HomeMy WebLinkAbout8/12/2020 Item 2, Kisinger
Wilbanks, Megan
From:Robin Kisinger <
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:Planning Commission - Villaggio Letter
Attachments:1_Planning Commission _ Villaggio Community (3).docx
Good Afternoon,
Thank you for the difficult work of reviewing the diverse projects and options for the City of San Luis Obispo. I
appreciate your commitment to our city. Please see the attached letter in support of the Villaggio Life Plan Community
project.
Sincerely,
Robin Kisinger
1
Robin Kisinger - 3229 Violet Street - San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
City of San Luis Obispo Planning Commission
Re: Villaggio Life Plan Community
Dear Planning Commissioners,
I have lived on the Central Coast for more than 25 years and am on the list for the first phase of the Villaggio
Life Plan Community. My husband and I are both retired educators. We made the support of our
community’s youth our life’s work, and both of us still believe that education is the path to equity and
opportunity. We gave up greater financial opportunity to follow our calling to public education. Because I
am a planner, we invested, planned and slowly worked toward retirement. Though it is not an opulent
retirement, it is a stable one.
Even with planning, I continued to worry about the inability to plan on the ever increasing expenses and
unknown levels of care/locations for care as we aged. I wondered if, when the time came, we would have the
decision making ability and the money to find the support services or care placement that we might need. It
was a significant concern. Then, I met a member of the Villaggio Community and heard about the concept of
life plan communities.
After my first formal meeting with Villaggio, I was actually excited. Had I really found a place that was
designed to reduce the unknowns and assure that we could stay within the city San Luis Obispo as we
progressed to higher levels of care? Was Villaggio a solution to my worries? Of course, I scoured the
internet and read about life plan communities of various types. I reviewed the Villaggio information, fees and
services, and I attended multiple meetings to understand the specific “life plan” part of this community. I
found that it will resolve most of the financial and decision making unknowns of our aging. The day that we
signed-up to be future Villaggio residents was a great relief. Our home will provide the main entry finances
and our planned retirement funds are enough to pay our monthly fees. Most importantly, I know that once
we are in residence, there will be a continuum of care available without the fear of running out of money d ue
to unknown costs, or the difficulty of finding a higher level care facility. They will all be there in Villaggio.
For us, life has not been about becoming wealthy. It has been about public service and steady planning. Now,
it is about the next step to a safe, stable and affordable place for our sunset years. Villaggio is that next step
for people like my husband and me. I urge you to support the Villaggio project because it will support us and
many other San Luis Obispo County residents in planning the next life phase.
Sincerely,
Robin Kisinger