HomeMy WebLinkAbout8/17/2020 Item 4, Vowell
From:Patrick Vowell <
To:Advisory Bodies
Cc:Bell, Kyle; Cohen, Rachel
Subject:830 Orcutt Road; Case #: ARCH-0764-2019, AFFH-0210-2020, USE-0209-2020
Good afternoon,
This comment is in regard to the Architectural Review Commission Agenda for August 17, 2020, Item 4, 830 Orcutt Road;
Case#: ARCH-0764-2019, AFFH-0210-2020, USE-0209-2020. I have two items to comment on.
First, the setback from the creek being reduced from 20 feet to as little as 2 feet is unacceptable. Adequate setbacks
from riparian habitats are crucial to allow for what little remains of these habitats to try and survive in an urbanized
environment. The City has a good planning regulation requiring a 20 foot setback, but it is all too often ignored in favor
of development and to the detriment of these habitats. Please do not allow this ridiculous 2 foot setback and require
the 20 foot setback as per regulation, even if it means the developer will not be able to do the project as proposed. That
just means they'll need to come up with a better project, which is what we need. Either that, or require very significant
environmental mitigation; not paying into a city fund, but actually doing environmental restoration or funding a large
project with a third party, such as the Nature Conservancy.
Second, the area this project is in already has two projects underway, both of which had significant parking reductions
associated with them. Where are all the people who are living and working in this area going to park their cars? The
much appreciated bicycle friendly amenities are great, but people who ride bikes generally own a car as well and need
to park it somewhere while they are out riding that bike. The side streets in this general area are already packed with
cars much of the time, and this reduction will only make a bad situation worse.
Patrick Vowell
pvowell805@gmail.com
LinkedIn - http://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickvowell
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