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New York Post
7 hours ago
- Business
- New York Post
Billionaire developer threatens quitting construction in wealthy California enclave as zoning war erupts
A war over zoning regulations is pitting neighbor against neighbor in the idyllic coastal enclave of Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA, where a faction of residents is desperately attempting to block a new mixed-use development, despite the village's dire housing shortage. Earlier this month, tensions erupted at a city council meeting in the quaint historic town, after the group opposing the development, known as the JB Pastor project, filed an appeal to block construction on the grounds that the plans lacked adequate parking, among other reasons. Although the local planning commission had unanimously approved the project after six painstaking years of review, and a report from city staff recommended denying the appeal, the council failed to reach a final ruling on the objections, punting the decision until at least next month. The decision left billionaire European developer Patrice Pastor, who named the mixed-use commercial and residential project in honor of his late great-grandfather, in bitter disbelief. 'Following this latest city council meeting it's clear that I need to reconsider my investment in Carmel,' Pastor said in a statement to SFGate. 'It's time to leave this strange community, if you can call it a community.' Pastor, a native of Monaco and heir to a real estate development empire, has been active in Carmel for a decade, acquiring more than $100 million in property across the tiny seaside village that is beloved by Hollywood celebrities. 7 Pastor is a native of Monaco heir to a real estate development empire. Pascal Le Segretain Through his development company Esperanza Carmel, Pastor has acquired, managed, and renovated a number of high-end properties across the village, including the La Rambla building, L'Auberge Carmel Hotel, the Bingham building, and the Carmel Beach Hotel. Pastor's outsized presence in the tiny village of 1 square mile has ruffled more than a few feathers among locals, with some residents fearful that he will disrupt the area's historic charm, or suspicious that his wealth and status give him license to flout strict zoning and preservation rules. But many other residents have welcomed his investments, and believe the town sorely needs the roughly 20 long-term apartment rentals that would be created between the JB Pastor project and another stalled Pastor development, the Ulrika Plaza project. 'There is a brazen shortage of long-term rentals and affordable housing in Carmel,' Erik Bueno, a retired real estate broker and resident of Carmel for more than 30 years, said in a letter supporting the JB Pastor project. 'I believe this project will bring long-term value to the neighborhood and serve as a catalyst for further positive growth.' 7 Pastor's outsized presence in the tiny village of 1 square mile has ruffled more than a few feathers among locals. Genaro Molina Carmel resident Carol Williams, who moved to the village 50 years ago and founded an art gallery there, told that she had always dreamed of helping her daughter purchase a condo nearby. But with prices for those condos now exceeding $3 million, it simply wasn't attainable. 'My daughter's generation of Carmelites are nearly all renting if they desire to remain in Carmel,' she says. 'I founded a gallery and am a self-employed, small business owner. I bought my first Carmel home for $250,000, and no one expected the local real estate market to price out our own children.' listing data shows that in July, the median home in Carmel was priced at more than $2.4 million—more than three times the median price in California and nearly six times the median price nationwide. An additional challenge for longtime Carmel residents is Prop. 19, a California law passed in 2020 that triggers higher property taxes for heirs after the owner of a home dies, by mandating a reassessment at current market value. 7 The median home price in Carmel was over $2.4 million in July. Pascal Le Segretain Williams says that in Carmel, these 'eye popping' new tax bills often force the younger generation to sell inherited homes when their parents die. 'So it is the younger generation of Carmelites, who today are small business owners or successful local artists and working health care professionals, that need rentals like the ones that Pastor was proposing to build for us,' she says. 'I believe there are many people in the local community who would love to remain in Carmel and walk to work, but can't find any suitable long-term rentals.' Initially, Williams was shocked to learn that a group of her neighbors had banded together to file an appeal in a last-ditch attempt to block Pastor's new project, which would add much-needed rental apartments. 'However, admittedly there is a long-standing group of fierce city conservationists who will oppose any changes to Carmel they consider too ambitious and seem very dedicated to keeping the status quo,' she says. 'So I was not really surprised they weighed in, although after all these years their latest delay tactics seem excessive.' 7 New tax bills force young people to sell off their parents homes when they die, according to Williams. Genaro Molina Opponents of the JB Pastor development have raised concerns that it violates local zoning ordinances, while not so subtly implying that cronyism and favoritism toward the wealthy developer Pastor played a role in its approval. 'As city staff you should strive to ensure the proper processes and procedures are employed,' resident Charles Najarian wrote in a letter to the city council urging reconsideration of the project's approval. 'In addition, your role is to represent the best interests of the residents and Carmel, not developers, architects, not special interest groups, and not even the state of California.' That the project was improperly exempted from environment impact review That a connecting balcony between two buildings turned them into a single 'structure' exceeding the maximum square footage allowed in zoning code That the project failed to include the required number of parking spaces In April, attorney Krista Ostoich filed an appeal on behalf of 11 Carmel residents challenging the approval of the JB Pastor project on three main grounds: Parking in particular is a hot-button issue in Carmel, where space is severely limited and out-of-town tourists are abundant. Under local code, the JB Pastor project required 18 parking spaces, including eight for the residential units and 10 for commercial use. But squeezed for space, Pastor had proposed providing 10 spaces using vertical car-stacking equipment, and paying a fee to support centralized public parking to make up the difference. 7 Opponents of the JB Pastor development have raised concerns that it violates local zoning ordinances. Genaro Molina 'Carmel desperately needs parking and I agree that whatever rentals he builds should offer the required number of parking spots,' says Williams, who supports the project. 'I don't know about the rest of the issues, but parking is a longtime hot topic in Carmel and certainly needs rectifying.' At the city council meeting on Aug. 4 to hear the appeal opposing the JB Pastor project, passions flared during public comments as residents spoke out both in favor and against the development. 'These parking [requirements], lack of water, and make-believe historical designations have all worked to assist the small few, who use these same old excuses to stop whatever project they personally don't like,' said resident Donna Jett. 'And what a waste of our time.' Another resident read a letter from a friend who wished to remain anonymous, characterizing the approval of the JB Pastor project as potentially corrupt. 7 Under local code, the JB Pastor project required 18 parking spaces, including eight for the residential units and 10 for commercial use. Genaro Molina 'The very qualities that once made Carmel exceptional are being chipped away, not by neglect, but by decisions that increasingly appear compromised,' the letter said. 'Behind the scenes, it's become common knowledge that money talks—people in influential positions, both elected and appointed, are turning a blind eye, either out of convenience, fear, or worse, personal gain.' The marathon hearing of more than six hours was marked by controversy at the outset, after Mayor Dale Byrne and another council member were forced to recuse themselves over their involvement in a local charity that Pastor had made donations to. The remaining three members of the council failed to reach a decision on the appeal, tentatively scheduling another vote on the matter for next month. For Carmel residents, the new delay, and Pastor's subsequent threat to pull the plug on his projects there entirely, could mean the city loses out on the new residential units he planned to build. 7 At the city council meeting on Aug. 4 to hear the appeal opposing the JB Pastor project, passions flared during public comments as residents spoke out both in favor and against the development. Genaro Molina 'Affordability and availability of homes in Carmel has been a major challenge in recent years,' says senior economist Joel Berner. 'Discouraging development is the opposite of what the residents of this exclusive, luxurious city should be doing to address the affordability issues there.' Berner notes that new construction in Carmel remains extremely limited, with new builds making up just 1.7% of homes for sale there in July, compared with 8.6% in California as a whole. Total for-sale inventory in Carmel remains well below pre-pandemic norms, with 41.5% fewer homes for sale in July 2025 than there were in July 2019. Statewide in California, inventory is down just 16.9% over the same period. Start your day with all you need to know Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters 'By strictly enforcing zoning regulations like minimum parking requirements, local governments and residents work against themselves when it comes to developing the housing stock in the ways it needs to be developed in inventory-strapped places like Carmel,' says Berner. Pastor, who rarely speaks to the press, did not respond to request for comment, and has not elaborated on his threat to pull the plug on his projects in Carmel. Mayor Byrne and the attorney for the residents who filed the appeal also did not respond to requests for comment. 'We are not treated the same as everyone else. I suppose we are now at the point where we need to accept we are not wanted and draw the necessary conclusions,' Pastor said in the statement to SFGate, adding 'it's time for us to bring our expertise and motivation to other projects, elsewhere, where we will be better received and in a more professional and serious political environment.' Williams, the art gallery owner, tells that she hopes Pastor will reconsider leaving Carmel and find a way to move forward with his projects there. 'There are high quality, artistic and conscientious developers, and Pastor seems one of them,' she says. 'He genuinely loves Carmel and wanted to make a positive and constructive impact. It would be tragic if a handful of stubborn 'no growth' folks are able to run him out of town.'
Los Angeles Times
18 hours ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Monaco billionaire developer says he's bailing on Carmel-by-the-Sea, a ‘strange community'
Patrice Pastor spent big bucks on Carmel-by-the-Sea, in part because of cherished childhood memories, vacationing with his father in this charming, if quirky, coastal town. But after snapping up more than $100 million in properties in the area in recent years, the Monaco billionaire has grown increasingly infuriated by delays on his development projects, including a mid-sized retail and residential development that he has been trying to get approved. After six years of hold-ups and redesigns on that project — due, he said, to townsfolk endlessly nitpicking his plans — he has decided to bail on Carmel. 'It's time to leave this strange community, if you can call it a community,' Pastor said in a statement after the City Council this month delayed taking any action on the development, which he named the JB Pastor project in honor of his great-grandfather. City officials, he wrote, have used 'reasons that are akin to a schoolyard' to stand in his way, and it is time, he said, to 'reconsider my investment in Carmel.' In Carmel-by-the-Sea, development — including upgrades to private homes — is notoriously slow. This wealthy Monterey County enclave strictly regulates architecture to maintain the much-vaunted 'village character' of a place filled with cottages, courtyards and secret passageways. Residents in the one-square-mile town, population 3,200, have long sought to keep out the so-called trappings of city life. They have no street addresses, instead giving their homes whimsical nicknames like Almost Heaven and Faux Chateau. And they have no streetlights or sidewalks in residential areas. Over the last decade, Pastor has bought at least 18 properties, including The Hog's Breath Building, the site of the pub once owned by actor and former Carmel-by-the-Sea mayor Clint Eastwood; and the L'Auberge Carmel hotel, which houses a Michelin-star restaurant. In 2023, he paid $22 million for Cabin on the Rocks, the only oceanfront home ever designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Last year, the California Coastal Commission approved his 'visionary plan' to restore public access at Rocky Point, a seaside property he bought for $8 million in nearby Big Sur with views of the picturesque Rocky Creek Bridge. In Carmel-by-the-Sea — where, according to Zillow, the average home price is $2.3 million — Pastor's purchases have become a source of intrigue, and, for some, downright suspicion. Pastor is the scion of a powerful real estate family that built much of mega-rich Monaco, a dense, one-square-mile nation on the French Riviera. His defenders in Carmel-by-the-Sea have questioned whether he has been discriminated against because he is too rich. 'We are not treated the same as everyone else,' Pastor wrote this month. 'I suppose we are now at the point where we need to accept we are not wanted and draw the necessary conclusions.' The city has rejected several of Pastor's design proposals, including multiple pitches for a mixed-use development on the site of what locals call The Pit. Pastor bought the massive, unsightly hole in the ground — the site of a downtown construction project whose previous owners ran out of money seven years ago — for $9 million in 2020 and is still trudging through the city's permitting process. Pastor, in his statement, called the delays with that project a 'grotesque situation.' The latest opposition to his JB Pastor development may have been the final straw. Pastor's most recent plans call for a 12,971-square-foot, two-story complex on Dolores Street that includes eight upstairs apartments, roughly 5,100 square feet of ground-level retail space, and a dozen parking spaces. Plans submitted to the city in 2021 called for the demolition of a former bank annex once used as a community room. Because it was less than 50 years old, it did not qualify as a historic structure — but after it turned 50 in October 2022, the Carmel Historic Resources Board voted to add it to the city's historic resources list. Pastor agreed to build around the annex. Then, another issue arose: The project would require the removal of a small concrete wall, decorated with exposed aggregate and inlaid rocks, built in 1972 by a man local historians dubbed the 'father of stamped concrete.' In the fall of 2023, the City Council said the wall was too important to be moved and sent Pastor's company back to the drawing board. This April, the city's Planning Commission approved the project, marking a major milestone. Two weeks later, 11 residents and business owners filed an appeal. They argued that the development, which includes three buildings, exceeds the city's limit of 10,000 square feet. Each building is smaller than that. But the opponents said that since two buildings are connected by a second-story exterior walkway they should be considered a single structure — one bigger than 10,000 square feet. They also argued that the site would not have enough parking and that planned rooftop gardens would not meet the city's landscaping requirements because they would not be on the ground floor. 'The plans that were submitted and approved in April are still outside of the guidelines and the rules of the city's codes,' Courtney Kramer, one of the appellants, said during a City Council meeting Aug. 4. She said it was frustrating to residents who have 'been through excruciating renovation projects and followed the rules' to see certain projects get a pass. City codes, she said, 'need to be applied consistently in order to preserve this village in the forest.' During the six-hour meeting, the City Council delayed making a decision on the appeal, putting everything on hold again. Ian Martin, one of the appellants, said in an interview Friday that the push-back against Pastor's projects is 'absolutely nothing personal at all' and that longtime locals also go through the same long process. 'Of course, Clint Eastwood was so frustrated with the planning process that he ran for mayor,' Martin said. 'Pastor is not being singled out.' Eastwood, who was mayor in the 1980s, ran for office after fighting with the City Council over what he said were unreasonable restrictions on the design of an office building he wanted to erect. Pastor now owns that building. Martin said that of the 11 appellants, two are former City Council members and three, including himself, are former planning commissioners. They are 'very well versed in the general plan and the municipal code and the design guidelines,' he added. The group, he added, is 'not opposed to the project.' They just believe it has to play by the rules. Chris Mitchell, managing director of Esperanza Carmel LLC, the local branch of Pastor's international real estate company, said in a statement that 'this process has made a mockery of the city's own rules.' 'Our project was reviewed for six years, redesigned five times, and approved by the Planning Commission and City staff,' he wrote. He called the appeal a 'last-minute' political maneuver and stall tactic. 'The message from City Council is clear: it doesn't matter how much you follow the rules, if your business is not wanted here, you won't be treated fairly,' Mitchell wrote. The city administrator, city clerk and members of the City Council did not respond to requests for comment. Karyl Hall, co-chair of the Carmel Preservation Assn., said Pastor has bent over backward to listen to the community and to design — and redesign — his projects with the town's traditional architectural styles in mind. Hall, a retired research psychologist, is an adamant supporter, albeit a surprising one. Hall believes modern architecture — which she describes as 'Anywhere, USA' buildings with sterile facades and box-like structures — poses an existential threat to Carmel-by-the-Sea. She co-founded the preservation association in response to the first proposal for The Pit: a contemporary design approved by the Planning Commission for the previous owners that she called 'the ice box.' Hall said she was heartened by Pastor, who proposed more traditional buildings. In an interview Thursday, she said some in town believe 'that one person who owns so many properties is kind of scary.' But the billionaire, she said, has been treated unfairly. 'The one thing we can always count on with him, which is why I've been supportive, is he's done quality work and he's done work that reflects Carmel's character,' Hall said. 'You can't say that about most of the developers who move in here. They just want to make big bucks.' It remains unclear what Pastor means by 'leave' Carmel. Will he halt his ongoing projects? Or sell his properties? Tim Allen, a real estate agent who has handled most of the billionaire's local purchases, said Thursday that Pastor is weighing his options. 'We need new infrastructure. We need new housing — it's mandated by the state. He's building these things,' Allen said. 'I hope this town rallies around Patrice, or he's gone.'
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
Fairytale coastal hideaway adored by Hollywood plunged into crisis as billionaire suddenly pulls the plug: 'We'll go broke'
Patrice Pastor fell in love with Carmel-by-the-Sea as a child when he visited from his native Monaco. The quaint coastal hideaway has a village feel, with narrow streets, courtyards and cottages - and very few traffic lights and sidewalks.
