Carmel, CA — The traffic, parking problems and incidents of reckless driving that have cropped up in Carmel with the growth of Monterey Car Week prompted its city council to begin limiting the number of major events that can take place there.

Photo: Pebble Beach Concours / Brandon Gillogly

According to a report about the Feb. 4 meeting in the Carmel Pine Cone newspaper, the city council said that the number of major events should be restricted to two, starting in summer 2021. Council members also said they want to work with the community activities commission on a specific policy for Car Week that might limit the size of Concours on the Avenue and the Pebble Beach Concours Tour d’Elegance, and otherwise control the impacts of August’s annual automotive events on the city.

Councilman Jeff Baron spearheaded the idea of having a specific Car Week policy that would limit the number of events downtown to two beginning next year and forbid new ones, prevent the current shows from expanding in size, determine if the city should regulate non-city events like Aston Martin at Sunset Center and the Carmel Mission Classic, define the length of the “week” — which now runs 10 days — and work with neighboring communities and the county on ways to mitigate the impacts events held outside the city limits have on the town.

The council voted 4-1 to ask city staffers to draft the new Car Week policy, giving them a three-month deadline.