Project Cuts Community VMT

An important way to cut CO2 emissions is to cut driving.  The shopping village will shorten shopping trips.  Toro area residents will be able to buy groceries, mail a letter, and find other neighborhood shops and villages locally instead of traveling 10-15 miles each way to Salinas or Monterey.  The county's EIR determined that these shortened shopping trips will reduce the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by nearly 3,500 every day.  By driving less, the community shrinks its carbon footprint.

Project Creates NET BENEFIT to Groundwater Basin 

The LEED plan incorporates a rainwater harvesting and recharge system that increases tenfold the amount of water going back into the groundwater basin instead of flowing away in creeks and channels.  The project uses water conservation fixtures and xeriscape landscaping, so overall the project recharges more water than it uses resulting in a net benefit of 3.4 acre feet per year for local water supplies.

Green Frontage Screens 

The LEED site plan features 18-30 foot berms along frontage roads and heavy plantings of low water use trees and shrubs on the berms.  The effect is a green visual screen for all passersby.  The image on top of this letter shows the view of the project looking down Corral de Tierra road toward Highway 68 after five years of tree growth.