Downtown Addition Highlights

A Transit-Oriented Mixed-Use Urban Neighborhood

The Downtown Addition Specific Plan is a proposed new mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly, transit-oriented urban neighborhood founded on the principles of “Smart Growth” and “New Urbanism”, located immediately adjacent to the eastern edge of the historic downtown King City.

The Downtown Addition provides King City with a variety of housing options and business opportunities that, by connecting to the historic downtown and extending the City’s existing street network and neighborhood fabric, stimulate downtown commercial activity. The planning and design of the Downtown Addition is based on the existing urban pattern and architectural heritage of King City, and the best of Monterey County’s town-building heritage, so to ensure that King City’s distinct character is preserved and enhanced.

The Specific Plan includes comprehensive development standards and implementation measures to ensure the creation of a vibrant, livable community with readily accessible amenities and attractive streetscapes and public places.

In addition, a continuous corridor of dedicated public open space is provided along a restored San Lorenzo Creek to help balance the requirements of a new urbanized area with the need to protect wildlife habitat, provide recreational opportunities, and buffer neighboring agricultural activities.

Key design characteristics include:

1. A mixture of land uses including shops, workplaces, residences and civic buildings within easy walking distance of one another that are designed in a manner that supports the City’s future train station and multi-modal transit center;
2. A wide variety of housing of diverse types– ranging from larger family houses, to smaller houses and townhouses (up to 650 dwelling units);
3. A range of neighborhood serving commercial uses (up to 125,000 sq. ft.). Designed with a location for a grocery store;
4. Flexible live-work buildings that support small businesses of various types (up to 65,060 sq. ft.);
5. A blend of eight historic indigenous regional architectural styles;
6. A network of pedestrian-oriented streets that organize the neighborhood into small interconnected blocks;
7. Variety of street types that accommodate pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists;
8. Public open spaces in the form of plazas, parks, playgrounds and trails that provide places for recreation and gathering (24 acres minimum); and
9. Five neighborhood zones to create distinctive neighborhood areas.