HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/11/2024 Item 4a, Sheets
Kerry Sheets <
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:466 Dana St. The Waterman Village Dec. 11, 2024
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Dear Chair Cooley and Commissioners Flores, Houghton, Jorgensen, Khan, Munoz-Morris and Tolle,
I write in support of and respectfully request the Planning Commission to approve the proposed Waterman
Village, located at 466 Dana Street in San Luis Obispo. Affordable housing is a critical issue on the Central Coast of
California. 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. If not in downtown San Luis Obispo, a place with
quality bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and essential resources within walking distance, where?
While some may fear the idea of affordable homes and the stigma they carry in their neighborhood and the
people who 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 boarded-up historic resource.
The development of Waterman Village centered around the rehabilitation and opening up of the historic adobe for
use, provides not only housing but also an opportunity for community members to access a historic resource that 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 toward so many City goals, from
housing and homeless prevention to energy efficiency and sustainability, to cultural vitality, equity and inclusion,
and sustainable mobility.
Sincerely,
Kerry Sheets
San Luis Obispo
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