Do I need a water permit to remodel or add on to my home on the Monterey Peninsula?

Yes, in almost every case. Any project that adds or changes water fixtures inside the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD) requires an MPWMD water permit, and the project must have enough water credit already on the property or must secure additional water through your city's or county's allocation process before that permit can issue.

What is the difference between a water credit, a water allocation, and a water entitlement?

A water credit is a record MPWMD keeps for a specific property based on its installed fixtures; it stays with the parcel. A water allocation is a ration MPWMD grants to a city or the County, which that jurisdiction distributes under its own policy and can never sell. A water entitlement is a fixed quantity of water granted by MPWMD ordinance to a specific holder, usually in exchange for building a water-saving or water-producing project, and unlike an allocation, an entitlement can be bought and sold.

Does Monterey County's Water Allocation Policy (G-269) apply to my property in Carmel-by-the-Sea, Monterey, or Pacific Grove?

No. Board Policy G-269, adopted June 9, 2026, governs only unincorporated Monterey County within the MPWMD service area, which means Pebble Beach, Carmel Highlands, unincorporated Carmel, and Carmel Valley. Carmel-by-the-Sea, Monterey, and Pacific Grove are incorporated cities and each administers its own MPWMD allocation independently.

Is Pebble Beach a city?

No. Pebble Beach and the surrounding Del Monte Forest are unincorporated Monterey County, so Pebble Beach's water allocation falls under County Board Policy G-269, the same as Carmel Highlands and Carmel Valley. The Pebble Beach Company is a private landowner and Del Monte Forest's architectural review authority, not a city government.

Can I buy water credits on the Monterey Peninsula?

Not from a city or the County directly, since MPWMD Rule 33-D bars any jurisdiction from selling allocation water. Two private entitlement holders currently sell: the City of Pacific Grove, from its own 66 acre-foot entitlement, and the Pebble Beach Company, to designated Benefited Properties within Del Monte Forest.

Can my city or the County sell me water allocation directly?

No jurisdiction can sell allocation water; MPWMD Rule 33-D prohibits it outright. Every purchase route on the Peninsula runs through a separate water entitlement instead, which is a different legal instrument tied to a specific water-saving or water-producing project.

How long does a water allocation reservation last once I qualify?

In unincorporated Monterey County under Policy G-269, a qualifying project can reserve its water allocation for 12 months from the completeness determination, with one possible extension of up to 6 months on written request. The maximum any project can hold an allocation is 5 years, except affordable housing deed-restricted to low-income households, which may qualify for longer.

Can I add a second bathroom to my one-bathroom home without a water allocation?

Often yes, through MPWMD's second bathroom protocol. It applies to a dwelling built before May 16, 2001 that currently has fewer than two bathrooms, allowing one additional bathroom or the addition of a tub or shower to an existing half bath without debiting your jurisdiction's allocation. It cannot be used to create an ADU or JADU, cannot apply to the master bathroom, and does not apply to buildings with four or more multifamily units. Capacity fees still apply.

Are water use credits permanent once they're documented?

No. A water use credit, created when fixtures are permanently removed, a building is demolished, or a property disconnects from Cal-Am, is time-limited to ten years and is generally not transferable to another site. If you're buying a property with a documented credit, confirm the date it was created.

Can I get water for fire suppression or another emergency?

Yes. In unincorporated Monterey County, emergency water, including fire suppression infrastructure required by the fire authority, falls under the First Come First Served category and can exceed standard usage caps where the HCD Director finds a demonstrated need. That decision is appealable to the Planning Commission.

If I get a water allocation or entitlement, can I get a new water meter right now?

Not automatically, outside Del Monte Forest. Since 2009, the State Water Board's Cease and Desist Order against Cal-Am has barred most new service connections regardless of allocation status. MPWMD applied in October 2025 to modify that order, and the State Water Board's hearing runs through November 2026. The one exception is Pebble Beach: entitlement water tied to designated Benefited Properties under MPWMD Rule 23.5 carries meter rights that survive the moratorium.

How much does it cost to buy water credits in Pacific Grove?

Pricing has changed since the City's program launched in 2019, when the Council approved a sale at $250,000 per acre-foot with an early-applicant discount that has since expired. A typical home needs roughly a quarter to a third of an acre-foot. Contact Pacific Grove's Community Development Department directly for current pricing and remaining supply before budgeting a project around it.

What should I verify before buying a Pebble Beach home that's advertised with water entitlement?

Three things, confirmed against MPWMD's own records rather than the listing: whether the parcel is a designated Benefited Property under Rule 23.5, exactly how much entitlement is dedicated to it, and how much of that entitlement remains unused after any prior connections. The entitlement conveys with title to a Benefited Property, but it cannot be resold separately from the property once purchased from Pebble Beach Company.

Where does Carmel Valley fit into all of this?

Carmel Valley is unincorporated Monterey County, so it falls under County Board Policy G-269 for its water allocation, same as Pebble Beach and Carmel Highlands. There is no purchasable entitlement water available in Carmel Valley. A small separate reserve of 12.76 acre-feet exists under MPWMD Rule 33-C, tied to the boundaries of the former Water West Water Distribution System in Carmel Valley.

Christmas in the Adobes 2026: Old Monterey's Two Open Nights

From Monte Rogio and Peter's Gate, Old Monterey's historic district is close to home, and most weeks its best-known houses open on staggered calendars set by five different caretakers. Visitors who walk down on a Saturday can see a few rooms before the schedules split them up. Two Friday and Saturday evenings in December, December 11 and 12, are the exception. From 5 to 9 p.m., about twenty historic buildings open their doors together, with luminarias along the paths between them.

The event is Christmas in the Adobes, now in its 42nd year. It's easiest to understand by looking first at an ordinary week.

Seven Schedules on the Same Few Blocks

California State Parks describes Monterey State Historic Park as more than ten historic structures and places within half a mile of Custom House Plaza. The buildings are a short walk apart, yet they keep very different hours.

Building	Ordinary-week access
Custom House, Pacific House Museum, First Brick House	Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Colton Hall Museum	Daily, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cooper-Molera Adobe museum	Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; grounds daily, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Robert Louis Stevenson House	Guided tours Fridays and Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Larkin House	Guided tours Fridays and Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Casa Serrano	Saturdays and Sundays, 2 to 4 p.m.
California's First Theatre	Scheduled programs and events

Try to see all of it on one Saturday and the table works against you. The Stevenson House and Larkin House tours last 45 minutes each, run first-come, first-served, and take no more than ten people. The Cooper-Molera museum closes at 2 p.m., which is the same hour Casa Serrano opens. A full Saturday gets you most of the district, in pieces, in daylight. The State Parks tour schedule also lists guided history walks from the Custom House Thursday through Sunday at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. Each runs about an hour. These walks are the closest thing to a connected visit on an ordinary week.

Five Caretakers Within Half a Mile

The schedules differ because different organizations keep the doors.

California State Parks runs the Custom House, Pacific House, First Brick House, Stevenson House and Larkin House.
The Monterey State Historic Park Association has worked alongside the park since 1975 "to help keep its historic adobes open." It also runs the Custom House Store, open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the Pacific House Store, open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation counts Cooper-Molera Adobe among its historic sites. Alta Bakery & Café shares the site and is open daily, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cella Restaurant & Bar serves Tuesday through Sunday, 5:30 to 9 p.m.
The Monterey History and Art Association keeps Casa Serrano. The City of Monterey runs Colton Hall.

Each of these groups sets hours around its own staff and volunteers. That's why the district reads as a set of separate stops most of the year. Christmas in the Adobes is the one occasion that gets them onto a single calendar for two evenings.

Two Nights, About Twenty Doors

The Monterey State Historic Park Association organizes the event, with California State Parks as co-host. The association's October newsletter describes twenty historic buildings opening across Historic Old Monterey, with luminarias on the paths and holiday décor, music and refreshments inside. The event page says the updated 2026 map has not been posted yet. The exact list of buildings and the route will be on that map when it is released.

The details that matter on the night:

Dates and hours. Friday, December 11, and Saturday, December 12, 5 to 9 p.m. The listed starting point is 20 Custom House Plaza.
Prices. Adults pay $30 for one night or $45 for the two-night Gold Pass. Visitors 17 and under get in free. The early-bird price ended November 1.
Where to buy. Tickets are sold online through the ticket page and in person at the Custom House Store or Pacific House Store. The military discount and the association's member discount are available only in person.
Will-call. Online buyers pick up wristbands and maps at Stanton Center on Custom House Plaza, at Casa Gutierrez at 590 Calle Principal, or at Stevenson House at 530 Houston Street. All three open at 4 p.m. None of them sell tickets.
Weather. The event runs rain or shine, and tickets are nonrefundable.

The Gold Pass fits the problem the ordinary-week table describes. Four hours on one evening is short for twenty buildings. Two evenings let a visitor spend time in the Stevenson House sala without trying to fit Casa Serrano in before 9. A separate Memory Garden holiday reception is held Friday, December 11, from 4 to 7 p.m. at 20 Custom House Plaza. It costs $65 per person, and that ticket does not include the main event.

The association is also recruiting through California State Parks for volunteers to host guests as 1840s residents for a night. Contact details are in its October newsletter.

What the Ticket Money Pays For

Ticket proceeds fund history education for local elementary students, along with the park's education, research, interpretation and historic preservation work. On last year's event page, the association also listed restoration of California's First Theatre. The theater stands at Pacific and Scott streets.

That restoration is now finished. KTVZ reported in September 2025 that the theater had reopened with a community celebration. Its calendar is filling with free programs. On Friday, November 6, the theater hosts a free talk celebrating Susan Shillinglaw's new book, Steinbeck's Landscapes. The next day, Saturday, November 7, Cooper-Molera holds a free Skylight Talk. Anyone who wants to see the district's interiors before December has two chances this weekend, at no cost.

The Rest of December Happens in the Same Buildings

The adobes are also the backdrop for most of Old Monterey's holiday calendar. Most of these events are free, and all of them happen on the same few blocks.

November 26 through January 3: Ice Skating by the Bay on Custom House Plaza, behind the Portola Hotel & Spa. Admission is $15 for adults and $13 for children 12 and under, and skate rental is $5. Check the rink's site before going, because hours change on several December weekdays.
Fridays, 4 to 8 p.m.: The Paseo Night Market on the Alvarado Mall, next to the Portola.
Tuesdays, 4 to 7 p.m., listed through December 22: The Old Monterey Marketplace and Farmers Market at Alvarado and Franklin.
Friday, December 4, 5 to 6 p.m.: The traditional tree lighting on the Colton Hall lawn at 570 Pacific Street, with cookies, cider, live music and caroling. Free.
Tuesday, December 15, 4 to 7 p.m.: Old Town Monterey Navidad and Holiday Farmers Market at Cooper-Molera Adobe, 506 Munras Avenue, with live music, a photo booth and holiday shopping. Free.
Thursday, December 31: The 34th First Night Monterey, "Color the Night," with performances and art activities across downtown. It is family-friendly and alcohol-free.

The City of Monterey's holiday events page has the wider list, including Christmas on the Wharf, the Brighten the Harbor Lighted Boat Parade and the Monterey Museum of Art's Winter Art Market. Colton Hall's lawn, Cooper-Molera's courtyard and Custom House Plaza each host something this month. That leaves December 11 and 12 as the only nights when all of their doors are open at the same hour.

Many of the homes in Monte Rogio and Peter's Gate date to the 1930s. That makes them part of the same long story as the adobes below them, a few generations later. If you own one of those homes and are thinking about its history, its condition, or what it might mean to your family's next chapter, Truszkowski Freedman & Assoc can walk through it with you quietly and at your pace. Work With Us.