HomeMy WebLinkAbout8/25/2025 Item 4a, Hamlin
FW: ARCH-0451-2024
From: Robin Hamlin <
Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2025 1:42 PM
To: Hanh, Hannah <hhanh@slocity.org>
Cc: German Auto < ; Jon Svehla < ; Rob Durham
<
Subject: ARCH-0451-2024
Dear Ms. Hanh,
My property will be impacted by the 4 story multi-use project reference above. I own the parcel of
property at the corner of 1325 Archer and Pacific Street, extending down Pacific to and including the
parking lot rented by German Auto for the cars they work on. The parking lot was first rented to German
Auto on September 27, 1983 when they were my father’s tenants, and are now mine. I also own the
corner building currently leased to Landwell Design and Build. The large new project is a concern for its
impact of additional traffic both on the main boundary streets and down the alley, as well as additional
street parking, and the density bonus and waivers already given that are mentioned in the Cultural
Heritage Committee Hearing Notice. Pacific Street is already impacted with customer parking for the
gym on Archer taking several spost within the blocks of Pacific and Archer, leaving little for the 5 to 6
employees of German Auto and about 10 employees of Landwell.
As you must know, not many employees in commercial businesses of this part of town can afford homes
in San Luis Obispo. Many commute from out of town. Even those in town are not as likely as City Council
seems to hope, to be riding their bikes to work or walking to work. That takes time and is not conducive
to picking up groceries or running other errands on the way home. This part of town will continue to be
full of car owning drivers, and regardless of the proximity to downtown SLO, it will bring dozens of
vehicles into the area.
Exactly how many residential units are proposed? How many other use units are proposed?
You probably are not aware that the gym on the corner of Archer and Pacific approached my tenant,
German Auto, asking if they could lease some ghost spaces in the German Auto lot. (No deal was made.)
As I understand it, for reference, the gym had to "find" something like 18 parking spots in order to
open, which they do not have given that at least half of their lot is occupied with other things.
The project will bring more vehicles and people to the area. The diagonal corner intersections of
Pacific, Walker, and Pismo Streets at Higuera are all more dangerous than right angle corners to cross
and exit due to the convergence of three different streets in one intersection.. If you frequent that area,
you would know what I mean. Are better traffic controls and traffic control lights being added? I’m also
concerned that drivers will learn to take quick shortcuts down the alley in the middle of the block, and
the alley will see some blight develop: an accumulation of dumpsters and abandoned trash outside
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dumpsters and occasional illegal parking. Have these issues been recognized and resolved as part of
the project?
The notice says the project is exempt from environmental review which I think is a mistake. Remember
the history of that old commercial area: The Gas Works. You should know that on my property which
German Auto rents as a parking lot, a serious sinkhole developed many years ago. I had a contractor
excavate it and he discovered a huge snarl of wires and cables that were left deep underground,
presumably from the long abandoned gas works occupying parts of the block. Luckily it was a parking
lot, not a building, where this happened.
Another bit of history, my father, Charles Frederick Hamlin, had purchased parcels on the block in
1959. He reached out to all other property owners using the alley, all of whom at that time owned their
little section of the alley, then known as Railroad Alley, and asked and convinced all the owners to give
up their bits of the alley and officially have the City annex the alley property. The dedication was
completed by a “Resolution of Intention to accept Dedication of an Alley Between Archer and Walker
Street" that was passed and adopted December 17, 1975.
In view of the above, I encourage and ask that the Cultural Heritage Committee and the Community
Development Director seriously consider all these facts and be conservative in granting permits to
developers in this area, and that you do not be hasty and eager to bring in housing by the density bonus,
reduced parking, waivers, and exemption from environmental review that have been proposed or offered.
Sincerely,
Robin Hamlin
Property Owner
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