HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-19-2016 ARC-CHC Correspondence - Item 1 (Bryant)September 11, 2016
FROM: Jeff and Marj Bryant
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Item
TO: The Architectural Review Commission of The City of San Luis Obispo
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UP 12 2016
150MMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
RE: Support of the Bishop Street Studios project proposed by Transitions — Mental Health Association
The Bishop Street Studios project proposed by Transitions — Mental Health Association (Transitions) will
perpetually benefit consumers of mental health services, government and non-profit service providers, and
community members in San Luis Obispo. For example, the non-profit, Interim, Inc. (www.interiminc.org),
developed and began managing similar multi -unit, single -occupancy rentals and related client support years ago.
We are personally and professionally aware of the therapeutic, administrative, economic, and social merits of
Interim's and Transitions' programs, but are writing from another perspective. Since June 1981, we have rented our
single-family home in SLO to Transitions for its homeless clients needing housing. We write to share our
experiences, hoping to reassure the Commission and concerned neighbors that: Transitions is a capable and reliable
proponent for this project and the programs planned for the site; its clients are not to be feared; and the project is
unlikely to lower adjacent property values as much as the currently unimproved site does now.
Thirty-five years ago, we decided to leave our jobs in SLO for graduate school at UC Davis. We hoped to live in
SLO again in the future, so decided to rent rather than sell our home. Transitions' first Director, Ron McMaster,
answered our rental ad. We met with Ron, and learned Transitions' worthy mission, its vital services, and its
challenges housing homeless clients. That week, we confirmed with the City the legality of this option for landlords
and signed a one-year lease with Transitions. We have signed 34 annual lease renewals with few revisions and no
regrets. Because of the close, professional support Transitions provides clients, renting to Transitions is trouble-free
for us in comparison to what many landlords say about renting to college students or families.
This long history permits us to report some long-term facts both about Transitions' proven capacities to provide
good homes and services to people in need and about its clients' clearly non -detrimental impacts on a neighborhood
since 1981.
- Over 100 times, we have visited our house for semi-annual inspections and for routine maintenance and
improvements. On each visit, we have enjoyed brief, pleasant talks with Transitions' clients. Memorably, some,
having known homelessness, expressed gratitude for a home. They also tell us about their frequent onsite meetings
with Transitions staff, their sharing in household responsibilities, their current training programs, their jobs, and
their future plans. We have seen clients grow and progress. Respect for their privacy and recovery keeps us from
inquiring about them after they inevitably move on. We hope they remain well and well housed.
- Only once in 35 years did a neighboring landlord call to complain about behavior of a resident in our house. When
Transitions staff followed up for us, they and the landlord discover the "problem" originated with his own tenant
who misreported facts to her landlord.
-Now, websites like Zillow.com make it easy to see sale -price histories for California homes and we can confirm
that the presence of Transitions' clients in our house has not lowered real estate values for either us or neighbors.
We confidently assure you that your decision to support Transitions' important and enduring services to the SLO
community will, as it has for us, be a long-term source of pride not regret.
Respectfully,
- Jeff and Marj Bryant PO Box 6115, Los Osos, CA 93412