HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/15/2020 Item 9, Borland
Wilbanks, Megan
From:Kathy Borland <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Letter to City Council regarding Agenda #9 Froom Ranch
Attachments:letter to CC Froom Ranch 9.15.20 Rev 1.0.docx
Here is our letter from Preserve the SLO Life.
Thank you for your consideration
Kathy Borland
1
September 15, 2020
To: Mayor Harmon and council members
From: Preserve the SLO Life
Re: Public Hearing Item #9: To Consider The Froom Ranch Project Entitlements,
Certification of The Final Environmental Impact Report, And Introduction of An
Ordinance Amending the City’s Zoning Map Upon Annexation Of Properties Within The
Froom Ranch Specific Plan Area
Preserve the SLO Life has many concerns regarding the development of The Froom
Ranch which we want to highlight. We are very concerned with the additional signal
being added to Los Osos Valley Road in addition to three other existing signals within
about a one-half mile stretch of the roadway. The only relief to this congestion will b e the
Prado Road Overpass which must include a South bound on -ramp; however, it will not
be built for many years. The Froom Ranch should not open until the Prado Overpass is
complete.
The negative impact on Los Verdes Parks I and II will worsen with the Froom Ranch
development due to traffic going to the South side of the City. The only mitigation for this
is the Bypass, which is not on the TIF list for the City of SLO. The city has denied their
request for a signal or a Hawk Signal at the entrance of the ir Parks, resulting in extreme
difficulty getting in and out of their Parks.
Long term traffic planning for the City of SLO has been woefully inadequate given all the
developments currently being built. Traffic projections have been consistently under
estimated resulting in higher traffic volumes than predicted. This results in gridlock for
residents and high emissions (CO2) resulting in poor air quality, noise, and pollution.
Developers promise some mitigations then come back at a later time and say they c an’t
do it for some reason, or it has to come at a later phase. We see this happen over and
over again and the council just lets them delay their promised mitigation to the detriment
of the community. The council needs to hold the developer accountable to their
Development Plan and timeline.
In Section 9, Exhibit A, page 215 of the final EIR there are 15 overriding considerations.
This list identifies significant and unavoidable impacts of the project. This project has
biological impacts, creek impacts, air quality, noise, traffic congestion, and fire safety
hazards exiting in the project. There needs to be more done to mitigate these major
issues that will impact our cherished community.
Of further note, Buckley Road has become a thoroughfare for vehicles going from Los
Osos Valley Road to the businesses east of the airport, the airport itself, and to Southern
SLO County. It remains a “country bumpkin” agricultural road with no improvements and
totally inadequate bike lanes. Employees, visitors, and residents of The Froom Ranch
will use Buckley Road to get to their destinations on a regular basis. Villaggio alone will
have 200+ employees, many of which will be low income and have to travel to and from
North or South county. Highway 101 is always congested at peak traffic times , so many
who live in South County take Buckley Road coming from Hwy 227 to and from work.
A former council member recalls an agreement between the City and developer
Madonna with approval of the Home Depot and Costco development that Froom Ranch
would stay open space in perpetuity. This has not been confirmed and needs to be
investigated.
In conclusion, we ask the council to not approve this project at this time. There are too
many issues and the impacts to the community which are overwhelming. This is the third
major project on the South side of town and the impacts of the other two (San Luis
Ranch and Avila Ranch ) remain to be seen as they are in the beginning stages of
development.
Thank you for your consideration,
Kathy Borland, Preserve the SLO Life
Jim Waldsmith, DVM, Preserve the SLO Life