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.

Carmel's Forest Theater in December 2026: Rudolph Jr. Dates

Where does a theater that began staging plays in 1910 train its next performers? At the Forest Theater on Mountain View Avenue and Santa Rita Street, the answer is a 42-seat room directly beneath the outdoor stage. This December, the students who rehearse in that room come up to the outdoor stage. For eight afternoons between November 28 and December 20, the outdoor stage in Northeast Carmel belongs to them.

Pacific Repertory Theatre's student company, SoDAonStage, is staging Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Jr. at the Outdoor Forest Theater. It is the theater's only outdoor production on PacRep's calendar for the rest of the year. The cast comes from the school that works underneath the stage.

A Room Under the Stage

The city's own description of the Forest Theater calls it a community theater. Since its first production in 1910, it has staged work by local playwrights alongside Shakespeare and Shaw. Carmel's visitor bureau goes further and calls it "the oldest outdoor theater in the western United States" on its live theater page.

The second venue on the site is newer and much smaller. PacRep describes the Indoor Forest Theatre as a separate 42-seat space directly below the outdoor stage. It was built in 1940 as a WPA project and is now home to the Peppy Garner & Darnell Whitt School of Dramatic Arts, known as SoDA. The outdoor stage predates the room beneath it by thirty years. Today the two spaces work as one pipeline. Students train downstairs, and this winter they perform upstairs.

The lower room has its own calendar too. PacRep listed an evening program called Controlled Chaos at the Indoor Forest Theatre on November 7. That was three weeks before the outdoor run opens.

Eight Afternoons in December

The Rudolph Jr. production page bills the show as a SoDAonStage production. The performers are students of the Garner and Whitt school. The musical follows the animated television special, with Hermey the Elf, Yukon Cornelius, Clarice and Bumble alongside Rudolph and Santa. The score uses Johnny Marks's songs, including "A Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Silver and Gold." The listing recommends it for ages 4 and up. The production is presented with Hayward Lumber, according to Carmel's event listing.

All eight performances are 3 p.m. matinees:

Date	Day	Curtain	Note
November 28	Saturday	3:00 p.m.	Opening weekend
November 29	Sunday	3:00 p.m.
December 5	Saturday	3:00 p.m.	Day after Holidays in the Park
December 6	Sunday	3:00 p.m.
December 12	Saturday	3:00 p.m.
December 13	Sunday	3:00 p.m.
December 19	Saturday	3:00 p.m.	ASL-interpreted
December 20	Sunday	3:00 p.m.	Closing performance

Tickets are $31 for adults and seniors, $16 for students with ID and $11 for children. PacRep.org is the only official ticket outlet. At those prices, two adults and two children pay $84 for the afternoon.

The Stage Itself Was on the Council's Agenda This Year

The students will perform on a stage the city has already committed to repairing. At its January 12, 2026 special meeting, the Carmel-by-the-Sea City Council voted 5-0 to approve a stage-repair contract with Tombleson Inc. as part of its consent agenda. The staff report set the cost at a $90,683 base bid plus a 15% contingency of $13,602, for a not-to-exceed total of $104,285.

The city had set aside $60,000 for the project. The remaining $44,285 was drawn from the capital improvement contingency fund after three bids came in on December 19, 2025. The council approved paying almost three-quarters more than budgeted rather than delaying the work. Staff expected the repairs to be finished before the end of fiscal year 2025-26. The report also said the city was coordinating timing with PacRep so the work would not interrupt programming.

That coordination clause matters because the outdoor stage stayed busy in 2026. PacRep's season put The Little Mermaid there in August and A Midsummer Night's Dream in October, before the December student run. A city-owned stage that hosts productions from summer into winter needs its repairs planned around that calendar.

How the Theater Asks You to Show Up

An outdoor matinee in December has its own etiquette. PacRep's audience FAQ spells it out:

Arrive early. Seating is open, and the theater opens 60 minutes before curtain. For a 3 p.m. show, that means 2 p.m.
Bring something to sit on. The seating is benches, and PacRep suggests cushions or lap blankets because the benches can be uncomfortable.
Dress in layers. The FAQ warns that Carmel weather can shift quickly and suggests an extra blanket or cushion.
Expect tight parking. Parking is limited but free, both on site and on the street.
Use the drop-off. An on-site drop-off area lets drivers unload passengers, picnic supplies, blankets and cushions before looking for a space.

PacRep's own description of the outdoor venue mentions its "huge open fireplaces." The FAQ's advice to bring blankets and layers covers you either way.

For the December 19 performance, the ASL interpretation is listed on PacRep's calendar, so that is the date to book for anyone in the group who relies on it.

Friday at Devendorf, Saturday at the Forest Theater

The Forest Theater calendar lines up with two other December fixtures nearby, and that makes it easy to plan around.

The first is the city's annual Holidays in the Park at Devendorf Park, on Junipero and Ocean, on Friday, December 4. According to Carmel's event listing, the evening runs in this order:

Santa arrives by fire truck at 3:30 p.m.
The menorah lighting runs from 4 to 4:30 p.m.
Tree-lighting activities follow from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
The tree is lit at about 5:30 p.m., and programming continues at Carmel Plaza.

The next afternoon, December 5, Rudolph Jr. plays its third performance at 3 p.m. Families with young children can do the town's tree lighting on Friday and the outdoor musical on Saturday, both within Carmel-by-the-Sea.

The second fixture is PacRep's own main-stage company. Its production of Come From Away runs at Founders Theatre, with previews on November 19 and 20, an opening on November 21, and performances through November 29. On opening weekend, the two PacRep shows overlap. On Saturday, November 28, the students perform Rudolph at the Forest Theater at 3 p.m. and the company performs Come From Away at Founders Theatre at 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, November 29, a 2 p.m. Come From Away matinee at Founders runs alongside the 3 p.m. Rudolph at the Forest Theater.

That weekend, the adult company is indoors at Founders and its students are outdoors in the Forest Theater, on a city stage that has been running shows since 1910, a few steps above the room where they train.

At Truszkowski Freedman & Assoc, we pay attention to the places that hold Carmel's neighborhoods together, and the Forest Theater is one of the oldest. If you'd like to talk about Northeast Carmel, from the blocks around Mountain View and Santa Rita to how life here changes with the seasons, we're happy to share what we know. Work With Us.