Historic Douglas Ranch Camp cluster recommended for Monterey County register

The Monterey County Historic Resources Review Board voted to adopt a resolution recommending that the Board of Supervisors list the original building cluster of Douglas Ranch Camp on the Monterey County Register of Historic Resources. Staff planner Jordan Evans Polacco presented the DPR and recommended listing the dining hall, director’s house, bunkhouse, APC building, and the office/lounge as the five‑building cluster within a roughly 2‑acre boundary of APN 197161063000.

Seth, the project historian, described character‑defining features that informed that recommendation: "The dining hall... was basically handmade by a group of guys that are local," he said, pointing to interior trusses, knotty‑pine woodwork and hand‑made adobe bricks. Applicant representative Michael Groves and property owners Joy Berry and Bob Eaton supported the staff recommendation and emphasized that the nomination is for the original cluster only, not the full 116‑acre parcel now used for visitor‑serving activities as "The Camp At Carmel Valley." Board members asked for a clear map and for staff to correct an APN inconsistency in the DPR before the package goes to the Board of Supervisors.

A committee member moved to adopt staff’s recommendation that the HRRB recommend the Board of Supervisors list the five‑building original cluster; another member seconded the motion and the board recorded vocal assent. The resolution passed, and staff said it will make the substantive corrections (including the APN) in the final materials to the Board of Supervisors. The board noted that future amendments to expand or alter the designation would require a revised DPR and return to the HRRB for review.