SAND CITY HISTORY

The City of Sand City has come a long way from its roots as a center for heavy industry, including coastal sand mining. Local business owners paved the way for the City’s incorporation on May 31, 1960, which created the public arena for local control over the City’s economic destiny and urban design.

Recent history shows a steady progress toward redevelopment of the town, starting with the development of two shopping centers where there was once an industrial mining operation. The City’s Local Coastal Program (LCP) was adopted by the California Coastal Commission in 1984. In 1996, the City reached an agreement to retain between 70 to 80 percent of its coastline for parks and open space, and habitat restoration. Two coastal development envelopes, primarily dedicated to coastal visitor-serving development, are allowed by the agreement and the City’s certified local coastal program. This blending of fiscal responsibility and coastal stewardship has seen the City evolve from its industrial roots to a mixed use artists community with a magnificent view of the Monterey Bay coastline. That coastline is part of the City’s vision to remove old rip-rap and asphalt, and restore the dune and beach habitat.

Sand City has served the Monterey Peninsula as an industrial and commercial base for 60 years. Sand City currently provides jobs for approximately 3,000 people, and attracts 40,000 to 50,000 shoppers daily. Redeveloping the City over time has given this small city the opportunity to redefine itself in a progressive, sustainable way.

In 2005, the City received unanimous California Coastal Commission approval for a small desalination facility that was completed in early 2009. This small facility will allow the City to continue its vibrancy efforts for the West End District, without depending upon a regional water supply that has proven difficult to achieve over more than thirty years. The Sand City desalinization domestic water supply facility received a unanimous endorsement from the California Coastal Commission.