HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-12-2016 Public Comment, McCleanCOUNCIL M T NQ- 0-7 1 (z zw(.i
ITEM NO.: C�Vw
JUL _I � ?016
Good evening Mayor Marx and Council Members.
My name is Cheryl McLean and I live in S.L.O. My comments pertain to the high-density housing
project proposed for 71 Palomar.
Many of us are concerned that the Community Development Department has provided the CHC
and the ARC with consultant reports that are grossly incomplete, full of errors and, at best,
misleading. We are referring to Oliviera's initial environmental study, Applied Earthwork's
historical and archaeological report and A & T's tree report. Because of these reports' inherent
deficiencies, several of us have asked the city to make it possible for an independent arborist,
ornithologist, historian, archaeologist and/or other environmental consultant to have access to the
site. Requesting city help was necessary since the project owners have threatened to sue opponents
in an effort to intimidate us into not exercising our constitutional right to question the merits of
this dreadful project.
The city has not yet responded to our request.
Now we discover such a request should be unnecessary, that under ordinary city development
review procedures it is policy to have truly independent and unbiased consultants hired by the city
and paid for, but not controlled by or influenced by, the applicant. We were surprised to discover
this since until now the city has put forth flawed consultant -supplied reports as if they contained
reliable, truthful, factual information when clearly they do not. Does it not occur to the City that
these consultants can, in no way, remain unbiased if they are hand-picked by the developer?
We are therefore requesting that these flawed and incomplete reports need to be redone. We ask
that the city engage truly independent consultants, consultants who have not been hand-picked
by the developer, to assess the value of the trees, the true extent of avian life on this property,
the historical significance of the Sandford house and, finally, a fair and complete assessment
of the negative environmental impacts this proposed project will have on this site and
surrounding neighborhood.
We remain concerned about bias and predetermined outcomes given the city's actions to date.
Therefore we request some significant role for the public in the selection of the consultants, in
scoping the consultants' work assignments, and in assessing the outcome of the consultants'
studies. The city needs to rebuild the public trust it has lost by attempting to railroad this project
through using inadequate, misleading, and unacceptable environmental documentation.
The city needs to work together with us in a fair, open and transparent manner. Continuing on
the recently chosen path is not acceptable or in the best interests of the City of San Luis
Obispo. Thank you.