HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/10/2024 Item 6c, Coleman, E.
Elizabeth Coleman <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Comments for Public Hearing - Agenca Item 6(c) San Luis Ranch Zoning Amendment
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Councilmembers,
I am writing and follow up to my written comments of December 1 regarding the above item. Now that
the agenda item has appeared I would like to make the supplemental comments and would like them to
become part of the record on the public hearing, which I will note has been scheduled to likely be past 9
PM, limiting the ability of the families in the impacted community to actually attend. Were the council
interested in the opinions of the hundreds of residents already living in the development who will be
widely impacted by these changes, scheduling after a 90+ minute budget presentation, after making the
full materials available just before the Brown Act notification deadlines, is counter-productive. Going
forward, I would urge the City to make community input more possible.
I reiterate my prior comments that safety related to the poorly designed and dangerously implemented
intersections in the existing San Luis Ranch development must be addressed. I reiterate the importance
of making sure there are public access recreational amenities in the new plan. I reiterate my general
support for increased residential uses.
All that said, being finally able to review the proposed plan for the parcel, it is deeply problematic. The
proposal, shifting from over 100,000 ft.² of commercial space, to "up to 15,000 ft.²" very significantly and
detrimentally impacts the walkability of the existing neighborhood, into which hundreds of families have
bought on the basis of a walkable community. This was the vision the residents were sold. Although of
course those contracts were not signed with the City directly, the City's strong leadership in making sure
this community was actually a good use of the space was critical to the existing design. As an attorney, I
will note that the phrase "up to" 15,000 ft.² is critical. As drafted, absolutely no usable commercial space
with any interest or usability in the existing community would be required, notwithstanding the fact that
up until the last amendment, that was the entire planned use for this 11+ acre parcel. This is not what the
hundreds of homeowners already living in the neighborhood agreed to.
Further, while a partial residential use would be of benefit to the community and likely the city as a
whole, there is a vast difference between a mixed use development that would be both pleasant for
existing residents to be part of, and potentially supportable with existing roadways, and the massive
apartment complex that appears to be proposed instead. This is not a higher-density, mixed income,
inviting community that invites involvement of neighbors with each other, as the existing plan does. It is a
carve out from the otherwise well-planned community to maximize profit at the expense of community
integration.
Most of the residents in San Luis Ranch that I have spoken with are supportive of the higher density
approach that has been taken to date, which is why we bought into a closely constructed and walkable
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neighborhood. Neighbors talk on the streets, look out for each other's pets and houses, and gather in the
park and streets now. It would be lovely to have a similarly well planned, mixed use addition in the area
previously intended as just commercial use. However, the current proposal is very much not that.
At this time I would urge the council to reject the request to reopen zoning on this parcel until a baseline
proposal consistent with the promises already made in the neighborhood is before you. A significant
increase in the residential uses can be accomplished while still promoting walkability, open space, and
commercial services for the hundreds of folks who already live in the neighborhood. I would further urge
the council to treat future items impacting the already nearly built out neighborhood of San Luis Ranch
as if they are of significant concern to the residents/voters who have already made this area into a great
community. I hope we can invite many more people into the neighborhood, which the existing plan of
commercial plus affordable housing would do, and which could be expanded further by thoughtful and
well-designed mixed use spaces, in a way that doesn't remove the currently walkable character of the
neighborhood, which I believe the current proposal would undoubtedly do. Rather than cutting off this
parcel as a massive apartment-only area, I urge you to require it to be integrated thoughtfully into the
existing neighborhood, in a way that benefits both current users and many new neighbors.
Thank you,
Elizabeth Coleman
San Luis Ranch Homeowner
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