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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8/12/2020 Item 2, Reiner Wilbanks, Megan From:judy riener < To:Advisory Bodies Subject:Froom Ranch DEIR Attachments:Riener Comments to Planning Commission re Froom Ranch.docx Attached are my comments to the members of the Planning Commission regarding Froom Ranch as the best site for Il Villaggio, the CCRC proposed for this site. Please distribute this document to the members of the Planning Commission for their consideration. If you have any questions or problems with this document please let me know. Thank you, Ken and Judy Riener 805-458-7419 ken.riener@gmail.com 1 Froom Ranch—the best place in SLO for a Life Plan Community (CCRC) Ken and Judy Riener At a prior Planning Commission hearing one member of the Commission when referring to the CCRC expressed the opinion that this is a good project, but this is not the best site for the project. While there might be “better” locations for a project like this, as pointed out in the Froom Ranch EIR there are no other sites in the City of SLO that can accommodate the project – particularly the Villaggio portion of the project. There are so many constraints on any given site that we are convinced that Froom Ranch is the best site we are likely to ever be able to build on in the City of SLO. Any property owner interested in a CCRC must be willing to accept a years-long process of getting their property entitled. The Froom Ranch site has been in the entitlement process since June 2016. This has imposed a huge financial risk and burden on John Madonna & Villaggio. Some examples from our experience since 2003 trying to find a site for a CCRC like Villaggio: The first requirement is that the owner be willing to sell the property at a reasonable price. In 2005, when a major CCRC operator made a full-price offer on the Holland Dairy property, the owner did not even respond. They let the listing lapse, and several months later brought it back on the market at almost double the original asking price. Ken and I have talked with Cal Poly several times about building a CCRC on their property. A major constraint for Cal Poly is that the property must be “surplus” to their instructional mission. In 2003, the owner of a parcel in Pismo Beach tried to include a CCRC but was unsuccessful. In 2003 we also evaluated the County General Hospital property but the idea of a CCRC was met with strong neighborhood opposition. . In 2011, when the Righetti property was identified for future annexation, we contacted the trustee for the property. They said they were already working with a Southern California developer, resulting in a much more traditional and low-risk development plan. We met similar reactions from property owners in the Margarita area in 2003, the Avila Bay Tank Farm site 2006, and Avila Ranch in 2017. Just as we see the Froom Ranch as the best site for a CCRC from the residents’ view, we also see it as one of the best uses of this property from the City’s standpoint. The City has a serious shortage of senior housing this project is a key component of fulfilling that need. A CCRC will generate about 1/3 as much traffic as a similar number of non -senior housing units, and about 1/7th the traffic of retail development on this site. Even so, based upon the recommended Conditions of Approval it will be contributing a large of amount of money to fund improvements to streets, bike lanes, and sidewalks.. For all these reasons, we feel that the proposed Froom Ranch Specific Plan including the Villaggio CCRC is the best use of this City expansion area , both from the residents’ perspective, and the City’s perspective. We urge you to recommend approval of the Froom Ranch Specific P lan and Villaggio.