HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/5/2025 Item 7a, Priola
Joe Priola <
To:Advisory Bodies
Subject:An appeal to remain in place
To the Construction Board of Appeals,
This letter concerns the Construction Board of Appeals meeting scheduled for Monday, May 5, 2025, at
1:00 p.m., regarding the 1150 Laurel Lane property.
I began my journey in this community as a Cal Poly undergrad in 1995 and have been a grateful resident
of San Luis Obispo for over 20 years as an involved citizen, nonprofit minister and small business owner.
I am currently the owner and operator of Office Hours SLO coworking space, located at 1150 Laurel
Lane. I am so proud that Office Hours provides premium communal office space for remote workers,
entrepreneurs and builders from all over SLO County. Office Hours currently supports over 50 active
members representing nearly 20 organizations, including both large and small businesses, as well as
nonprofit entities. These professionals daily rely on our facility for meaningful, productive work and
connection.
I am writing to request that the Board reconsider the Chief Building Official’s order to vacate the building
and secure the units against entry, based on the claim that the property is unsafe, unlawful, unfit for
human occupancy, and declared dangerous. I am respectfully appealing to the board to creatively and
collaboratively find solutions with the owner that does not require the tenants to vacate and shut our
businesses and organizations down. I believe there is a better way to help focus on moving the building
construction further along.
Since taking occupancy in July of 2022 first as a StoryLabs coworking and later as Office Hours under the
Temporary Certificate of Occupancy, we have operated and maintained a clean, safe and compliant
work environment with over 150 different office members coming and going. While at 1150 Laurel Lane,
we have only seen - albeit slower than any of us would have hoped - improvements upon the property all
the while growing our community business. It is puzzling to grasp how the property is now deemed
unsafely the City to occupy while it was seemingly fit and safe for occupancy in 2022. We even share
walls with business allowed to remain.
While we understand that the larger property as a whole requires improvements, we stand committed to
being part of a thoughtful, forward-facing solution that serves all. But to deem all areas of the property as
“unfit for human occupancy” does not reflect the present, maintained, and actively used sections of the
facility. We are concerned that this order is placing responsible tenants — who have worked diligently to
comply with city requirements— at risk of abrupt displacement, without a collaborative effort to mitigate
the impact.
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Unfortunately, the recent uncertainties with the building on whether we remain or whether we can go has
caused us to see a number of members cancel memberships in part to all of the uncertainty, impacting
the local economy and my business.
I urge the Board to take a practical and measured approach, allowing existing businesses and
community services like the church to continue operating while appropriate next steps are pursued with
the building owner. We hope to continue serving our local workers and entrepreneurs at 1150 Laurel
Lane without further disruption, and ask you help us do so.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
Respectfully,
Joe Priola
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