HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-19-2017 ARC Correspondence - Avila Ranch (Cooper)To: Chair Wynn and Architectural Review Commissioners
Re: 175 Venture Drive/173 Buckley Road - Avila Ranch
Development Plan Design Guidelines
From: Allan Cooper, San Luis Obispo
Date: June 16, 2017
I congratulate the developer for his yeoman’s effort in attempting to
preserve the riparian habitat along Tank Farm Creek. Having recently
corresponded with Mr. Stephen Peck with Peck Planning and
Development, LLC, I learned that only 14 willow trees will be removed
and that 87 native trees will be preserved. However, the Final EIR led
me to believe that there were far more than 101 trees lining this
riparian corridor. The EIR states there are 150 willows, 15
cottonwoods plus an unknown number of oaks. If the EIR is correct
and one is to believe that 87 trees will be saved, then one must
deduce that 78+ trees will be removed and this is far too many.
Furthermore, I would like to emphasize the importance of fencing off
access to this riparian corridor for both safety and habitat
preservation purposes. This has not been mentioned anywhere in the
Design Guidelines.
I would also like to commend the project team on its effort to
anticipate the 2020 deadline for Net Zero Energy (NZE) housing.
However, more needs to be done in this regard. The City’s Climate
Action Plan recommends the home installation of recycled water, grey
water or rainwater-harvesting systems. I am in support of this. The
City is also recommending the expansion of recycled water
infrastructure to encourage the use of grey water in new construction
and landscape projects. Are there not fairly affordable technologies
available to do this?
The Guidelines call for at least 75 percent of the structures in a
neighborhood should have the longer roof line axis within 15 degrees
of east-west. However this can be more effectively achieved if the
long lot dimensions are oriented E-W to open buildings to the south
sun and there is no mention of optimal lot configurations in these
Guidelines.
The Guidelines stipulate that Solar PV systems shall be included on
all structures but does nothing to protect these PV systems from
being shaded by neighbors. Moreover, permeable paving in
driveways and parking lots should be required to reduce surface
drainage and the heat-island effect.
Finally, there is no mention within these Guidelines of natural
daylighting. In typical commercial buildings, lighting accounts for
approximately 50% of electric usage (35% for lights and the rest for
dealing with excess heat from lighting). Daylighting (i.e., using
daylight to illuminate interiors) can make a huge dent in this at
practically no cost if commercial buildings are designed to capture
daylight. This, of course, applies to residential development as well
where top-lighting should be encouraged through the use of skylights
as well as side-lighting using carefully configured windows and light
shelves to direct light inwards.
Thank you for your time and consideration!