HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-14-2017 CHC Correspondence - Item 1 (Cooper)To: SLO Cultural Heritage Committee, Rachel Cohen and Brian
Leveille
Re: 1027 Nipomo Street
From: Allan Cooper, Secretary Save Our Downtown
Date: August 13, 2017
Honorable Chair Papp and Committee Members -
We would like to commend the CHC for your unanimous decision to
continue to date uncertain the previous Arris Studio Architects design for
1027 Nipomo Street with direction to the applicant to re-evaluate height,
scale, massing and detailing for greater consistency with the neighboring
historic structures within the Downtown Historic District. And we would
like to commend the new architect, Bryan Ridley with Bracket
Architecture, for his redesign of the Nipomo Street elevation. The material
selection and step-backs above the second and third floors do help to
bring down the scale of this building.
Nevertheless, this project remains a 4-story building near the 2-story Soda
Water Works and SLO Children’s Museum buildings and immediately
adjacent to the 1-story historic Creamery. The only neighboring building
currently taller than 2 stories is the 3-story Kraker Office building at 641
Higuera Street. We acknowledge that the 4-story South Town 18 project
has already been approved. We also acknowledge that the updated
Downtown Concept Plan is recommending that 4-story buildings be
located on this block (so-called “Block 18”). However, this
recommendation was made in direct contradiction to nearly all public
input. There were two public outreach workshops, an online survey (393
survey responses) and a neighborhood group meeting with a near
unanimous recommendation of either maintaining the current “look or feel”
of downtown or keeping downtown 2-3 stories.
In light of all of this - and short of asking the architect to reduce the height
of this building down to 3 stories - we believe it is incumbent on you to ask
the architect to increase the step-backs above the 2nd floor (these
currently vary between 4 ft. and 6 ft. in depth). This can easily be achieved
by replacing the two-bed hotel units facing Nipomo Street with one-bed
hotel units. If the client protests, assure him that there will be no loss in
revenue as a result of this if the architect agrees to enlarge the one-bed
hotel units facing the creek to two-bed units.
Secondly, the balconies facing the creek should be eliminated to prevent
the possibility of tenant-related noise encroaching on the Dana Street
neighborhood. And thirdly, from a contextual point of view, the architect’s
proposed color palette for the Nipomo Street elevation should continue
around to the south elevation. Thank you!