Benefits of Butterfly Village
- Butterfly Village will provide an attractive environment for all ages and incomes of people living, working, shopping and seeking recreational pursuits.
- Butterfly Village will be a walkable, pedestrian friendly community with housing for 1,147 families. Single family homes, town homes, condominiums, and apartments will be surrounded by a variety of recreation facilities and open space areas easily accessible by walking and bike trails.
- The residences in Butterfly Village will vary based on the lot sizes ranging from 1-3 dwellings per acre to 16-20 dwelling per acre with architectural styles reminiscent of the older neighborhoods and ranches that dot the countryside, such as California Craftsman, Spanish Colonial and Monterey Colonial.
- Butterfly Village will be a model for sustainability (Green Seal) features including site design considerations, construction materials and indoor and outdoor water and energy conservation and efficiency . Examples - solar light tubes, use of renewable resources and materials with a high level of recycled content, Energy Star rated appliances and irrigation moisture sensors.
- By planning such a comprehensive community the external traffic (vehicles leaving and returning) is reduced by 8% from the total because of the number of residents that can take advantage of the shopping, jobs and recreation provided on site.
- Water - It is projected that a net 25af/year water surplus will occur at buildout of Butterfly Village. However, to assure these projections are accurate, annual reporting of water consumption will be required and if consumption exceeds the established cap then additional water conservation sustainability measures will be required prior to issuance of additional building permits.
- Drainage and Recharge - Presently a severe flooding problem exists downstream from the property. By means of a series of retention/detention ponds within the Butterfly Village golf course, areas of porous pavement, roadside vegetated swales and biofiltration basins at discharge points in parking lots and roadways the offsite flow will be reduced to less than a 10 year predevelopment rate while at the same time recharging the aquifer.
- Traffic - Several intersections, roadways and freeway segments presently operate at an unacceptable level of service. In 2010 and 2020 the number of these existing problem areas remain approximately the same WITH or WITHOUT the traffic generated by Butterfly Village . However, the $16 million from Butterfly Village will substantially reduce these unacceptable conditions.
- ALL construction costs ($ 100 + million) and on going maintenance of Butterfly Village will be paid by the developer and the residents of the community with absolutely no financial burden to rest of the residents of Monterey County. A Community Services District will operate and maintain services through a special assessment . These assessments will include street surfacing and maintenance , drainage facilities, open space (parks and recreation), fire protection, garbage collection, and street lighting with sewer and water services being paid by user fees to the PUC regulated purveyors.
- Fiscal benefits to Salinas will increase (over previous estimate of $109,000/year) due to the elimination of Town Center which diverted purchasers from the City.