HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/11/2024 Item 4a, Moller
Debbie Moller <
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:Fwd: 466 Dana St. The Waterman Village Dec. 11, 2024
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Planning Commission
999 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, 93401
advisorybodies@slocity.org
Re: 466 Dana St. The Waterman Village Dec. 11, 2024
Dear Chair Cooley and Commissioners Flores, Houghton, Jorgensen, Khan, Munoz-
Morris and Tolle,
We write in support of and respectfully request that the Planning Commission approve
the proposed Waterman Village, located at 466 Dana Street in San Luis Obispo.
Affordable housing is a critical issue in San Luis Obispo County. Young families, singles,
and independent seniors can no longer afford to live in San Luis Obispo comfortably.
Waterman Village is part of the solution. It offers a beautiful, centrally located home for
San Luis Obispo residents of limited means, particularly the City’s 1 in 3 single-person
households, to live among a community and have the option for car-free living with
services nearby.
Developed by San Luis Obispo non-profit Smart Share Housing Solutions (SSHS), the
Waterman Village includes 20 permanent below-market-rate cottage homes, built on
foundations, compatible and complementary to the historic Rosa Butron de Canet
Adobe. The project has been recommended, based on adherence to the standards of
their respective purviews, by both the Cultural Heritage Committee and the
Architectural Review Commission.
Local housing options in San Luis Obispo should reflect the demand for all types of life.
The Waterman Village offers a unique option for sustainable, community-based, simple
living. There is a pertinent desire for this housing model in our City. The American
Automobile Association (AAA) calculates the average annual cost of car ownership to
be upwards of $12,000. For low-income households, meeting that ticket can prevent
meeting other basic needs and essential payments. For this reason, low income
households have lower levels of car ownership than other populations.
While some may fear the idea of affordable homes and the stigma they carry in their
neighborhood and the people that occupy such homes, this project will bring enhanced
neighborhood security. Smart Share Housing Solutions’ on-site management and
offices and community space inside a rehabilitated adobe at the heart and center of
cottages will bring life back to a currently unsecured lot and bring human life back into a
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boarded up historic resource, which has been occupied by rodents, garbage and old
mattresses for years. Residents will be screened and background checked.
As housing prices soar across California, San Luis Obispo residents deserve more
opportunities to stay, connect with our community, and have access to personal space
and mobility, while maintaining a reasonable budget to meet all their needs. The
development of Waterman Village, centered around the rehabilitation and opening up
of the historic adobe for use, provides not only housing, but also opportunity for
community members to access a historic resource which has been sitting empty and
boarded up for more than 30 years.
Thank you for your support of this innovative project that helps get us get closer to our
City goals, from housing and homeless prevention, to energy efficiency and
sustainability, to cultural vitality, equity and inclusion and sustainable mobility.
Sincerely,
Debbie snd Neal Moller
San Luis Obispo, California
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