HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/7/2021 Item 7b, Marlier
Delgado, Adriana
From:John F. Marlier <jmarlier@calpoly.edu>
Sent:Saturday, September
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Item 7.b, September 7, 2021 City Council meeting (Westmont Drive subdivision)
Attachments:Comment on 468-500 Westmont copy.pdf
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Dear City Council Members:
Thank you for your responses to our previous email concerning the residential parking districts. Today we are writing about a different
but related issue on the agenda for the September 7th council meeting. This is item 7.b, which creates 23 new residential lots on tract
3157 (Westmont Drive).
Several neighbors on Stanford Drive submitted comments at the Planning Commission meeting on July 27, 2021. In our opinion city
staff did not adequately respond to the concerns of neighbors adjacent to the project. In fact, city staff originally failed to notify affected
neighbors prior to the first scheduled meeting. Our primary concerns are those pertaining to the environment and safety. We have
appended our original comments below. Here is a brief summary:
1. Environmental Issues. (a) The new structures, roads and driveway surfaces will cause considerably more rain water runoff
into the existing neighborhood. We thought it would be prudent to have an independent hydrologic report. The city staff did
not approve such a report. Homes in the neighborhood already have to deal with water accumulation under raised foundations
during the rainy season. (b) Several neighbors objected to loss of the riparian habitat on the west portion of the subdivision.
A persuasive argument (with videos) presented at the PC meeting was considered unimportant by city staff, although some
on the planning commission voiced concern. City staff would not even consider a decrease in the number of lots
in the subdivision to help alleviate these issues.
2. Parking/Traffic Safety/Traffic Flow. The city planners used what appears to be an outmoded model to calculate the
additional auto trips/day created by the presence of new homes. This older model assumes far fewer cars per residence. When
the approved ADUs and JADUs are added to the mix the number is much higher. This higher traffic volume together with
decreased visibility due to higher parking density will result in significant safety concerns for all residents. In particular
Stanford Drive has two curves and is the narrowest of the three streets with access to the new subdivision (the others being
Cuesta and Westmont). This makes Stanford the least safe option.
We believe city staff ignored or did not adequately answer these concerns. We urge you to have city staff reconsider the
environmental and safety issues raised by the neighbors most affected by the project. However, despite the concerns
raised above, the city council may feel obligated to follow the recommendations of city staff. If the council decides
to approve the original unmodified proposal, as a minimum please consider the following:
1. Speed Bumps. The large number of younger, inexperienced drivers tend to use excessive speed on Stanford Drive.
2. Better Parking District Enforcement. Current enforcement of the parking district is spotty. It is critical to cut down on
decreased visibility issues created by over-parking.
3. Better Enforcement of Noise Ordinance. Population density is dramatically increasing in our area due to the
current housing crisis. As our older neighborhoods attempt to retain some of their original dignity and
quality, strong enforcement of the noise ordinance is crucial.
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Thank you once again for listening to our concerns.
John and Joyce Marlier (Stanford Drive residents since 1990)
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