HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/5/2017 Item 12, Justesen
Christian, Kevin
From:Justesen, Erik P. <EPJustesen@rrmdesign.com>
Sent:Monday, July 03,
To:E-mail Council Website
Cc:Justesen, Erik P.
Subject:San Luis Ranch
Dear Council members,
First, I would like to applaud you all for setting a welcomed tone of civility and respect in this new term of the City
Council. While we have differing opinions on how to best tackle the challenges we face, we are far better off with a
group of elected leaders who respectfully and effectively navigate these issues in a collaborative and open manner. It is
behavior that embodies professionalism and care for all in our community. Thanks, and keep up the great work!
th,
Secondly, I would like to voice my support of the San Luis Ranch Project as outlined in the July 5 2017 Council staff
report and as recommended by the Planning Commission and Advisory Committees. While RRM is one of the team
members for San Luis Ranch project, I wish to support this project as a City of SLO resident and business owner.
As a local employer for over 42 years, RRM Design Group has provided “head of house” paying jobs for Design and
Engineering professionals. Over our 42 years in business, we have employed over 600 professionals in our San Luis
Obispo Headquarters, many of them still work for us. Our average salary for professional staff is approximately $75,000
per year plus full medical, 401K match and our Employee Stock Ownership Plan or ESOP. We are proud to have created a
local company that is able to provide this type and number of jobs to the community.
As your number one goal for the 20118/19 budget cycle indicated, more local housing is critical for our businesses to
thrive and grow. Quality and fair priced housing is hard to come by in SLO. Not only are vacancy rates extremely low
(less than 5%) and home prices astronomical, but the quality and energy efficiency of the local housing stock is subpar.
Most of our existing housing is old, small and highly energy inefficient. New housing built under the 2017/8 CBC is
drastically more energy and resource efficient than 90%+ of the existing housing supply on the market. New housing
such as San Luis Ranch will be built to the new CBC standards and in 2020, that means Net Zero energy use. That is good
for the environment.
I did a survey of our employee data last week and currently only 30% of our over 90 local employees live in SLO, the
other 70% commute daily from other communities to work. Many of them consistently tell us that they wish there were
more housing opportunities in SLO. The fact is that residential production has hovered around .35% per year for the last
decade or more, which has created a large deficiency in the supply of housing. Mostly due to the jobs-housing
imbalance, the largest contributor to our local greenhouse gas emission is the transportation sector, largely from the
over 30,000 daily commuters. And while we don’t expect to completely meet the entire demand for new housing,
building a project like San Luis Ranch is a step in the right direction and good for the environment.
Over the last 3 years we have lost 9 professionals who move out of the area chiefly because they could not find housing
that met their needs in SLO. Add that to the dozens of prospective employees who turn down jobs at our firm due to
high housing costs and limited choices, and we have a crisis on our hands. We simply cannot attract enough new
employees to meet the demand and it is mostly due to the high housing costs we have in SLO.
I serve on the Chamber Economic Development Committee and the Boards of several non- profits including the French
Hospital Medical Center Foundation and the number one issue for employers is the same. A lack of newer, higher quality
and high cost housing. Virtually all major local employers have the same % of their employees commuting in and out of
SLO daily which is around 70%. French Hospital and Sierra Vista Hospital are seeing up to 80% of their employee live
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outside of SLO and struggle to attract and retain quality physicians and healthcare professionals. That is bad for our
community.
Perhaps the most alarming issue of all is the strain commuting puts on our employees and their families. They struggle
with child care, getting to sports and after school programs, juggle parent teacher conferences and after school care.
They struggle to find enough quality time with their kids at the end of the day. They have a hard time running normal
errands because they live in a different community. They spend more money on gas and car maintenance,
transportation and many other costs. It is unfair to our working population to continue the imbalance of a suitable
housing supply. It is a social justice issue because the ones who need the housing the most can afford it the least.
New housing, like this project and others making their way through the entitlement process will greatly benefit all types
of home seekers from income qualified affordable units to work force to higher end units. We will create a “housing
ladder” which allows all income brackets to find an opportunity to enter the housing system. People that already own a
home can move into a larger more expensive home making room for entry level renters and buyers to enter the
market. When we look at what Cal Poly is planning in combination with the 4 larger new residential neighborhoods in
our LUCE and other infill projects, I believe we will create a much more balanced jobs/housing environment and much
more affordability for the citizens of SLO both who live and/or work here.
For all these reasons, I am here to be the voice for our employees and ask that you consider this project carefully, help
make it better, and approve this new project. Having more housing choices in our community is good for our economy,
good for the environment and good for our families.
Sincerely,
Erik Justesen
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