HomeMy WebLinkAboutARC 04-06-2015 Correspondence - White 2RECEIVED
�irY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
APR - 3 2015
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Monterey Heights Neighbors
April 1, 2015
Architectural Review Committee
Marcus Carloni
Community Development Department RE: 323/353 Grand Ave.
I am writing as co- chairman of the Monterey Heights Neighbors. We are working hard to
reclaim our neighborhood and to restore it to the former "workforce housing" neighborhood that
we once enjoyed.
The City Council and Community Development Department have passed many
ordinances to assist in this endeavor. To name nine: 9.12.040 General noise regulations, 9.13.030
Unruly gathering ordinance, 10.36.200 Limitation on parking in residential permit parking area,
California Vehicle Code 22500 Parking on sidewalks, overhanging drives, etc., 17.17055 Front
yard parking, 17.17.060 Roof & furniture, 17.17.070 Fence Maintenance, 17.17.070 Refuse
containers, 17.93.020 Definition of High Occupancy Residential Use
The above list does not include the proposed Rental Housing Inspection Program that
will come before the City Council in the near future. All of these ordinances are aimed at
alleviating the negative impacts upon the low density neighborhoods as a result of overcrowding
up- zoning, studentification, or approval of mini -dorms within R -1 zones.
The 323/353 Grand Ave. project, as presented, will only exacerbate the existing negative
impacts that we presently experience. It is much easier to modify a project before it negatively
impacts a neighborhood than to provide enforcement of existing and future ordinances after the
project is completed and adds to the existing problem.
The Aurignac -Leroy Court project and the 320 Grand, 1825, 1861 and 1865 MCollum
project are two projects that have been used as comps when considering the high sq. footage
build -out for this project. Since their completion, these two projects have greatly added to
neighborhood un- wellness. Police, Neighborhood Services, Garbage, calls have all increased.
The applicant listed 30 properties within a 1/2 mile radius to justify approval of the
substandard lot split. The applicant now ignores those same properties and the size, scale, and
mass of the 30 homes on those smaller lots. He also ignores the other homes within the
established neighborhood. The developer uses the two high - density projects to justify the 2000-
2400 sq. ft. build out on these sub standard lots but then tries to make his project even denser
than the two projects that he uses as comps.
We have no problem with the developer using the same 30 house average square footage
of homes built on the smaller lots that he used to obtain the smaller lot approval. I have done the
calculations on the 30 properties used by the applicant and find that the average size of the
homes built on these smaller lots is 1300 sq. feet.
If the developer built 1300 to 1500 sq. ft. homes on these sub standard lots, the size of the
homes would, by design be workforce houses not mini dorms. This smaller square footage home
would also alleviate all of the concerns of the neighbors regarding, parking, studentification, up-
zoning, etc.
I have attached 24 pages of photos. The largest packet is of neighborhood homes in the
vicinity of the Grand Ave. project. These photos show the size, scale, and mass of the established
neighborhood. The smaller packet is of the two outlier projects that demonstrate the
neighborhood problems that occur when Neighborhood Guidelines, size ,scale, and mass are
ignored.
I implore you to help us stabilize our neighborhood. Thank you for your consideration in
this matter.
Sincerely,
Linda White, co- chairman
Monterey Heights Neighbors
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