HomeMy WebLinkAboutARC Correspondence - Public Comment (Leopold)From: Jackie Leopold [ RECEIVED
Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2016 2:06 PM CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
To: Bell, Kyle; Cohen, Rachel
Subject: Letter Regarding Serra Meadows Affordable Housing APR 0 6 2016
Hi Kyle and Rachel, ! COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
May I ask that you consider and please place the letter attached in the public record where
appropriate?
Thank you very much,
Jackie Leopold
Dear Members of City Planning,
I am a new mother with plans for another baby on the way. After having my first child, my
husband and I saved our money to move from a condo in downtown SLO to a quieter, family
friendly neighborhood with less traffic, more parking and more privacy.
When we discovered the Serra Meadows community we viewed it as a perfect fit. We put a
down payment on lot which is directly below the affordable housing area. We were
convinced that this housing would be built in a responsible manner that fit in beautifully with our
new community.
However, after reviewing the initial plans for the affordable housing area, we have become very
concerned. Our first concern is that the buildings will be towering above many of the residential
houses, in part, because the plans violate various zoning regulations. For example, while the
location for the affordable housing units is already at a 12% grade, the plans include building
these units (a) 5 feet closer to the property line than the regulations allow and (b) they include
building the units 3 feet higher than the regulations allow. We are worried about having
sufficient privacy and space, as these three story units are scheduled to be built much closer to
our house than we ever thought possible, while being much taller than we thought they would be.
In addition to the close proximity and height of these buildings in relation to our house, the
developers are also asking for approval on only one parking spot for each unit. We are
concerned that this will lead to a serious shortage of parking that will almost certainly overflow
into our street. We also feel that it is a strain to fit four three-story buildings into this space—this
will lead to a large amount of traffic passing by our house, a build up of parked cars on our
street, and a situation that does not have the privacy or safety that we thought living in this
community would have. Additionally, we think this is likely to push permanent parking and
visitor parking to the streets for the other homeowners to manage, in addition to bringing much
more traffic.
We respectfully suggest that the affordable housing units be built farther from the road and
closer to the mountain on lot 108. At the very least, we ask that they be built in accordance with
the regulations that dictate their distance from the road and that limit their height. We would be
much more comfortable with a plan for fewer units—which we feel would be better
accommodated in this space—and for adding two parking spots per unit and visitor parking on
the lot as well.
My husband and I were born and raised in San Luis Obispo County. We attended college at Cal
Poly San Luis Obispo, my husband works as a dentist in this town, and we are dedicated to
supporting this community. Our families have contributed hard-working and tax -paying school
teachers, dentists, mail carriers, salon owners, architects, builders, doctors, wine industry
professionals, microbiologists, occupational therapists and more to this community. We hope
that the City Planners will take seriously our concerns and help promote the privacy, well being,
and safety of our new neighborhood.
Please place this letter in the public record where appropriate.
Sincerely,
Jacqueline M. Leopold