HomeMy WebLinkAboutARC Correspondence - Public Comment (Mourenza)To members of the Architectural Review Commission
Re: Project at 71 Palomar, San Luis Obispo
Dear Commissioners:
I would like to address various issues regarding the design of the dormitory style
student housing project at 71 Palomar, to call it multi family is a far stretch.
The project developer and architect have claimed they met with neighbors, no
neighborhood meeting per City of San Luis Obispo Public Engagement Manual
occurred for this project. A hearing is not a workshop, we the neighbors and
concerned citizens have three minutes to make our and cannot reply to question
presented by the commissioners or object to the applicants assertions.
The project presented at the CHC first meeting was rejected and the developer
was instructed to reduce massing and scale, the second proposal reduced the
number of units but increased the number of bedrooms in a good portion of the
units so the result was only a reduction of only three bedrooms overall. The
developer claimed project was reduced by 5,575 square feet but in reality the
apartments were only were reduced by 1,895 sq. ft. and garage by 3,680 sq. ft.
with 27 less parking spaces. The complex remains too massive for his sensitive
site and the scale of the building still overwhelm the historic house and cultural
landscape, the architectural rendering are quite deceptive.
The units have been designed for maximum per bed occupancy, The long
bedrooms with double doors in the middle will be further subdivided with
partitions, so a two or three bedrooms units can accommodate up to six beds
and will rented by the bed. There is a similar project under construction designed
by the same architect, Icon SLO at Taft and Kentucky, which blatantly advertised
as Cal Poly student housing with a starting price of $999.00 PER BED IN A
SHARED ROOM, so much for affordability. This is clearly done to circumvent the
maximum allowable density which is based on a per bedroom formula and it
doubles it.
The living portion of units is very small and, definitely not intended for families to
interact. The complex repurposes the historical Sanford house with exercise
room and lounges because there is not place within the apartments unit to study
due to the cramp quarters.
Little consideration has been giving to orientation for natural light and natural
cross ventilation; long interior hallways will necessitate artificial lighting even at
day time.
With respect,
Bob Mourenza
Icon Unit Plan - The Icon Apartments
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STARTING AT $999 PER BED
Our residences come fully furnished with high end finishes and
washers and dryers. Our bedrooms include sliding doors for
complete privacy!
Please click on the unit plan image to enlarge and view.
RESERVE A SPOT
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Renting & Moving FAQ's for Parents - The Icon Apartments
I CO N I SLO
RENTING 101
RENTING
f WHAT DOES THE TERM "LEASE BY THE BED"
MEAN AND HOW IS THIS BETTER FOR MYi
CHILD?
By The Bed means an individual lease for your son or
daughter. Our residents can live in a shared apartment with
roommates without the stress of renting an entire
apartment. Individual leases allow us to split the rent making
each resident responsible only for their portion of rent.
HOW DOES MY CHILD CONNECT WITH
ROOMMATES? 9
Every case is different. Sometimes one group has decided to
find an apartment together, others are open to meeting new
people they can become friends with. We can accommodate
both situations. If your child is looking for roommates we
offer a roommate matching service. We aim to match
students with similar interests using our matching
questionnaire. The goal is to blend similar lifestyles, hobbies
and habits among residents.
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Icon SLO I Student apartments near Cal Poly
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VIEW IMAGES
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Icon SLO I Student apartments near Cal Poly
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VIEW UNIT PLA N
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