinas residents in the General Plan process.
The economic analysis examined industry crop and
labor trends, challenges and threats, and real estate
and land use suitability. The outreach component
focused on a wider range of topics impacting the
local labor force, and was used to reach community
members who are underrepresented in traditional
policy-making efforts.
The final grant deliverable, this Agricultural Policy
Framework, is the result of these projects, and
collects draft policies and recommendations for
the General Plan update related to the industry in a
central document.
Document Organization
This document is organized into three chapters and
appendices: Chapter 1 is this introduction. Chapters
2 and 3 summarize the economic analysis and
community engagement results and provide the draft
policies for the General Plan Update. The unabridged
Salinas Agriculture Economic and Land Use Study
and community engagement documentation are
appendices to this Framework.
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 1. Executive Summary ■ 4 Key Findings
• The landscape of the agriculture industry
in Salinas is in its next evolution, as
future growth will convert most active
growing fields in City boundaries, it
faces increasing competition from
other Monterey County cities and other
regions of the United States.
• Addressing transportation and water
infrastructure are critical to retaining
and attracting packing/shipping and
other value-add agricultural businesses.
Improving access to US 101 and
increasing industrial wastewater capacity
in particular.
• Land and facility availability for new
businesses is extremely tight. Facilitating
development of the Agriculture Industrial
Center is critical to relieving this limited
capacity.
• The General Plan Update should
encourage a more flexible zoning code.
In addition, improving the permitting
process and experience are important to
elevating the perception of the City as
open to business development.
• The City needs more direct and
intentional communication with the
agriculture industry to build relationships
and gain a deeper understanding of
its core challenges. This should help
tailor economic development efforts
supporting the industry.
• The industry, City, and educational
partners need to work together to
prepare the labor force for the future.
Increasing educational attainment
in technology, chemistry, and other
related fields can help increase the
career prospects of residents and attract
companies to grow Salinas as an Ag Tech
and research destination.
• Climate change threatens both the
agriculture industry and its workers.
Increased flooding and wildfire in recent
years have damaged cropland, led to
product and wage losses, and created
hazardous working conditions. Risks
of pests, reduced water availability,
and changing growing suitability are
additional threats.
• Housing affordability is both a top
resident concern and a labor issue. Low
wages and high costs make Salinas
an unaffordable place and leads to
overcrowding and other challenges. The
industry, City, and housing partners all
must place larger roles in impacting this
housing crisis.
• Pesticide exposure, pollution burden,
food access, limited open space, and
housing conditions are all environmental
justice issues facing Salinas farmworkers.
Draft policies for the City’s first Health
and Environmental Justice Element seek
solutions to these and other concerns.
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 1. Executive Summary ■ 5 (/1 01
1 83
68 Important Farmland
S o u r c e : C a l i f o r n i a D e p a r t m e n t o f C o n s e r v a t i o n , 2 0 1 8 ; P l a c e W o r k s , 2 0 2 1 . 0 21
Miles
Important Farmland
Prime Farmland
Farmland of
Statewi de
Importance
Unique Farmland
Graz ing Land
Urban and Built-Up
Land
O th er Lan d
City Limit
Sphere of Inf luence
P r o p o s e d S p h e r e o f In f l u e n c e
Data Source: California Department of Conservation, 2018; PlaceWorks, 2021.
Agricultural Land In and Around Salinas
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 2. Economic and Land Use Analysis ■ 6 Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 2. Economic and Land Use Analysis ■ 6 02 Economic and
Land Use Analysis
of Agriculture in
Salinas
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 2. Economic and Land Use Analysis ■ 7 Introduction
This chapter summarizes the Salinas Agriculture
Economic and Land Use Study prepared for the
City of Salinas. It also adds additional context
and the draft General Plan policies related to its
recommendations. See Appendix A for the complete,
original Study.
Salinas is at the forefront of one of the most
productive agricultural economies in the world and
continues to grow and evolve both as a community
and an economy. The economic opportunities in
Salinas continue to provide opportunities to diversify.
This Ag study focuses on the agricultural economy.
It identifies how Salinas can continue to benefit
from agricultural production while planning for
future challenges and providing opportunities to
grow, continuing to keep the agricultural economy
strong. Salinas serves as an operation base for
multiple functions within the agricultural economy,
including equipment vendors, employment services,
administrative support, and distribution and
warehousing. These operations act as standalone
companies and as part of larger agricultural
companies.
To address future capacity issues, Salinas has
identified an opportunity area called the Salinas
Agricultural Industrial Center (the Ag Center). The
Ag Center has gone through a specific plan process
and discussions around this site have centered on a
need for specialized cooling and other logistics and
warehousing facilities, as well as potential space for
processing activities and administrative and support
functions. While projected job growth for Salinas
shows modest net growth in demand for industrial
spaces, demand for the center could also be driven
by relocation of existing businesses within town. This
creates an opportunity to optimize the replacement
use to the benefit of the industry and the City.
The Ag Center would potentially help agricultural
production businesses in Salinas remain competitive
and stay in Salinas by helping to reduce operational
input costs.
Therefore, Salinas’ capacity to expand its role as the
industrial and administrative center of Monterey
County’s agricultural economy would be enhanced
with the establishment of the Ag Center. The Ag
Center would provide modern spaces for existing
operations looking to expand or replace aging
facilities and serve as a potential business attraction location. The Center would also provide a unique
opportunity to reorganize Salinas’ economic
geography by relocating industrial uses that are
situated closer to residential neighborhoods, and
allowing the existing spaces to be redirected towards
redevelopment and placemaking activities that can
support other economic activities and better meet
market demand from residents as well as tourists.
Key trends discussed in this chapter include:
• Recent years have shown Salinas’ economic
base growing at a modest pace, with agriculture
making up the largest portion of economic
activity. Salinas’ labor force is young, with a large
proportion of workers lacking a high school or
college education. Salinas also has a shortage of
both agricultural production workers as well as
health care and educational workers. The labor
force also has a sizable number of professionals
and construction workers who commute to jobs
outside of Salinas and Monterey County. The role
of Salinas as a bedroom community for those
workers has put upward pressure on housing
prices, and the regional shortage of agricultural
workers as well as the tourist-serving hospitality
workers is an outcome of that trend.
• Salinas has numerous opportunities with
agriculture and other economic sectors;
however, its competitive position with agriculture
has been the strongest. As Salinas evolves, other
communities along the 101 corridor, such as
Gonzales and King City, have also begun to
compete for industrial functions.
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 2. Economic and Land Use Analysis ■ 8 • Constraints to expansion and modernization of
Salinas’ agricultural sectors are extensive and
must be addressed. Most prominently, the City’s
water supply and wastewater infrastructure face
numerous challenges. In addition, circulation
constraints have put Salinas at a disadvantage
compared to other locations, such as the Central
Valley. The 101/Abbott interchange project will
need to be a priority in conjunction with the
Center project.
Existing Conditions and Key
Issues
Employment base and key industries
Salinas is the leading economic center for Monterey
County, and its composition and recent trends
parallel the broader regional economy to a large
extent. For both Salinas and the County, the
employment base is dominated by agricultural
production. Salinas’ employment base totaled about
65,200 jobs in 2021..By comparison, the County
had a total of 188,400 jobs. The largest employers
in Salinas are agriculture, health care, retail trade,
educational services, and public administration.
About 25 percent of the agricultural employment in
the county is in Salinas. This mirrors the overall job
distribution that also shows about a quarter of the
total jobs in Monterey County are located in Salinas,
according to data from JobsEQ1.
Some growing economic base industries, (those
with positive job growth and high existing
concentration) according to the same data, include
agricultural support services, food manufacturing,
wholesale trade, and hospitals. Emerging industries
(those with positive job growth but a low existing
concentration) include construction, manufacturing,
health care, data and information services, and
multiple professional services sectors. It is critical
that land use and zoning policies are flexible
enough to respond to needs to both base and
1 Source: JobsEQ (historical data from Quarterly
Census of Employment and Wages)
emerging industries and provide land availability for
both. These are still broad industry categories and
particularly for emerging industries, more research
is needed to identify business types to better
understand how to attract and grow these jobs.
Labor force trends
Salinas’ potential job creation strength lies in its
changing demographics and educational and
economic characteristics. Salinas’ relative youth
with a median age of 31 years, slightly increasing
educational attainment levels, and substantial
college or graduate school enrollment are all positive
traits that could lead to a higher trained and more
qualified workforce able to fill potentially higher
paid jobs. Combined with greater and targeted
local educational opportunities through Hartnell
Community College and California State University
Monterey Bay, as well as research and development
facilities at the Naval Postgraduate School in
Monterey and the University of California at Santa
Cruz, Salinas is geographically well positioned
to build upon these strengths. In addition, the
unemployment rate for Salinas in 2021 was 5.5
percent, which is notably lower than California (8.3
percent) and Monterey County (6.8 percent).
While increasing, educational attainment in Salinas
is still behind both California and Monterey County
with only 57.7% of those at least 25 years of age
graduating from high school and 12.5% obtaining
a bachelor’s degree or higher. These figures are at
74% and 27.2% for Monterey County, and 84.4% and
36.2% for California2. Salinas also comparatively
lacks lacks high-paying jobs, with an average
household income lower than the State or County
average3Increasing educational attainment and direct
training/apprenticeships are important for pathways
to better paying jobs and attracting more companies
with those kinds of opportunities.
2 US Census American Community Survey (2021
one-year sample).
3 US Census American Community Survey (2020
five-year estimate)
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 2. Economic and Land Use Analysis ■ 9 Crop Patterns and Trends
Monterey County is one of the leading agricultural
producing regions in the world, and in particular
has large concentrations of high value crops that
go directly to consumers for consumption. Total
agricultural production was about $4.1 billion in
2021, and the overall production remained above $4
billion every year over the past decade, except the
beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The
unadjusted crop production value since 2012 peaked
at $4.8 billion in 2015.
The leading crops in Monterey County in 2021
include strawberries, lettuce, broccoli, wine grapes,
spinach, cauliflower, celery, livestock, brussels
sprouts, and nursery products. The prevalence of
strawberries, lettuce, broccoli, and wine grapes
has been consistent over the long-term. However,
in recent years nursery products production has
dropped.
With the production value per acre, strawberry crops
averaged over $93,000 in 2021. This production
value per acre has shown long-term growth over the
past decade, while most of the other leading crops
have a production value per acre below $20,000
with minimal long-term change since 2012.
Other high value crops with over $100,000 in
production value per acre include nursery products
and mushrooms. It should be noted that many of the
individual commodities for those high-value crops
are grown under cover and therefore tend to utilize
less space than other crops grown in the open.
The cultivated crop acreage in Monterey County in
2021 was about 294,700 acres. This is a decline from
prior years, which showed a recent peak of 373,500
acres in 2013 and steadily declined afterwards. . It
remains to be seen whether the decline in vegetable
crop acreage was a temporary phenomenon brought
on by pandemic-driven labor shortages, or if this
represents a more permanent reduction.
Cannabis represents a significant addition to
agricultural production, but in the short-term the
sector remains highly volatile as wholesale prices
dropped significantly in 2022 due to overproduction
throughout the State of California.
Consideration of Climate Change
Climate change has impacted California agriculture
in many ways. Increasing temperatures and reduced
chill hours, volatile precipitation, extreme weather
(droughts, floods, and fires), and an uptick in pests
are significantly impacting California agriculture,
crops, and crop rotation patterns. Moving forward,
the farming community is forced to address the
impacts of climate change to remain productive as
the global crop demand is expected to double by
2050.4
Global temperatures have increased by 2.5°F since
1880 and are projected to continue to increase
in California throughout the 21st century5. With
a warming climate have come rising nighttime
temperatures and an increase in extreme heat6, the
latter of which puts pressure on the farmworkers.
Further, increased heat has reduced winter chill
hours (hours under 45°F)7, which are essential for
the growth of many California seed and fruit crops,
including almonds, walnuts, avocados, cherries, and
oranges, among others.8
4 Ray, D. K., Mueller, N. D., West, P. C., & Foley, J.
A. (2013). Yield trends are insufficient to double global crop production by 2050. PLoS ONE, 8(6). https://doi.
org/10.1371/journal.pone.0066428
5 Fernandez-Bou, A. S. (2022, June 13). Climate
change and the future of Agriculture. CalCAN. https://
calclimateag.org/climate-change-and-the-future-of-
agriculture/
6 Gershunov, A., & Guirguis, K. (2012).
California heat waves in the present and future.
Geophysical Research Letters, 39(18). https://doi.
org/10.1029/2012gl052979
7 Luedeling, E., Zhang, M., & Girvetz, E. H. (2009).
Climatic changes lead to declining winter chill for fruit and nut trees in California during 1950–2099. PLoS ONE, 4(7). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0006166
8 CalCAN. (2021, December 7). Climate threats
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 2. Economic and Land Use Analysis ■ 10 In addition, the warmer environment creates a faster
snowmelt runoff, which leads to both winter flooding
(similar to the recent flooding that occurred in 2023
in Monterey County) and summer water deficits.9
The effects of climate change present multiple
challenges to crop survival, as oxygen availability
decreases, root asphyxia occurs, and plant disease
rates increase.10
Not only are droughts and flooding becoming
a pattern, but wildfires are also occurring at an
increasing rate.11 Fires have eliminated many fields
to agriculture. CalCAN. https://calclimateag.org/
climatethreatstoag/
9 Sommer, L. (2017, February 28). With climate
change, California is likely to see more extreme flooding.
NPR. http://www.npr.org/2017/02/28/517495739/with-
climate-change-california-is- likely-to-see-mo-re-
extreme-flooding
10 Pioneer Agronomy. (n.d.). Flooding Impact on
Crops. Pioneer® Seeds. https://www.pioneer.com/us/
agronomy-science.html
11 Westerling, A. L., Hidalgo, H. G., Cayan, D. R., &
altogether and have also led to vast increases in
insurance premiums for farmers. Some have lost
coverage entirely.12
Climate change is also impacting agriculture through
an increased presence of pests and plant diseases.
Pathogen development and survival rates have
increased with the warmer climate13,putting crops
at risk of animal, fungal, bacterial, and other viral
pathogens.14
Agricultural Cluster Trends
Agricultural production represents a multifaceted
activity in Salinas and Monterey County that creates
demand for businesses in other support sectors.
Some of the supporting industries for agriculture are
more concentrated than others. Some specific areas
of note include:15
• Support activities for crop production are
concentrated in Salinas and include a combination of
farm management and contract labor, in addition to
specialized crop and harvesting services.
• Trucking, warehousing, and storage are
lacking in Salinas. While some trucking services have
an above-average concentration in Salinas, some
other types of transportation and transportation
Swetnam, T. W. (2006). Warming and earlier spring increase western U.S. forest wildfire activity. Science, 313(5789), 940–943. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1128834
12 California State Assembly. (2020, November 18).
The Impact of Wildfires on California Agriculture Report Informational Hearing.
13 Ahanger, R. A., Bhat, H. A., Bhat, T. A., Ganie, S.
A., Lone, A. A., Wani, I. A., Ganai, S. A., Haq, S., Khan, O.
A., Junaid, J. M., & Bhat, T. A. (2013). Impact of Climate Change on Plant Diseases . International Journal of
Modern Plant & Animal Sciences, 105–112. https://doi.
org/10.1201/b14056-16
14 17 Pathak, T., Maskey, M., Dahlberg, J., Kearns,
F., Bali, K., & Zaccaria, D. (2018). Climate change trends and impacts on California agriculture: A detailed
review. Agronomy, 8(3), 25. https://doi.org/10.3390/
agronomy8030025
15 Data from JobsEQ
Climate change raises the risks of increased regional
flooding
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 2. Economic and Land Use Analysis ■ 11 support sectors, such as freight transportation
arrangement and support activities for road
transportation do not have a high concentration.
Warehousing and storage sectors also have a low
concentration in both Salinas and Monterey County.
• Trade and regulatory organizations in Salinas
generally show a comparatively low concentration
of jobs. Only public sector regulation of agricultural
marketing and commodities shows a high
concentration.
• Salinas is under-represented in food and
beverage manufacturing. Many individual food
processing industries have not developed in Salinas.
The processing activity often ties into what a region
grows, and as mentioned in the previous section,
much of Monterey County’s agricultural product is
consumed directly rather than designated for further
processing activity beyond cooling and packaging.
The only food manufacturing sector with above-
average concentration is other food manufacturing.
• Beverage manufacturing also shows a low
concentration of jobs in Salinas. This may be an
excellent target for future capture in Salinas, as
County data (see subsequent section) show the
industry is otherwise well- represented in the region.
Again, this may be an industry that helps fill out the
industrial base of the City.
Supporting Operations
Crop production in Monterey County creates
demand for more than $2.0 billion in supplier
purchases, with 34 percent of the purchases
occurring locally. The highest supplier demand
occurs in agricultural support services, chemical
manufacturing, other farm products, real estate, and
petroleum/coal products.
Supplier industries with the highest demand by crop
producers include agricultural support services,
chemical manufacturing, other crop producers, real
estate, and petroleum/coal product manufacturing.
Each of these sectors generate more than $100
million in supplier demand by crop producers.
Warehousing and storage only generate about $8.7
million in annual supplier demand. Most warehousing
and storage use the crop producers’ own facilities,
rather than supplied through an outside firm.
The sectors with the highest in-region purchase
percentage are support activities for agriculture and
trade with other crop producers. At least 75 percent
of the purchases for these sectors are made with
other Monterey County businesses.
The largest unmet commodity demand is with
chemical manufacturing, for which only 15 percent
of the supplier purchases are made in-region.
The types of businesses that can be supported in
Salinas would need to account for the high degree
of urbanization within the City Limits, compared to
unincorporated Monterey County. While sectors
such as chemical and petroleum/coal product
manufacturing have very large unmet demand
by agricultural businesses that is imported into
Monterey County, those types of uses also generate
externalities (noise, pollution, safety risks to adjacent residential neighborhoods, etc.) on a scale that make
them undesirable uses for a populated area with high
average household sizes such as Salinas.
The largest suppliers with potential for import
substitution also include several manufacturing
sectors, such as machinery, wood products, paper
products, electrical equipment, plastic/rubber, and
fabricated metal manufacturing. The general site
conditions for that type of manufacturing can be
potentially accommodated within Salinas’ existing
and planned industrial areas. Each of these sectors
have at least $20 million of unmet agricultural
supplier demand in Monterey County.
Role of Agricultural Technology
For Salinas to determine its own economic future,
jobs will need to be created in sectors dissimilar from the past, but also related to opportunities in ag tech.
Many of the most innovative ag tech companies
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 2. Economic and Land Use Analysis ■ 12 are either centered in the area or are focused on
applied research and commercial applications in
the vegetable growing fields of the surrounding
Monterey Bay region.
Moreover, a basic tenet of economic development
is the expansion of capacities that contribute to the
advancement of society through the realization of
individual, firm, and community potential. With that
in mind, the future of Salinas’ economic growth
should come from an increased commitment
to nurturing its greatest economic strength—
agricultural production and distribution—but also an
increased emphasis on technology-based industries
mentioned above, especially as they relate to
agricultural innovation.
Over the last decade, Salinas has become a leader
in AgTech, with advances like the Western Growers
Center for Innovation and Technology, a burgeoning
start-up scene, and hosting the Forbes AgTech
summit multiple times. The City must do what it
can to keep momentum in this space going and
help its educational partners prepare residents for
opportunities in this sector.
Required Space Type and Acreage
Projected employment growth in Salinas through
2031 will potentially support over 350,000 square
feet of industrial space. In addition, wholesale trade
job growth will potentially support nearly 200,000
square feet and transportation and warehousing
growth could potentially support as much as
100,000 square feet of space in Salinas. Altogether,
this represents nearly 650,000 square feet of
industrial and similar building space that would be
needed over the next 10 years. Depending on the
floor area ratio (FAR) assumption, this potentially
creates demand for over 40 acres of industrial land.
It should be noted that the projected job growth
would represent a significant slowdown from the job
growth trends over the past decade. If the growth
projection continues the high growth trend that
Salinas experienced over the past decade, then the
overall demand for industrial space would come out
to nearly 2 million square feet of industrial space,
with a potential land demand of up to 130 acres.
Over a 20-year period, this high growth scenario
would result in more than 4.7 million square feet
of industrial space demand, and a potential land
demand of more than 300 acres.
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 2. Economic and Land Use Analysis ■ 13 In addition, the square footage demand does not
include agricultural production, which generally
supports outdoor and greenhouse operations that
do not require built-up industrial spaces. However,
many of the most prominent crop types in Monterey
County, such as lettuce and salad products, require
refrigerated storage and chilling facilities before
heading to market. This increases the potential need
for light industrial spaces. It should be noted that
the need for expanded cooler functions does not
depend on large demand for more workers. Because
of the high cost for these facilities, the private sector has been hesitant to take on the construction risk.
The Salinas Agricultural Industrial Center (the Ag
Center), a 257-acre ag-related industrial park located
within Salinas, presents an opportunity for the City
to revitalize and expand their industrial offerings,
attracting new facilities and users. Recent land use
plans prepared for the Ag Center anticipate the
center will contain approximately 1.5 million square
feet of major industrial uses (agricultural processing
center), 2.0 million square feet of minor industrial
uses (ag. cooling, distribution, & general light
industrial), and 770,000 square feet of minor (Flex)
industrial uses (sales, contractor yards). The expected capital subsidy of $35 million (2023 $) to be provided
by the City based on new property tax increment
generated by the site should be an effective
approach to keeping the cost of land and space at
levels affordable to support industry.
The Agricultural Industrial Center Specific Plan
was adopted in 2009 and to date has seen no
construction on the property. As the only significant
industrially-zoned undeveloped land in the City,
this has helped create a tight market for related
uses. Enabling Ag Center development is critical
to maintaining Salinas’ lead role in the industry
and keeping existing facilities in the city, as well
as attracting new ones. If existing companies
within Salinas relocate to the Ag Center, that
would also open new industrial and light industrial
opportunities on their former sites. Many of the
older facilities in town are in two distinct areas,
the Market Street area, and other areas. Where
possible, treating these areas as “sending” zones
and positioning Abbott Steet as the “receiving” zone
Agriculture Industrial Center Site from above Harris Road Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 2. Economic and Land Use Analysis ■ 14 would be a gradual and systematic approach to
consolidating and strengthening land use patterns
in Salinas, allowing appropriate adaptation of close-
in land supply on the periphery of the downtown
district. The reorganization and consolidation of
ag functions to the Abbott Street area sets up the
potential for site reuse for housing and other uses as
appropriate Key stakeholders in the City’s agricultural industrial business community have identified a
lack of industrial land supply available for business
expansion/development where development costs
are feasible. The Ag Center site is the “ripest” site
for agricultural industrial business development
due primary to its advanced entitlement status. The
rate at which development absorption will occur is
unknown at this time. Regardless, it is prudent for
the City to be planning for longer-term agricultural
industrial development capacity as such is important
for longer term growth and for managing industrial
land costs through adequate competition.
Transportation and Infrastructure Barriers
Transportation, water availability, and industrial
wastewater are three infrastructure components
that will limit the agriculture industry in Salinas if not properly addressed. Existing circulation constraints
have and will continue to be a disincentive for
existing agricultural businesses in the southwest
portion of the City. While not explicitly expressed
by focus group participants as a likely sole rationale
for curtaining new investment in Salinas, circulation
challenges were universally identified and noted as
a potentially important variable in Mann Packing’s
decision to relocate to Gonzales.
Agricultural industrial businesses in and near the
Abbott Street industrial corridor have long been
concerned about circulation constraints, as identified
in the transportation analysis conducted for the
Salinas Ag Center, and the public outreach process
for the Economic Development Element (EDE).
Several sector stakeholders also noted the poor
pavement conditions on a number of roadways
in and around the industrial core as indicative of a
decline in the quality of the transportation system.
This includes heavy-duty truck access from
Highway 101 back to the industrial areas. Studies
have identified congested conditions and limited
access due to limited roadway capacity. Due to
uncertainty about mitigation feasibility for a number
of improvements, the Salinas Ag-Industrial Center
EIR found many impacts to be potentially significant
and unavoidable.
Circulation improvements needed to resolve
operational challenges are known, but their
implementation is constrained by funding and
physical limitations along some routes. The
Transportation Agency of Monterey County (TAMC)
is in the preliminary planning stages for a project
to improve the U.S. Highway 101/Abbott Street
interchange. This could provide some incremental
relief, particularly for future end users in the Salinas Ag Center. The possibility for a new interchange
accessing 101 at Abbott Street and Harris Road
would be a more direct improvement for the existing
industrial users and the Ag Center.
Cal Water extracts groundwater from the 100/400-
foot aquifer to supply agricultural industry in Salinas.
The aquifer is in overdraft condition. New demand
from expanded operations on existing sites and/
or revitalization of underutilized/vacant sites would
Freight infrastructure and circulation are key issues to address
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 2. Economic and Land Use Analysis ■ 15 worsen overdraft conditions; such demand could
come under heightened scrutiny.
Farmers are already making decisions about moving
agricultural production and associated processing
and packaging operations to other locations and/
or extending the duration of production in other
locations in part due to concerns about water supply
availability.
Water supply availability is a key concern for
agricultural industrial sector stakeholders as it affects both the direct and indirect financial viability of
their businesses. Sufficient supply to accommodate
business expansion going forward and sufficient
supply for continuing agricultural crop cultivation are cited as the two main potential constraints. Potential
constraints stem primarily from the perceived
threat of water supply being constrained to ensure
sustainability of groundwater supply.
Agricultural industry stakeholders and the City
understand the implications of groundwater
sustainability plans (GSP) developed by the Salinas
Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA).
The status of groundwater supply, both quantity
and reliability, suggests that constraints on water
supply availability are possible now and in the future.
These constraints include historical overdraft of
groundwater (with agricultural demand accounting
for 90 percent). In addition, the GSP underestimates
future subbasin overdraft for urban growth that
occurs as infill rather than new expansion onto
agricultural land. Overdraft can be mitigated by
reducing pumping or recharging the subbasin
through direct or in-lieu means.
There may be sufficient uncertainty on the part of
the agricultural industry and farmers regarding fair
share costs to consider options to continuing to
re-invest in the Salinas Valley and Salinas. This has
potential to be a negative influence on agricultural
productivity and on the economic health of the
agricultural industrial sector.
Cal Water’s 2020 Urban Water Management Plan
(UWMP) is the purveyor-level plan for providing
water to areas of the City that are home to its
existing agricultural industrial businesses and future
businesses (e.g., Salinas Ag Industrial Center).
The UWMP is now being implemented under the
umbrella of groundwater supply management
planning being conducted and implemented by the
GSA.
While Cal Water believes that groundwater
supply will meet future demands, the Sustainable
Groundwater Management Act may impact future
supply reliability. Projected industrial water demand
shows zero growth between 2020 and 2045. Cal
Water would be subject to pumping reductions/
allowances should such be required by the GSA in
the future. The Ag Center was projected to have
no net impact on groundwater overdraft because it
would convert agricultural water demand to urban
demand.
Industrial wastewater treatment capacity at the
City’s industrial wastewater treatment facility (IWTF)
is limited. Limited capacity is currently a constraint
to agricultural industrial sector business growth,
and as a result, also potential constraint to business
retention. Concern about this constraint is universal
to associated stakeholders. However, the City is now
actively planning IWTF expansions for the short term
and for the medium to long term that should provide
increased stakeholder confidence that the constraint
can be resolved. These expansions may help catalyze
development of the Salinas Ag Center by reducing
uncertainty about the cost and timing of securing
new industrial wastewater treatment capacity.
The IWTF accepts wastewater flow from 23 different
industrial facilities and is operating at or near its
permitted capacity of 4.0 million mgd.
Limited capacity at the IWTF is a barrier to existing
businesses who may wish to expand operations at
their existing locations, businesses who may wish to
locate on existing vacant and/or underutilized infill
industrial parcels, and to new businesses that could
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 2. Economic and Land Use Analysis ■ 16 located within the Ag Center industrial business
stakeholders were near universally concerned about
this issue.
The IWTF must be expanded to accommodate
any new source(s) of treatment demand, due to
insufficient capacity even with the City’s agreement
with Monterey One Water (M1W) to pipe wastewater
to their regional plant.16
To further complicate existing operational conditions,
the IWTP overtopped during recent storms. Industrial
wastewater mixed with flow in the Salinas River. The
Regional Water Quality Control Board has indicated
that the City must invest improvements to better
flood proof the facility—a significant cost that had
not been anticipated by the City.17
Strategic Action
Recommendations and Draft
Policies
Altogether, agriculture is part of Salinas’ past and
present. It also stands to be a prominent part of the
City’s future. The analysis and findings identified
in this report outline strategic actions that Salinas
can take to help ensure the continued prosperity of
agriculture and the many other activities that tie into it, summarized below. Related draft General Plan
policies are included with their relevant section in
italics. Adoption of the General Plan is anticipated
by the end of 2024 and these draft policies may
continue to evolve in that process.
Land Supply and Space:
• Prioritize the Ag Center to address identified
short-term needs, such as aging cooling and
industrial support facilities in Salinas. Consider a
two-phased approach that would develop the
16 M1W has recently stated that it can no longer take
the wastewater because it doesn’t meet M1W standards. If this continues to be the case, the effective capacity of the IWTP would be reduced by this amount.
17 David Jacobs, City of Salinas Public Works
Director, March 15, 2023
second phase as market needs are fulfilled by the
initial building development phases.
• Ensure that Salinas’ future supply of industrial
space is adequate for supplier industries that
might want to locate in Salinas or for existing
businesses to expand. Contingency options
in the event that the Ag Center development
process does not proceed as expected include
existing industrial land capacity designated
through the General Plan, and potential synergies
between the Ag Center and surrounding land
areas.
• Amenitize Abbott Street District to provide
services to workers and potential new kinds of
spaces for people to visit through integration
of arts, food offerings, and small-scale
manufacturing.
Goal LUI (Land Use and Infrastructure Element)-1:
Support a balanced, diverse, and equitable land use
pattern that provides a wide range of jobs, housing,
recreation, and services.
Action LUI-1.1.1: Update the zoning code to include
more mixed use districts based on Place Type
designation and emphasize form over use in these
districts.
Action LUI-1.1.5: Align future land uses with
Economic Opportunity and Target Areas through
appropriate Place Types.
Policy LUI-1.4: Maintain a compact urban form,
locating growth areas in a manner that mitigates
negative impacts of future growth on environmental
quality and quality of life and minimizes loss of
important agricultural resources, while allowing
for the reasonable expansion of the City to address
projected population growth.
Action LUI-1.4.3: Direct most urban expansion to
the North and East, away from the most productive
agricultural land. Encourage industrial development
to locate within the approved Salinas Ag-Industrial
Center Specific Plan area.
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 2. Economic and Land Use Analysis ■ 17 Action LUI-1.4.7: Do not pursue growth into
Economic Reserve Areas until full buildout of Future
Growth/Target Areas. As this buildout occurs re-
evaluate Economic Reserve Area land use to best
meet needs of the community.
Policy LUI-1.6: Promote economic development
through focused land use planning and infrastructure
improvements, and targeted resource expansion.
Action LUI-1.6.5: Use the Place Types to increase
flexibility in the zoning code to accommodate
innovative economic development activity.
ED (Economic Development Element)-4.2.1: Create
destination-based and identifiable place-themed
districts within the community for agriculture,
business and technology, marketplace/shopping
activities, tourism, entertainment, recreation, food
and wine, cultural, and historic resources.
Economic Development Outreach and Operational
Support:
• Prioritize economic development activity
focused on the ag industry. This includes
identifying potential incentives for business
retention, expansion, and attraction; organizing
grant and opportunity zone efforts; identifying
direct funding resources, such as grant funding
and revolving loan funds; and identifying
supportive zoning solutions.
• Conduct outreach to local agricultural producers
to identify the extent to which their Salinas
operations extend into office, manufacturing,
distribution, and/or other industrial activities.
• Promote industry diversification by encouraging
other value-added activities and land uses to
support the anchor producers.
• Maintain communication with prominent
agricultural production businesses in Salinas and
identify the extent of their operations in Salinas.
• Conduct outreach to local cannabis producers
that can help identify potential demand and
constraints on local resources as that sector
expands. Recognize cannabis as a source of jobs
and public/private revenue.
• Promote a vision of Salinas as a major ag
research and ag technology center.
Goal ED-1: Support a diverse economy that provides
jobs responsive to the future while promoting the
continued economic success of the Salinas Valley
as the premier center of agricultural productivity
and technological advancement in the fresh food/
produce sector.
Policy ED-1.1: Encourage economic expansion and
diversification in the high-tech sector and other
industries that are ecologically compatible with
Salinas and that promote stable, year-round higher
paying employment opportunities.
ED-1.1.1: Promote training and educational
opportunities to encourage a diverse and educated
workforce and the upward mobility of the City’s
residents.
Policy ED-1.2: Maintain and enhance Salinas and the
Salinas Valley as the premier center of agricultural
productivity and technological advancement in the
fresh food/produce sector.
ED-1.2.1: Partner with the County and communities
of Monterey County to facilitate growth of the
agricultural cluster supply chain in Salinas and the
Salinas Valley.
ED-1.2.2: Invest in a coordinated program that
attracts investment capital and research activity in
agricultural technology to Salinas and the Salinas
Valley.
ED-1.2.3: Ensure supply of industrial land use space
is adequate for agriculture business expansion by
facilitating realization of the Ag Industrial Center
through an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing
District and other support.
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 2. Economic and Land Use Analysis ■ 18 ED-1.2.4: Build a stronger direct relationship between
the City and industry stakeholders to keep informed
of ag business and facility needs. Consider creating
an ag liaison position.
ED-1.1.2: Maintain a competitive supply of sites for
businesses and manufacturers associated with high
technology and light manufacturing industries.
ED-2.1: Ensure that existing businesses have access
to the resources and services they need to prosper
and expand in Salinas.
ED-2.1.1: Develop and maintain a business retention
and expansion program, including a menu of
incentives and City services available to existing
businesses to help facilitate growth and expansion.
ED-2.2: Support new business development and
attraction in Salinas and promote entrepreneurship
and business innovation.
ED-2.2.1: Employ a proactive business attraction
strategy to add complementary and new businesses
to the City.
ED-2.2.2: Identify vacant and/or underutilized
buildings that could be used as incubator spaces
for innovative business models that nurture
entrepreneurship and attract home grown
businesses.
ED-2.2.3: Leverage local agriculture, food, and
non-profit resources to create entrepreneurial
development, microlending, and job opportunities.
ED-2.3.1: Continue Business Navigator positions
as a point of contact in the city to assist new and
existing businesses through regulatory processes
and to share knowledge of accessible and
affordable resources, training programs, and funding
opportunities to support business creation, retention,
and expansion.
ED-2.3.2: Continue streamlining and simplifying the
business licensing and permitting process.
Labor Force:
• Strengthen Salinas’ existing strategic
partnerships, both formal and informal, with
workforce development programs at Hartnell
College, CSU Monterey Bay, UC Santa Cruz,
regional providers, and trade schools meet
the needs of agriculture in light of shifts in
technology and market changes.
• Expand strategic partnerships with trade groups
and establish an agricultural industry working
group in Salinas to address business climate and
workforce preparedness issues to improve and
formalize City-Industry communications.
• Address housing needs for agricultural and other
seasonal worker housing and engage with private
businesses that have been providing worker
housing.
ED-1.2.8: Promote capacity building/trainings for
existing workforce to ensure upward mobility in ag
tech sector.
Goal ED-3: Narrow social and economic
disparities in the City of Salinas through workforce
development and community support.
ED-3.1.1: Partner with local and regional educational
institutions and nonprofit organizations to increase
the number of high school graduates, literate adults,
and completed general education development
(GED) or vocational programs to increase job
readiness skills and opportunities. Integrate adult
learning programming, such as GED courses and
English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, into
vocational training and workforce development
programs.
Action ED-3.1.2: Encourage educational institutions
and workforce development programs to
expand and create new educational and training
programming based on employer/industry needs.
Action ED-3.1.3: Create or recruit new job training
programs (e.g., JobCorps) to connect existing and
future residents with job opportunities and to satisfy
the needs of local industry.
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 2. Economic and Land Use Analysis ■ 19 Policy ED-3.2: Promote economic security by
providing access to economic opportunities for all
workers and households in the community.
Action ED-3.2.3: Seek to increase the number of
professional-level jobs that offer family-supportive
wages, paid sick days, and health care insurance, and
protect worker safety, so college-educated residents
can find appropriate jobs in their home city.
Action ED-3.2.5: Support reskilling and
apprenticeship programs that provide upward career
mobility for residents.
HE (Housing Element) Goal 1:Increase housing
supply and opportunities for all.
HE Goal 2: Provide Tenant Protections.
HE Goal 4: Advance Housing Affordability and
Opportunity at all Income Levels.
Housing is discussed more in Chapter 3 of this
report. The City adopted its 2023-2031 Housing
Element in December of 2023, which was found in
substantial compliance by the state in January, 2024.
The Housing Element contains additional policies
and specific actions for affordable housing and
farmworker housing.
Infrastructure:
• Confront the need for further public investment
in short- and long-term infrastructure,
specifically circulation, water supply, land use,
and wastewater treatment.
• Circulation constraints have and will continue
to be a disincentive for agricultural businesses.
While the City’s ability to improve interchanges
is limited, TAMC has improvements under study
that could improve access to the Ag Center area
in the future.
• Water supply has been a constraint to the
economic vitality of the agricultural industrial
sector. The City should be proactive in pursuing
new sources, including savings from land use
changes; opportunities for reuse/recycling of
process water; and requiring reuse/recycling of
process water within the Ag Center.
ED-1.2.5: Address critical infrastructure issues
affecting the ag industry, including freight
transportation, water availability, and wastewater
treatment.
ED-1.2.6: Assist ag industry with identifying paths to
modernizing existing facilities to keep businesses in
Salinas.
Policy C (Circulation Element)-1.2: Improve
regional and intra city road, rail, and air logistics and connections.
Action C-1.2.3: Continue efforts to reduce adverse
impacts of truck traffic and parking in non-industrial
areas while recognizing on the local economic
importance of freight and logistics and responding to
industry needs.
Action C-1.2.3: Coordinate funding, planning,
and/or implementation for critical transportation
infrastructure and facility needs throughout the
Salinas Valley.
Goal C-3: Support the local economy through a
circulation system that moves products safely and
efficiently.
Policy C-3.1: Improve transportation infrastructure
necessary for efficient freight logistics.
Action C-3.1.1: Coordinate with state and regional
partners on improving truck access to U.S. 101
in Salinas and at the Abbott Street interchange
southeast of the City’s boundary and potential new
interchange at Harris Road.
Action C-3.1.2: Improve street maintenance of
designated truck routes.
Action C-3.1.3: Support freight movement via rail and
other alternatives if feasible.
ED-1.2.7: Work with the industry to reduce climate
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 2. Economic and Land Use Analysis ■ 20 impacts and adapt to changes such as increased
temperatures, volatile precipitation, water supply
threats, and increased pests.
Goal COES (Conservation and Environmental Safety
Element)-1: Increase the adaptability and resiliency
of Salinas to the effects of climate change.
Action COES-1.1.2: Explore options and resources
for protecting outdoor laborers (farmworkers,
construction workers, etc.) from the dangers and
potential wage loss from extreme heat and flooding
events.
Action COES-2.1.1: Work with water providers
to institute conservation programs to address
water supply problems caused by groundwater
overdrafting.
Action COES-12.1.3: Promote responsible and
sustainable water usage education for City residents,
businesses, and surrounding agricultural producers.
Action COES-12.1.4: Enforce the City’s Water
Conservation Ordinance and apply standards
that promote water conservation in agricultural,
residential, and non-residential uses.
Goal LUI-2: Ensure that above- and below-ground
infrastructure meets the existing and future
community needs.
Policy LUI-2.1: Maintain, improve, and expand flood,
wastewater, and sewer systems to meet current and
anticipated demands.
Action LUI-2.1.2: Provide a sewer system that meets
the needs of the community for sewer collection and
treatment and work with Monterey One Water (M1W)
for sewer treatment needs. Coordinate with M1W for
additional treatment capacity of expanded sewage
disposal needs.
Action LUI-2.1.3: Ensure existing wastewater,
industrial wastewater, and storm drainage
infrastructure systems, including broad municipal
level wastewater and stormwater solutions for water
reuse are maintained and upgraded to accommodate
existing and future businesses and development.
Action LUI-2.1.4: Continue to work with both
MCWRA and M1W to recycle industrial wastewater
for regional reuse which will in turn aid in the
expansion of the Industrial Wastewater Treatment
Facility.
Action LUI-2.1.6: Require new development, to the
extent feasible, to provide flood control facilities that are visually attractive and ecologically beneficial,
and require on-going maintenance of the facilities
by the development through a maintenance
district. Apply appropriate development standards
and fees to improve present drainage systems and
provide adequate stormwater detention basins and
sedimentation ponds with new construction.
Action LUI-2.2.1: Develop an infrastructure funding
toolkit which describes infrastructure funding
options and mechanisms available to the City and for
partnerships with the private sector.
Action LUI-2.2.2: Incorporate priority infrastructure
projects into the Capital Improvement Plan to
ensure they are programmed for funding and
implementation in an appropriate timeframe to meet
priority community objectives.
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 2. Economic and Land Use Analysis ■ 21 Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 3. Community Engagement ■ 22 Community
Engagement
03 Farmworker and
Grassroots General
Plan Engagement
Salinas Agricultural Policy Framework | 3. Community Engagement ■ 23 Grassroot Outreach
Overview
In 2021, the City initiated the
community engagement process
for the General Plan Update
(GPU). The City has augmented
GPU community engagement
with the support of the SALC
Grant. Part of this grant includes
a contract for direct outreach
with the support of a community-
based organization (CBO). The
SALC Grant presented a unique
opportunity to reach agricultural
workers of Salinas, their families,
and related community and
bring them into the General Plan
process beyond discussions of
agriculture. The City wanted
to partner with a CBO because
it knew it needed grassroots
connections and trust it did not
have on its own.
In the Summer of 2022, after
a formal proposal process, the
City entered a contract with
the Center for Community
Advocacy (CCA). CCA is tasked
with leading direct outreach with
Salinas stakeholders, focusing
primarily on farmworkers and
their families. This work is
facilitated by eleven (11) General
Plan Update Ambassadors. CCA
staff and ambassadors began
GPU engagement early June
2022 and have utilized a variety of
strategies.
The General Plan Ambassadors
have assisted with the distribution
of information regarding the
General Plan and have collected
concerns and challenges
raised by the communities they
have reached. Overall, seven
(7) community pop-ups were
conducted by Ambassadors
reaching approximately 1,290
people. These larger pop-ups
covered housing and other topics
and raised awareness of the GPU
and subsequent community
workshops. These took place
from June 2022 to January 2023
and were conducted in targeted
locations (agriculture fields, food
bank, community meetings).
Ambassadors also conducted
community conversations with
smaller groups. The conversations
took place from June 2022 to
November 2023, reaching over
1,800 people. City staff assisted
CCA with the preparation of
bilingual outreach materials.
Alongside surveys, a GPU tool
kit has been widely used to lead
broad conversations and gather
community input. The tool
kits have targeted five priority
areas- Housing, Public Safety,
Environmental Justice, Climate
Action, and Transportation.
SALC Ambassadors participated in
four (4) pop-up activities over the
summer of 2022. These efforts
focused on environmental justice
priorities and preferred building
densities.
Throughout the GPU process,
larger community meetings have
been held to gather community
feedback by City staff. Meeting
topics included: Environmental
Justice, Housing, Public Safety,
and Active Transportation.
Meetings were held in both
English and Spanish. CCA assisted
with advertising the meeting
to traditionally disadvantaged
communities to encourage their
voices be present at meetings.
House Meetings are a traditional
community-organizing tactic
to gather community input and
share information on a particular
campaign. Ambassadors began
house meetings focused on
the Housing Element early
February 2023 and continued
through April 2023. Collectively
they’ve facilitated ninety-five
(95) house meetings reaching
over three hundred and forty
(340) farmworkers and their
families. SALC outreach efforts
have primarily been conducted
in Spanish, Mixteco, and Triqui
and aim to include resident
voices who are often left out of
the decision-making process.
CCA’s report and their collective
outreach results are included as
Appendix B. Recurring themes of
the engagement are summarized
in the following pages by topic
area, with related draft General
Plan policies in italics.
Engagement findings and
recommended policies
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
• Need open space/parks for youth to play
• Opportunities for physical activity for all ages
• Access to open space in new housing
• Clean/fix storm drains to avoid flooding
• Access to resources/health care for
undocumented, low-income, Spanish-speakers,
native speakers, etc.
• Difficult to buy food due to high prices and low
income
• Don’t feel safe to walk in my neighborhood
• Afraid to allow kids to play in parks/greenspace
due to violence, homeless, gangs, etc.
• Less exposure to pollution
Goal HEJ (Health and Environmental Justice
Element)-1: Improve the quality of the built and
natural environments to support healthy lifestyles &
reduce health inequities
HEJ- 1.1: Adopt land use policies, programs, and
decisions that improve environmental quality and
reduce resident and worker exposure to toxins and
pollution.
HEJ-1.1.1: Improve air quality through proper
planning for land use and development design that
maintains air quality and reduces direct and indirect
emissions of air contaminates.
HEJ-1.1.2: Support alternative modes of
transportation, such as walking, biking, and public
transit, and develop bike- and pedestrian-friendly
neighborhoods to reduce emissions associated with
automobile use.
HEJ-1.1.3: Work with the State, agribusiness and
agricultural worker organizations to ensure that
agricultural use of pesticides and fertilizers do not
negatively affect public health and safety.
HEJ- 1.1.5: Seek funding for clean/up remediation of
City owned land to anticipate future development
projects.
HEJ- 1.2: Ensure that sensitive land uses are not
negatively impacted by hazardous materials or toxic
air contaminant sources.
HEJ-1.2.1: Work with responsible federal, state, and
county agencies to decrease air pollution emissions
occurring within the air basin.
HEJ-1.2.2: Work with federal and state agencies to
identify toxic disposal or leakage sites and pursue
prompt cleanup.
HEJ-1.2.3: Require that hazardous waste facilities and
waste transfer stations comply with the Monterey
County Hazardous Waste Management Plan.
HEJ-1.2.4: Ensure that hazardous materials used
in residential, business and industry are properly
handled and that information of their handling and
use is available to residents, fire protection and other safety agencies.
HEJ-Goal 2: Provide and maintain a range of
community services, programs, and institutional
Visión Salinas Existing Conditions Report | 3. Community Engagement ■ 24 Residents need more affordable healthy food
facilities to equitably meet the needs of the
community.
HEJ-2.2: Provide equitable access for all residents to
a variety of well-maintained and high-quality parks,
green space, and recreational opportunities that
enhance quality of life.
HEJ-2.2.1: Strive to create development patterns that
allow the majority of residents to be within one-half
mile walking distance of a park, greenway, public
plaza or recreation center.
HEJ-2.2.3: Ensure parks and green space is Safe,
Accessible, and Reflective of the Community’s needs.
HEJ-2.2.4: Improve existing parks and recreational
facilities in need of repair across the city.
HEJ-2.3: Strengthen the capacity and sustainability
of community-based organizations (CBOs) and
foundations in the City to provide critical services.
HEJ-2.3.1: Offer capacity building training and
technical assistance to existing community-based
organizations.
HEJ-2.3.2: Facilitate the creation of new or expanded
community-based organizations throughout the city.
HEJ-Goal 3: Ensure all Salinas’ residents have access
to purchase and grow healthy, affordable, and
culturally diverse relevant foods.
HEJ 3.2: Promote and expand year-round access
to sustainable, locally sourced and culturally
appropriate food through urban agriculture and
emergency food resources.
HEJ- 3.2.2: Continue to support the local food
banks.
HEJ- 3.2.3: Encourage and facilitate the
development and management of community
gardens prioritizing areas of high food insecurity.
HEJ- 3.2.4: Support the creation of Food Rx
programs to connect low-income patients and their
families to access fresh fruits and vegetables.
HEJ-Goal 4: Ensure safe and sanitary homes.
HEJ- 4.1: Work to eliminate the health risks
associated with lead-based paint, mold and other
contaminants.
HEJ- 4.1.2: Create a funding source to encourage
and facilitate remediation to benefit low-income
families.
HEJ-Goal 5: Promote spaces for physical activity.
HEJ- 5.1: Continue to create and maintain safe and
accessible public spaces to encourage physical
activities throughout the community.
HEJ- 5.1.1: Create trail networks for walking and
bicycling.
HEJ- 5.1.2: Develop signage and ‘how to’ visuals in
public parks to encourage and facilitate physical
activity.
HEJ- 5.1.5: Support private and public development
of public spaces (Carr Lake, Soccer Complex).
HEJ- 5.2: Provide resources and programming
for seniors and youth to engage in safe physical
activities.
HEJ- 5.2.1: Leverage partnerships to improve access
to exercise and safety equipment.
HEJ- 5.2.2: Invest in exercise equipment for parks
throughout the city, prioritizing the underserved
areas.
HEJ- 5.2.3: Continue to expand programming that
encourages physical activity for seniors.
HEJ- 5.2.4: Foster and develop partnerships with
CBOs and schools to encourage physical activity for
youth.
HEJ- 5.2.5: Encourage and facilitate opportunities for
adult recreation in the evenings (i.e., adult leagues).
HEJ: 5.2.6: Work with schools to streamline the
Joint Use Agreement process to expand the use of
Visión Salinas Existing Conditions Report | 3. Community Engagement ■ 25 available recreation space.
Goal 7: Improve existing and create new
programs that address the needs of disadvantaged
communities.
HEJ-7.1: Continue to provide needed social services
to stabilize the homeless population.
HEJ-7.1.1: Expand physical and mental health
services, such as substance abuse counseling and
rehabilitation services through an interdisciplinary
team for individuals experiencing homelessness.
HEJ-7.1.3: Help improve access to bathrooms
and personal hygiene supplies for individuals
experiencing homelessness.
HEJ- 7.2.5: Create a relocation assistance program
for rapid rehousing that helps cover move-in costs
(credit check, first month, deposit).
HOUSING
• Need to build new housing
• Affordable housing/low-income housing
• Housing for fieldworkers
• Housing with accommodations for kids
• Less discrimination when seeking housing
• I have felt discriminated due to:
• Immigration status
• Race
• Income
• Occupation
• Size of family/having kids
• Language barriers
• Lack of credit
• Lower rents/rent stabilization
• Different housing types—apartments, single
family homes
• Homeless issue
• Tenant support/protections
• Opportunities for home ownership for all (low-
income, undocumented)
• Lack of upkeep from landlords
• Easer process to apply for apartments
HE (Housing Element)-Goal 1: Increase housing
supply for all
HE Policy 1.1: Incentivize and support the production
of new housing units.
HE Policy 1.4: Encourage a mix of diverse housing
types.
Visión Salinas Existing Conditions Report | 3. Community Engagement ■ 26 Field workers complete a pop-up on housing
Goal 2: Provide Tenant Protections
HE Policy 2.1: Pursue policies and programs that
prevent displacement.
HE Policy 2.2: Advance rent stabilization.
HE Policy 2.3: Develop additional programs and
policies to support tenants’ rights and uphold fair
housing/landlord laws.
HE Policy 2.4: Provide education on fair housing and
connect tenants to related legal services.
Goal 3: Access to Safe and Healthy Housing for All
Residents
HE Policy 3.1: Improve the quality and condition of
rental housing.
HE Policy 3.2: Continue to promote the rehabilitation
of existing housing units.
Goal 4: Advance Housing Affordability and
Opportunity at all Income Levels
HE Policy 4.1: Facilitate the production of affordable
housing.
HE Policy 4.3: Promote housing opportunities for
existing residents.
HE Policy 4.4: Connect residents to financial
resources.
Goal 5: Stabilize and Support Neighborhoods
HE Policy 5.2: Leverage code enforcement strategies
to improve neighborhoods.
Goal 6: Improve City Homeless Response
HE Policy 6.2: Improve the quality of homeless
services and coordination with community providers.
HE Policy 6.3: Pursue funding opportunities to
support existing and new homeless services
programs.
PUBLIC SAFETY
• Need more safety throughout the City
• Stronger police force/presence
• Security/police needed in parks, stores, schools
• More lighting in the streets
• Access to childcare/after-school programs to
keep kids safe/out of gangs
• Streets feel unsafe (high speeds, high traffic
volume)
• Afraid of violence and gang activity
• Not always comfortable to call/interact with
police
• Better training for police (dealing with immigrant
communities, Spanish/Indigenous language)
• More safety for children/schools
• Disagreements with neighbors
Goal PS (Public Safety)-1: Continue to play a
central role in the creation and maintenance of a
community that resolves its problems in non-violent
ways.
Policy PS-1.1: Improve community safety and health
through civic engagement and relationship building.
Action PS-1.1.1: Create opportunities to build more
trusting and transparent relationships between the
community, businesses and public safety officers to
enhance collaboration and strengthen community
safety, inclusion, and engagement.
Action PS-1.1.2: Ensure language inclusivity
(including indigenous languages) to increase
communication and connections with community
members.
Action PS-1.1.3: Support and facilitate youth and
resident led community events like National Night
Out and Ciclovía.
Visión Salinas Existing Conditions Report | 3. Community Engagement ■ 27 Policy PS-1.2: Implement alternative policing
methods, Community Policing, youth programs
and crime awareness public education programs to
reduce the incidence of crime within Salinas.
Action PS-1.2.1: Promote neighborhood cohesion
programs, and Neighborhood Watch programs to
reduce the risk of criminal activity.
Action PS-1.2.2: Support after school programs
and other youth programs/activities (e.g., Explorer
Program, outreach positions for at-risk youth, etc.)
Action PS-1.2.3: Offer crime/violence prevention
trainings/programs.
Goal PS-2: Provide effective and responsive police
and fire services to ensure a safe and vibrant
community.
Policy PS-2.1: Ensure Salinas’ residents have effective and responsive fire, EMS, and police services.
Action PS-2.1.1: Address staffing needs by:
*Adding additional response units during periods of
high incident activity;
*Adding additional battalion chief(s) per shift;
*Plan for the addition of facilities and staff in future growth areas;
*Exploring opportunities to reduce response
workload;
*Addressing administrative and support staff needs.
Actin PS-2.1.2: Offer mental health/emotional
support services for fire/police officers.
Action PS-2.1.3: Encourage capacity building and
trainings for staff.
Policy PS- 2.2: Improve facilities and access to
equipment and technology.
Action PS- 2.2.2: Extend use of cameras at
intersections and high traffic public spaces.
Policy PS- 2.3: Fire/PD collaboration with other City
departments and outside agencies/organizations
to help improve the built environment and connect
residents to services.
Action PS-2.3.1: Work with the Community
Development Department to assist community
members with housing/shelter needs.
Action PS-2.3.4: Work with County of Monterey and
other agencies to connect residents with mental
health, social, domestic violence support and other
services.
Policy PS- 2.4: Provide a range of fire/police
services to support community education and non-
emergency situations.
Action PS-2.4.1: Seek funding opportunities to
support local schools with first aid and safety
trainings/demonstrations.
Action PS-2.4.4: Promote the use of the Salinas
Police Department anonymous tip line.
Goal PS-3: Create a safer community through the
use of design techniques for existing spaces, new
developments and reuse/revitalization projects.
Policy PS-3.1: Promote the use of Crime Prevention
through Environmental Design techniques/strategies.
Action PS-3.1.1: Encourage physical features that
improve building visibility, as well as well-marked
entrances and exits, proper lighting, and landscape
design to improve or limit access to certain areas.
Action PS-3.1.2: Create welcoming and accessible
community spaces with both safety and design
features (e.g., signage, public art, large planters/
boulders to discourage vehicles, etc.)
Policy PS-3.2: Cultivate a safe and clean
neighborhood environment in which residents,
employees, and visitors feel comfortable and safe at
all times.
Action PS-3.2.1: Ensure that streets, sidewalks, and
Visión Salinas Existing Conditions Report | 3. Community Engagement ■ 28 public spaces are clean and well maintained.
Action PS-3.2.2: Maintain and improve lighting in
parks.
CLIMATE ACTION
• Create more/protect existing green space/open
space
• Improve pedestrian/bike infrastructure
• Reusable energy in City facilities
• Plant more trees throughout the City
• Clean waterways to prevent flooding
• Don’t feel safe allowing kids out alone (to walk,
bike, access greenspace)
• Provide support to residents after natural disaster
events
Goal COES-1: Increase the adaptability and resiliency
of Salinas to the effects of Climate Change
Policy COES 1.1: Protect climate vulnerable
populations.
Action COES-1.1.3: Provide multilingual guidance
and resources on how to prepare for emergencies
and disasters through social media and at libraries,
community centers, and other community facilities.
Action COES-1.1.5: Establish or support outreach
programs to conduct wellness checks and help
distribute resources in preparation for or in the
aftermath of a disaster.
Policy COES 1.2: Prepare the built and natural
environments for a different climate and more severe
natural events.
Action COES-1.2.1: Identify critical infrastructure
vulnerable to climate change and means of
increasing protection and resiliency, such as
installing back-up power generators or flood
prevention.
Action COES-1.2.2: Encourage resilient landscaping
and plant selection for a warmer climate through
municipal codes, plans, and public resources.
Action COES-1.2.5: Invest in expanding Salinas’
urban tree canopy, particularly in under-resourced
neighborhoods.
Goal COES-2: Ensure a safe and adequate water
supply for the community
Policy COES-2.3: Protect and enhance water quality.
Action COES-2.3.3: Work with partners to enhance
Carr Lake as a reclamation/flood control facility in
addition to its other functions in addressing water
quality, enhancing traffic/circulation, and creating
recreational opportunities
Action COES-2.3.4: Promote public and private
development that creates green infrastructure that
captures and infiltrates water.
Goal COES-3: Encourage energy conservation.
Policy COES-3.1: Apply standards and develop
programs that promote energy conservation and a
community-wide shift towards renewable energy.
Action COES-3.1.1: Enforce State Title 24 building
construction requirements.
Visión Salinas Existing Conditions Report | 3. Community Engagement ■ 29 Wildfires, like those in 2020, create unsafe air conditions for outdoor workers
Action COES-3.1.2: Encourage land use
arrangements and densities that facilitate the use of
energy efficient public transit and locate or retain
neighborhood-level services (e.g., family medical
offices, dry cleaners, grocery stores, drug stores)
throughout the City to reduce energy consumption
through automobile use.
Action COES-3.1.3: Participate in programs that
promote energy conservation.
Action COES-3.1.5: Encourage buildings that are
energy efficient and support sustainability and
occupant health using green construction and
design techniques, including passive house design,
heat pumps, appliance electrification, solar energy,
and other technologies, techniques and materials.
Action COES-3.1.6: Support initiatives for equity in
electrification and making electrification possible for all residents.
Goal COES-4: Protect and enhance significant
ecological and biological resources in the planning
area.
Policy COES-4.1: Identify, protect, and enhance
creek corridors, river corridors, the reclamation ditch, sloughs, wetlands, hillsides, and other potentially
significant biological resources for their value in
providing visual amenity, flood protection, habitat for wildlife and recreational opportunities.
Action COES-4.1.3: Explore with Monterey County
the potential for creation of a Gabilan Creek Regional
Park extending along the creek from the urban edge
to the headwaters in the Gabilan Mountains.
Action COES-4.1.4: Actively maintain creek corridors
to ensure flood protection, water quality, and
regulatory compliance with maintenance permits.
Goal COES-5: Reduce the risk to the community
from flooding, wildfire, seismic activity, geologic
conditions, and other natural hazards.
Policy COES-5.1: Encourage policies, programs, and
measures to reduce the risk to the community from
potential flooding, wildfire, and seismic activity.
Action COES-5.1.2: Design flood control systems in
new development areas to avoid increasing flood
hazard elsewhere.
Action COES-5.1.3: Maintain open areas needed to
retain stormwater and prevent flooding of urban or
agricultural land.
Action COES-5.1.4: Provide stormwater retention
capacity consistent with Reclamation Ditch capacity
to avoid damage to urban development as a result of
a 100-year flood.
TRANSPORTATION
• Sidewalks need maintenance
• Improve pedestrian/bike infrastructure
• Need services/resources closer to homes
• Safe routes for bikes/pedestrians
• Current infrastructure feels unsafe
• Dark at night/lack of streetlights
• Feel unsafe to walk
• A lot of car traffic
• Better transportation options for students
• Improve pedestrian crossings
• Better public transit options
Goal C (Circulation Element)-1: Provide and maintain
a safe and integrated circulation system that meets
the current and future needs of the community for
all modes of travel.
Policy C-1.1: Design and maintain safe streets.
Action C-1.1.1: Use traffic calming methods within
residential areas where necessary to create a
pedestrian-friendly circulation system.
Visión Salinas Existing Conditions Report | 3. Community Engagement ■ 30 Action C-1.1.2: Continue to enforce traffic laws,
including those addressing bicycle and pedestrian
traffic, to ensure a circulation system that is safe for motorized, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic.
Action C-1.1.4: Implement Vision Zero Plan
recommendations and invest in safer transportation
infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists, and other
modes of travel.
Policy C-1.3: Promote proper capacity and traffic
flow on City streets.
Action C-1.3.1: Utilize roundabouts, where feasible,
to promote improved traffic operations and to enrich
the driving experience. Utilize the center of the
roundabouts for public art and landscaping.
Action C-1.3.2: Design roadway capacities to
adequately serve planned land uses. Discourage
diversion of traffic to local streets by providing
capacity on arterial streets and locating high traffic- generating uses on or near arterial frontages.
Action C-1.3.3: Reduce the number of existing
driveways on arterial streets whenever possible for
reuse/revitalization projects to improve traffic flow.
Action C-1.3.4: Continue to require new
development to contribute to the financing of street
improvements, including formation of roadway
maintenance assessment districts, required to meet
the demand generated by the project.
Goal C-2: Create and support sustainable and
healthy transportation options that encourage a
reduction in single-occupancy vehicle commuting
and overall Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT).
Policy C-2.1: Provide and maintain safe routes
to school, work, shopping, and recreation for
pedestrians.
Action C-2.1.1: Improve the walking environment by
increasing the availability of safe, attractive, and well- maintained sidewalks, cut-throughs, landscaping,
use of traffic-calming devices on local streets,
adequate pedestrian separation from automobile
traffic and the inclusion of pedestrian-scaled
amenities such as lighted crosswalks and increased
lighting along sidewalks in all areas of the City.
Policy C-2.2: Provide and maintain an extensive
public bicycle network with safe and equitable on-
street and off-street facilities.
Action C-2.2.1: Continue to develop a safe and
attractive network of on- and off-street bicycle
Visión Salinas Existing Conditions Report | 3. Community Engagement ■ 31 The City must work with Monterey-Salinas Transit to create a system that works for its residents routes to encourage and facilitate the use of bicycles
for commuting, recreation, and other trips. Eliminate
gaps and provide connections between existing
bicycle routes.
Action C-2.2.3: Create an interconnected active
transportation network by developing off-street trails
throughout Salinas along creeks/waterways and
through parks that integrate with on-street bicycle
and pedestrian infrastructure.
Policy C-2.3: Promote and maintain an efficient,
reliable, and equitable public transportation network,
that provides a feasible alternative to driving.
Action C-2.3.2: Support Monterey-Salinas Transit
initiatives to provide adequate and improved (e.g.,
more frequent availability and use of Intelligent
Transportation System measures where appropriate)
public transportation service.
Action C-2.3.3: Promote public transportation that
is bike- and pedestrian-friendly by encouraging
buses with bicycle racks at public transportation
stations and for all new or modified bus stops to take
pedestrian access into consideration.
Action C-2.3.4: Design development and reuse/
revitalization projects to be transit-oriented to
promote the use of alternative modes of transit and
support higher levels of transit service.
Visión Salinas Existing Conditions Report | 3. Community Engagement ■ 32 Visión Salinas Existing Conditions Report | 3. Community Engagement ■ 33