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Minutes - DRAFT
PLANNING COMMISSION
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Regular Meeting of the Planning Commission
CALL TO ORDER
A Regular Meeting of the Planning Commission was called to order on Wednesday, May 25,
2016 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, located at 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo,
California, by Chair Stevenson.
ROLL CALL
Present: Commissioners Hemalata Dandekar, John Larson, Ronald Malak, William Riggs
(arrived 6:04), Vice Chair John Fowler, and Chairperson Charles Stevenson
Absent: None
Staff: Community Development Director Michael Codron, Utilities Deputy Director of Water
Aaron Floyd, Utilities Project Manager Jennifer Metz, Utilities Service Technician
Mychal Boerman, Assistant City Attorney Jon Ansolabehere, and Recording Secretary
Brad T. Opstad
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Chair Stevenson led the Pledge of Allegiance.
CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES
Assistant City Attorney Ansolabehere advised that Commissioners absent from the Meeting of
April 13, 2016 (Fowler, Dandekar) need not abstain from participating in the action to approve
minutes, but should refrain from proposing amendments.
UPON MOTION BY COMMISSIONER LARSON, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER
MALAK, the Planning Commission Minutes of April 13, 2016 were approved as written on the
following 5:0:0:1 vote:
AYES: Larson, Malak, Fowler, Dandekar, Stevenson
NOES: None
ABSTAIN: None
ABSENT: Riggs
PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA
Simon Lowrie, San Luis Obispo, spoke in opposition to the City’s Rental Housing Inspection
Program and suggested that the City Council should support projects that increase the City’s
housing stock.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
1. Citywide. Water and Wastewater Management Element Amendment and 2015 Urban
Water Management Plan: Review and provide recommendations on amendments to the
General Plan, Chapter 8, Water and Wastewater Management Element and the 2015 Urban
Water Management Plan; Utilities Department.
Utilities Project Manager Metz presented the proposed Management Element amendments as
well as the update on the 2015 Plan.
Assistant City Ansolabehere, responding to Commission requests, reminded and made more
explicit the Commission’s purview toward the recommended Resolution by pointing out that
amendments to the policies of the General Plan is where Commission’s jurisdiction resides
and that the Urban Water Management Plan is a Council policy document provided only as
background relating directly to changes made at the policy level.
Service Technician Boerman provided brief summation of each of the eight (8) chapters of
the Water Management Plan and their relation to the proposed amendments.
PUBLIC COMMENT
David Brodie, San Luis Obispo, read a prepared written statement summarizing his belief
that the long-term historical record is no longer a good indicator of future water conditions
and recommended a more conservative approach to address water shortage contingencies.
He suggested that a trigger date should be set earlier within the water shortage response
stages.
Dia Hurd, San Luis Obispo, argued that dependence on Lake Nacimiento as a reliable source
of City water for existing and future users is unrealistic and concurred with comments made
by the previous speaker.
Bob Shambron, San Luis Obispo, criticized the Plan noting concerns with groundwater
access, insubstantial amounts of acre-feet per year of water reclamation and the dwindling
rainfall threshold at Nacimiento.
Rachel Kovesdi, San Luis Obispo, voiced support for fully implementing all portions of it.
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Bob Lucas, San Luis Obispo, remarked that the Plan falls short in addressing probable impact
of climate change.
Paul Rys, San Luis Obispo, shared concern about the City’s dependence on groundwater and
urged the City to make trees a higher priority over new development.
Cheryl McLean, San Luis Obispo, requested that when each development project appears
before the City that they state how much water they are expecting to use per year, which
would be helpful toward making improved water projections.
---End of Public Comments---
Chair Stevenson suggested managing the General Plan piece first before moving on to Water
Management Plan as means of organizing comments.
In response to Commissioner Larson’s inquiries, Deputy Director Floyd explained newer
detection levels and water quality standards, in addition to the Groundwater Management Act
regulations, all playing part in incurring new regulatory requirements and costs; and provided
a distinction between the similar chemical constituents TCE and PCE. Project Manager Metz
summarized the Reliability Reserve Element of the document.
In response to Vice-Chair Fowler’s inquiry, Deputy Director Floyd explained that the City is
using some groundwater for domestic, non-potable purposes in some applications, such as
parks’ irrigation.
In response to Commissioner Larson’s inquiry, Service Technician Boerman stated a
framework exists in GIS & billing software water-consumption data toward the City’s ability
to apply Land Use-based approach in projecting water demand, but further background work
would have occur before becoming fully feasible.
Service Technician Boerman and Project Manager Betz responded to specific Public
Comments regarding the expansion of rebate and offset programs, the prioritization of trees
during drought, and the identification of reservoir storage capacities.
Action: UPON MOTION BY COMMISSIONER RIGGS, SECONDED BY VICE-CHAIR
FOWLER, the Commission approved the Draft Resolution recommending the City Council
adopt Amendments to the Water and Wastewater Management Element of the General Plan
as represented in the Staff Report and Attachments on the following 6:0:0:0 roll call vote:
AYES: Riggs, Fowler, Malak, Dandekar, Larson, Stevenson
NOES: None
ABSTAIN: None
ABSENT: None
Chair Stevenson shifted focus to the Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) and called for
Commission comments. Assistant City Attorney Ansolabehere clarified that this is not a
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request for a formal recommendation, but rather an opportunity for the Commission to
provide feedback to the Council.
Commissioner Larson and Chair Stevenson noted the significant improvement that had been
made since the Commission last viewed the UWMP and provided supplemental language-
change suggestions. Commissioner Riggs countered that some of the existing language in the
document reflects flexibility from a policy standpoint that should not be altered. Vice-Chair
Fowler endorsed the Plan as written. Commissioner Malak indicated preference for seeing
the same wording for implementations in the Warning stage shift to that of the Severe stage.
Chair Stevenson suggested irrigation retrofits as one addition to potential offset programs.
2. Citywide. Growth Management Study Session: Review and discuss the status of
residential and non-residential growth in the City following the adoption of the 2014 Land
Use Element; Community Development.
Chair Stevenson clarified that this item is a Study Session. Commissioner Riggs announced
that because the item is informational in nature with no Commission decisions to render
afterward, he would leave the dais following Public Comment.
Director Codron explained the intent of the Study Session, provided the Update and
summarized the City’s progress in delivering housing units to correct an imbalance.
PUBLIC COMMENT
David Brodie, San Luis Obispo, said that the Study fails to address the number of jobs
generated by projected growth of non-residential square-footage.
Dia Hurd, San Luis Obispo, stated that the City will never grow itself out of a workforce
affordable housing imbalance because it continues to create nothing but minimum-wage jobs.
Camille Small, San Luis Obispo, commented that because housing development is not
occurring fast enough on Cal Poly campus, housing is being built in the City for the student
population, which competes against the needs of the low-income workforce population.
Paul Rys, San Luis Obispo, spoke regarding traffic impacts in the South Higuera area if the
proposed Avila Ranch project is developed.
Cheryl McLean, San Luis Obispo, addressed plans proposed for removing trees at the 71
Palomar project.
Arianna Metcalfe, San Luis Obispo, sought more helpful clarification on truest definition of
“affordable housing” and an explanation of what City’s particular standards are for it.
---End of Public Comments---
Commissioner Riggs left the dais at 8:06 p.m.
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Commissioner Dandekar reiterated a past request for Staff to pursue avenues to try and find
interstices between decreasing size of households and the composition of housing product
types being generated. Chair Stevenson mentioned having previously discussed ideas with
Director Codron for moving forward with efforts on the same plane as what Commissioner
Dandekar suggests.
Director Codron discussed both the beneficial relevance and the balancing issues of
Secondary Dwelling Units.
Vice-Chair Fowler stated that the lack of housing supply drives up housing costs and
therefore pricing potential buyers out of market; and observed that solving one issue appears
to create another in an adjoining arena. He stressed the need for continuing to tackle each
issue with creativity.
Director Codron responded to Public Comments.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:41 p.m.
The next Regular Planning Commission Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 22, 2016 at
6:00 p.m. (the June 8, 2016 Regular Meeting having been postponed/cancelled), in the Council
Chamber, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California.
APPROVED BY PLANNING COMMISSION: XX/XX/2016
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