HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-16-2017 Item 5, Vujovich-La BarreCOUNCIL MEETING:iS�-
ITEM NO.:
S_ _L0 CITY CLERK
From: Mila Vujovich-La Barre [ f
Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2017 11:51 AM
To: Harmon, Heidi <hharmon slocit .or >; Pease, Andy <aPease @slocity.om>; Christianson, Carlyn
<cchristianson@slocKy.org>; Gomez, Aaron <agomez@sloCity.ore>; Rivoire, Dan <DRivoire@slocity.org>; E-mail Council
Website <emailcounci! sloci .or >
Cc: Johnson, Derek <diohnson sloci# .or >; Lichtig, Katie <klichtig@slocity.ort;>; Advisory Bodies
<adyisorybodies slocity.org>
Subject: AVILA RANCH - Please do not approve on "Consent Agenda" 5/16/17
May 16, 2017
Mayor Harmon and City Council Members
City Hall
990 Palm Street
San Luis Obispo, California 93401
Dear Mayor Harmon and City Council Members,
Please do not authorize Consent Agenda Item No. 5 - Development Agreement Discussions with Avila
Ranch, LLC this evening. You will be authorizing discussions with Avila Ranch, LLC for a Development
Agreement.
The findings in the Draft EIR(DEIR) state that the air quality, noise, land use, transportation, and traffic
impacts created by this project will be significant and unavoidable.
This project at the time of buildout will also place unavoidable and unmitigated adverse impacts on the City's
current sewer, water, school, law enforcement and fire protection capacities. I have met with the developers of
this project on two occasions at RRM. They have personally heard my concerns yet I do not see the concerns
addressed in the DEIR. Since this project is near the airport and buffered by agricultural land on two sides, the
location of this project is simply not suited for dense 720 -residential units and commercial amenities.
In an effort to be brief, a few noteworthy examples of problems with traffic circulation are:
1) During the Land Use Circulation Element (LUCE) hearings, people on the LUCE team gave this location
tentative approval based on the surrounding traffic infrastructure. The infrastructure that is in the LUCE
document involves both the remediation of the Chevron land with proposed road improvements and bike paths
through the remediated land and the Prado Road overpass or interchange. To allow for development in this
area without the required support for vehicular traffic is unconscionable.
2) The other matter is access to emergency services. Without the aforementioned traffic infrastructure, the
response times are not possible.
Our City buildout should not be played like a game of Legos. This is real life with proposed permanent
structures that will create negative impacts without the aforementioned matters being resolved ahead of time.
In addition, State California Government Code - Gov Title 7. Planning And Land Use [65000 - 66499.58] )
"...recognizes that premature and unnecessary development of agricultural lands for urban uses continues to
have adverse effects on the availability of those lands for food and fiber production and on the economy of the
state. Furthermore, it is the policy of the state that development should be guided away from prime agricultural
lands..." This project involves the conversion of 68 acres of prime soils to urban development.
Also, this DEIR should further make reference to a "LUCE Performance Standards" footnote which states that
a "Density bonus program for affordable housing would allow additional units, consistent with existing City
policies." Source: (City of San Luis Obispo 2014a). This may be true elsewhere but it should be stated that this
City policy, when applied to this site, is in conflict with Paragraph 2 of the California Government Code Section
65589.5 which states that "a local agency shall not disapprove a housing development project, unless ... the
development project ... is proposed on land zoned for agriculture or resource preservation and is surrounded on
at least two sides by land being used for agricultural or resource preservation purposes...". This is indeed the
case regarding this Avila Ranch Development Project which is flanked on the east and south sides by strips of
land zoned Conservation Open Space.
The Project site is surrounded by a mix of incorporated City and unincorporated County lands, with urban uses
within the City to the north and west and rural and agricultural uses within the County of San Luis Obispo
(County) to the south and east... Unincorporated County lands immediately abutting the site to the south and
east are generally rural agricultural."
Please do not authorize staff to negotiate a Development Agreement (DA) based on Avila Ranch's
application. This project is inconsistent with State Planning Law and is not in the best interests of
current and future residents. I believe that many of my concerns are shared by other community
members and are echoed in the Minority Report written by dissenting members of the LUCE team.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Mila Vujovich-La Barre
San Luis Obispo, California