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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSan Luis Ranch DEIR Public Comment received 1-31-2017 (HEAL SLO)heal slo COALITION PARTNERS: Bike SLO County Boys and Girls Club —South County Cal Poly State University Art and Design Department Center for Sustainability Food Science & Nutrition Department Kinesiology Department STRIDE CenCal Health City of San Luis Obispo Parks and Recreation Community Action Partnership of SLO Community Foundation of San Luis Obispo County Dairy Council of California Diringer & Associates First 5 San Luis Obispo County Food Bank Coalition of SLO County French Hospital Medical Center Lucia Mar Unified School District One Cool Earth Rideshare — Safe Routes to School San Luis Sports Therapy SLO Council of Governments SLO County Departments: Board of Supervisors Health Commission Planning and Building Public Health SLO County Office of Education Meeting:. ~----- — item: `p _ 1 l - January 22, 2017 TO: Doug Davidson, Deputy Director RECEIVED CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO JAN 3 1 2011 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FROM; HEAL SLID - Healthy Communities Work Group RE: San Luis Ranch Draft EIR HEAL SLO is the SLO County obesity prevention coalition and its mission is to increase healthy eating and regular physical activity among County residents through policy, behavioral and environmental changes. In carrying out that mission, a subcommittee called the Healthy Communities Work Group provides reports to Planning staff from a healthy community's perspective on proposed land development projects, ordinance and general plan amendments, and special projects. The group's objective is to provide research and evidence -based recommendations to planning commissions in order to create a healthy place for all residents to live, work, and play. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the San Luis Ranch Draft EIR. We are pleased to see the DEIR's emphasis on connecting bikeways and pedestrian connections on site and for adjacent development. In the Final EIR, we would like to see Safe Routes to School completely addressed. Because of this development's proximity to C.L. Smith Elementary School and Laguna Middle School, it is critical to identify and develop a safe, convenient, and feasible way for students to safely walk or bike to school. Using active transportation to get to school has been shown to be correlated with healthy weight and positive health outcomes (1). The Community Foundation SLO County The Healthy Communities Workgroup is concerned that, according to the UC Cooperative Extension Draft EIR, the proposed San Luis Ranch Project will generate air pollution YMCA of SLO County beyond that allowed by the County Climate Action Plan of 2001, both during the projected construction period and after all available mitigations are applied. The conclusion from the Draft EIR is that these emission impacts will be "significant and unavoidable." This is simply unacceptable. In the Final EIR, we would like to see a sustainability plan and the SLO City Council's goal of a "net -zero carbon city" addressed. Greenhouse gas emissions are contributing to climate change, which has myriad negative health impacts such as increasing rates of asthma and heat -related illness (2)• Similarly, the Draft EIR projects inconsistencies with City policies designed to protect biological and agricultural resources, leading to potential degradation of public health. Research has shown that loss of prime agricultural land and residential development in close proximity to agricultural operations can threaten human health. 1. Saelens, Brian E., and Susan L. Handy. "Built Environment Correlates of Walking: A Review." Medicine and science in sports and exercise 40.7 Suppl (2008): 5550—S566. PMC. Web. 9 Nov. 2016. 2. Haines, A., & Patz, J. (2004). Health effects of climate change. JAMA, 291(1), 99-103. HEAL-SLO is the SLO County obesity prevention coalition and its mission is to increase healthy eating and regular physical activity among County residents through policy, behavioral and environmental changes. In carrying out that mission, a subcommittee called the Healthy Communities Work Group provides responses to Planning staff from a healthy community's perspective on proposed land development projects, ordinance and general plan amendments, and special aroiects. heal Oslo HFrt17Idy F.4?1���� 4Cr1',+E LI'd1NG COALITION PARTNERS: Bike SLO County Boys and Girls Club — South County Cal Poly State University Art and Design Department Center for Sustainability Food Science & Nutrition Department Kinesiology Department STRIDE CenCal Health City of San Luis Obispo Parks and Recreation Community Action Partnership of SLO Community Foundation of San Luis Obispo County Dairy Council of California Diringer & Associates First 5 San Luis Obispo County Food Bank Coalition of SLO County French Hospital Medical Center Lucia Mar Unified School District One Cool Earth Rideshare — Safe Routes to School San Luis Sports Therapy SLO Council of Governments SLO County Departments: Board of Supervisors Health Commission Planning and Building Public Health SLO County Office of Education The Community Foundation SLO County UC Cooperative Extension YMCA of SLO County Furthermore, San Luis Obispo County is consistently ranked as having one of the highest rates of bicycle collisions in the State by the Office of Traffic and Safety. This project will add significant vehicle traffic to an already congested and dangerous roadway, further increasing the risk to cyclists and pedestrians. Additionally, traffic is known to increase stress, which is associated with negative health outcomes. From a health perspective, the proposed San Luis Ranch development poses many significant health threats to the community of San Luis Obispo. Thank you for the opportunity to review this project. CC: City of San Luis Obispo Planning Commission 1. Saelens, Brian E., and Susan L. Handy. "Built Environment Correlates of Walking: A Review." Medicine and science in sports and exercise 40.7 Suppl (2008): S550-5566. PMC. Web. 9 Nov. 2016. 2. Haines, A. , & Patz, J. (2004). Health effects of climate change. JAMA, 291(1), 99-103. HEAL-SLO is the SLO County obesity prevention coalition and its mission is to increase healthy eating and regular physical activity among County residents through policy, behavioral and environmental changes. In carrying out that mission, a subcommittee called the Healthy Communities Work Group provides responses to Planning staff from a healthy community's perspective on proposed land development projects, ordinance and general plan amendments, and special oroiects.