HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-18-2016 Item 20, AkersCOUNCIL MEETING: k SSG Z of to
ITEM NO.: 2.O
To: Gallagher, Carrie
Subject: RE: In support of 22 Chorro =61
From: "Steve Akers" <
Date: Sun, Oct 16, 2016 at 10:31 AM -0700
Subject: In support of 22 Chorro
To: "E-mail Council Website" <emailcouncil a,slocity.arg>
Honourable Mayor and esteemed City Council members,
I write today to ask that you uphold the appeal and approve the project known as 22 Chorro. This is exactly the type of project the City
of SLO needs to help achieve the goals set forth in the LUCE, which every current member of City Council voted in favor of.
In the interest of full disclosure, I work for Bike SLO County. However, I am writing today not as a representative of Bike SLO
County but as a private citizen of San Luis Obispo.
While my partner and I are fortunate to live and work in San Luis Obispo, even with two incomes we are unable to afford to make the
leap from renting to owning. 22 Chorro will not solve the affordable housing crisis SLO now faces, but the inclusion of affordable
units will help ease the crisis instead of making it worse.
While I am not unsympathetic to the adjacent neighborhood's parking woes, it is unfair to expect this project to bear the brunt of those
complaints. Yes, parking in this neighborhood is broken. That is a real issue, an issue the City needs to take on. But as a separate issue
from this project. Throughout the ages there has always been a fear of change, a fear of the new. In this case the new is a building with
more parking for bicycles than cars. Instead of fear I hope we can begin to look at buildings like this with pride, as part of a more
multi -modal future that we can actually have, starting with your vote on 22 Chorro.
Rejecting this project sends a loud and clear signal to developers that progressive, affordable, transit -pedestrian bike -friendly projects
are not welcome in our town. I'm at a loss to understand how we will achieve the goals we have set in the LUCE if we refuse to
approve projects inspired by it.
If the City of SLO doesn't follow through with the courage to make our real world actions reflect the goals we set down on paper, the
LUCE we are all so proud of, the LUCE that so many people worked so hard on for so many years, this vital document will possibly
become nothing more than well meaning words on paper. Let's not let that happen. Please uphold the appeal and approve 22 Chorro.
Respectfully,
Steve Akers
687 Islay St, SLO, CA 93401