This polygon shapefile contains the boundaries of special treatment areas (STAs) in Monterey County, California. Designation of land parcels as STAs means that local laws can override normal property rights in certain instances. STAs are meant to designate areas as protected, and therefore prohibit industrial development and other expansion activities within the designated boundary area. This layer is part of a collection of GIS data for Monterey County in California. This dataset is intended for researchers, students, and policy makers for reference and mapping purposes, and may be used for basic applications such as viewing, querying, and map output production, or to provide a basemap to support graphical overlays and analysis with other spatial data.