HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-02-2015 PH2 BlakeLomeli, Monique
Subject: FW: Appeal of ARC Design Approval for 323 -353 Grand Ave
Attachments: Grand Ave Development.docx
JUN 01 2015
J
- - - -- Original Message---- -
From: Karen Blake [ rnailto :blakekaren @sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Sunday, May 31, 2015 5:30 PM
To: E -mail Council Website COUNCIL MIdLTING: up � �,Z 1 l5)
Cc: 'Linda White' ITEM NO.:a
Subject: Appeal of ARC Design Approval for 323 -353 Grand Ave
Please include this letter with the with the appeal presention by Linda White and Karen Adler.
Mayor Marx, City Council Members,
Re: Appeal of the proposed development on 323 & 353 Grand Ave
I cannot attend the June 2nd appeal due to heath issues so I am submitting this letter for record.
This project needs to be reduced. The proposed houses are much too large for the lots and are
not compatible with our R -1 neighborhood. This project does not adhere to the Community
Design Guidelines, specifically that it be compatible with existing development and be
compatible in scale, siting, detailing and overall character with adjacent buildings in the
immediate neighborhood.
The reality is that these houses are meant for students not families. A four bedroom house can
house anywhere from 4 to 8 students as is very clear from the existing student rentals in my
immediate neighborhood. However, each of these houses has the potential to be a 5 bedroom
house as each house has a den, media room, or office designed into it that is really just code for
another bedroom.
My husband and I have lived on the corner of Grand and McCollum since 1989. Our house is a
little over 200 feet from the proposed project. We also live across the street from a similar 4
house development on McCollum and Grand. Our lives have not been the same since it was
built.
The house directly across from us has 5 bedrooms, there are at least 8 students living there and
from the noise and activity we have observed it looks like it is an auxiliary sorority.
There are so many cars parked in the common driveway it is a wonder anyone can get in or out.
If you reference the picture of the Grand /McCollum development in Linda White's appeal
presentation you see that if there are two cars in the garage and two parked in the street with
permits and two parked in front of the garage, the red car, whose occupant lives in that house
makes 7. Can you imagine what it would be like on a street where no parking is allowed?
The side of Grand Avenue that this project will reside on is a no parking zone. Where will all
those students park, in the common driveway? Let us hope there is never a fire in one of the
houses at the back of the property as the fire department will have a difficult time reaching
them. With all these students jammed into the common driveway they would have to backout
onto Grand Avenue to get out. As fast as the cars drive down Grand Ave this creates a huge
safety issue for themselves and anyone coming down Grand Avenue. I would think that based
on the street parking situation alone the project would be reduced for the safety of the
residents and the neighborhood in general.
Then there is the issue of garbage cans. The experience I have had with the McCollum /Grand
Development shows that when you have so many houses putting out garbage cans on pick -up
day, no one knows who's can is whose. So some cans get brought back while other end up
taking up residence on the sidewalk through most or all of the week. I have even observed
students walking out to the sidewalk with their bags of garbage and dropping in the cans. Yet
they can't seem to bring the cans back to their residence. The most frustrating part is that it
took the city almost two months to figure out who owns the cans and get them off the street.
These neighborhoods are being squeezed by Cal Poly, who really doesn't give a whit to the
wellbeing of the surrounding neighborhoods, and developers who seem to be circling like
vultures waiting for property to come up for sale so they can develop them and squeeze every
last penny of rental income they can get out of them. These developers don't care about how
they are affecting quality of life for those of us who own our homes.
I say that if the City Council is really committed to "Neighborhood Wellness" then they will find
for the appeal and require a reduced size project.
Sincerely,
Karen Blake