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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-17-2015 PH1 Soll 2COUNCIL MEETING: O'L i—[ 2b1� ITEM NO.: FEB 17 2015 Good Evening, I'm Angela Soll and I live at 1739 San Luis Drive. I am the appellant of record for this evening's appeal of the ARC decision and join my neighbors to speak in support of a more responsible approach to the development of this property. In 2009 there was a project named "Hyatt Place" brought before the ARC for "conceptual review ". The proposed hotel was similar in some important ways to the Monterey: it was four stories high, had a little over 100 rooms and about 60,000 square feet. In their Agenda Report recommending denial, staff noted that the building was much larger than the surrounding structures and therefore was inconsistent with community design guidelines which state that "commercial projects should consider San Luis Obispo's small town scale and demonstrate sensitivity to the design context of the surrounding area, and promote neighborhood compatibility through proportional building, scale and size." The current project has really made only minor changes in response to that report, and still pushes size and mass to the absolute limits allowed. You've already heard about Ordinance 1130 in some detail, but beyond that, projects must comply with the community design guidelines and general plan. Within those documents, it states that in designing development at the boundary between residential and non - residential uses, protection of a residential atmosphere is the first priority, and elsewhere they emphasize that the primary goals of the City's design review process are to maintain the community's quality of life for residents, to maintain property values and to preserve the City's natural beauty and visual character. The LUCE update states that "particular attention will be given to creek protection, noise, safety, light and glare, and privacy impacts to adjoining neighborhoods." The Monterey hotel would have 3 stories on top of 2 parking levels. It would stand a full 45 feet above ground level, but one has to remember that this site is at the top of a hill and from our side of the creek would appear as if it were 7 stories high. This building will absolutely tower over every other structure in the area, and will dominate the viewscape of virtually the entire neighborhood. In conclusion, I'd like to acknowledge that the Upper Monterey area does need redevelopment. However, if you allow this project to go forward as proposed, without regard to the letter and spirit of your own general plan, community design guidelines and Ordinance 1130, it will set a dangerous precedent for future development and potentially destroy the quality of life in the San Luis Drive neighborhood forever. Once the first domino falls, there's no going back. - Instead, I suggest that you send this project back to the Planning Commission with directions that the hotel size be reduced by one story and that all parking be buffered from the surrounding neighborhood as directed in 113 0, along with the elimination of all balconies as already agreed to and with maximum consideration given for the preservation of San Luis Obispo Creek.