HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-10-2016 PC Correspondence - Items 1 & 2 (Whitney)Sharon Whitney
8/8/2016
CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
AUG 0 8 20%
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT �•�'
Dear San Luis Obispo City Planning Commissioners,
216 Albert Drive, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
805-543-8182
Whitney.stiaron@gmail.com
Meeting. PC /0`1 -
item:
1 -
item: 2-
I
I want to address two items on your upcoming agenda, Wednesday, August 10, 2o16. I do so as a
resident of San Luis Obispo, board member of Residents for Quality Neighborhoods, and a former
member of the recent Task Force for updating the Land Use and Circulation Elements of the
General Plan.
Item One: I oppose parking reductions in mall -like shopping centers, wherever they may be in
the City. I doubt that reducing their number will discourage current drivers from driving to these
centers. Moreover, I oppose reducing the size of the existing spaces in these parking lots.
Experience teaches us that saying a space is for a compact vehicle does not dissuade drivers of
larger vehicles from squeezing into those spaces—which results in making the parking experience
for the rest of us a lot more difficult.
Item Two: I oppose using an outside consultant for the rezoning process. Outside consultants fail
to see all the issues City stakeholders see, and the process becomes too "top-down," minimalizing
the significance of the City stakeholders' input, especially that of ordinary neighborhood
residents.
If staff needs to hire help, I recommend that it hire interns from Cal Poly. As we all know, Cal Poly
has an excellent reputation for developing "learn -by -doing" students in its assorted colleges,
departments, and programs. This strikes me as a superior approach to hiring an outside
consultant. It seems superior in terms of both economics and stakeholder -staff accountability.
Last, but not least, I support using a "Legislative Draft" approach during the rezoning process.
Such an approach better enables local stakeholders who are not planners to better appreciate
what changes are being anticipated and their justifications.
Sincerely,
Sharon Whitney