HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/2/2019 Item 3, Havlik
Wilbanks, Megan
From:Scott, Shawna
Sent:Monday, December 2, 2019 3:25 PM
To:Wilbanks, Megan
Cc:Emily Creel
Subject:FW: correspondence to ARC
Attachments:Froom ARC letter.doc
Hi Megan,
Please post the attached correspondence for the ARC meeting tonight.
Thank you,
Shawna
From:
Sent: Monday, December 2, 2019 3:24 PM
To: Scott, Shawna <sscott@slocity.org>; Emily Creel <
Subject: correspondence to ARC
Ladies, due to a family emergency I cannot attend tonight's ARC meeting. Please deliver the attached
memo for the meeting, would you? Thanks.
Neil
1
TO: City of San Luis Obispo Architectural Review Commission
FROM: Neil Havlik
SUBJECT: FROOM RANCH PROJECT PROPOSAL AGENDA ITEM, December 2, 2019
Dear Commissioners:
At your meeting of December 2, 2019, you will be asked to provide input into the Draft
Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) of the Froom Ranch Specific Plan Project (the “Project”),
located at Los Osos Valley Road and Calle Joaquin.
I believe it is premature for your commission to be considering architectural details of this
project at this time, because (1) the project is nowhere near being approved, (2) the land is
nowhere near being annexed into the City, (3) many land uses proposed by the project sponsors
are in conflict with the City’s General Plan, especially its Conservation and Open Space
Element, (4) there are significant land use and environmental issues surrounding the project
which have not been publicly discussed, let alone resolved, and (5) resolution of these issues by
the City Council and other agencies having jurisdiction, including superior (i.e., State and
Federal) agencies, may affect the project’s layout, scale, and appearance, and possibly even
whether or not the project even happens at all. These overarching issues seem to me to argue for
your commission waiting until a more appropriate time to review matters within your purview.
This potential for significant change has already been demonstrated by the recent news article in
the San Luis Obispo Tribune of November 27, 2019, in which a project spokesperson is reported
to have stated that the developers will not seek to develop above the 150 foot elevation.
With particular regard to items (3) and (4) above, and despite the statement in the newspaper, the
project still proposes to go above the 150 foot elevation in at least one important location, with
significant visual and aesthetic impacts upon an important community resource (Irish Hills
Natural Reserve), and in violation of long-standing City policy. The project also proposes to
move Froom Creek in order to get it out of the way of the proposed development, thus turning
the City’s Creek Setback Ordinance upside down. Because of these and other impacts, which
still need adjudication, I recommend your commission make clear that your comments do not
constitute endorsement of the project, and that you retain the right to revisit the project at some
future date when it has advanced (if it does) to a point where such review is more timely.
Commissioners may wish to offer their own opinions on matters within the DEIR; however, I am
concerned that the project sponsors may interpret comments by the commission as a whole as an
endorsement of the project and may then make statements to the effect that your commission
supports the project, unless specifically stated otherwise. Therefore again I urge you to be very
careful and avoid any actions that might be construed as such an endorsement. Thank you.
Neil Havlik, PhD,
City of San Luis Obispo Natural Resources Manager (retired)