About
We were each doing this alone.
The owners of the commercial buildings in this town were all reading the same notices, filling out the same permit paperwork, and hearing the same rumors at the same time — separately. Someone would find out how a new rule worked, and nobody else would hear about it for a year.
So we started meeting. Breakfast, then lunch, then a newsletter so the people who couldn't make it still knew what happened. That's the whole origin of it.
Membership is open to owners of commercial and income-producing property throughout Monterey County; our programming, advocacy, and representation are focused on Carmel-by-the-Sea.
What we do
- Publish a newsletter for commercial owners, six issues a year.
- Host two breakfasts and two lunches a year, plus the Annual General Meeting.
- Bring owners together to comment on local policy and building regulations as they come up.
- Introduce members to each other and to the trades that serve our buildings.
What we are not
- Not a lobbying firm. We don't retain one, and we don't run campaigns.
- Not a government body and not affiliated with the City.
- Not a brokerage, and not a place to trade deal terms or tenant information.
- Not a tenant organization or a landlord referral service.
Governance
How voting works.
One member, one vote. It doesn't matter whether you own one building or nine.
Where a membership is held by an LLC, a partnership, or a trust, one person casts that vote for it, and that person has to hold at least 25% of the entity. Nobody votes for two entities. Where the same owner controls several entities, those entities cast no more than two votes between them.
Many of our members don't live here. You can vote in person, by proxy, by joining live over video or phone, or by ballot. All of it counts toward quorum.
Leadership
The board.
Members elect the board each year. All of them own or manage commercial property here.
Bylaws
Our bylaws, membership classes and dues, and a short statement of what we do are all posted on the governance page.