The city’s general plan describes Carmel as a village in a forest overlooking a white sand beach, and it has spent a century keeping it that way. By 1925 it had adopted a vision of itself as primarily a residential community.
Zoning rules drawn up in the 1920s and 30s by city attorney Argyll Campbell limited the business district and the size of houses and lots. They include no sidewalks in residential areas, no streetlights, no commercial development on the beach, protection of native trees, one- or two-story height limits, no chain restaurants and no billboards.
New buildings must be built around existing trees, and new trees are required on lots with too few. The village has no parking meters or traffic lights.