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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/19/2017 Item 15, Rioux Christian, Kevin From:Jerry Rioux <jerry@slochtf.org> Sent:Monday, To:E-mail Council Website Subject:Comments for 9/19/17 Council meeting Attachments:Avila Ranch CC letter 17-09-19.pdf Attached are my comments for on the Avila Ranch project, item 15 on your September 19, 2017 Agenda. Jerry Gerald L. "Jerry" Rioux, Executive Director San Luis Obispo County Housing Trust Fund 71 Zaca Lane, Suite 130, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 phone: (805) 543-5970; e-mail: jerry@slochtf.org; website: www.slochtf.org 1 71 Zaca Lane, Suite 130, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401  (805) 543-5970  www.slochtf.org September 18, 2017 Delivered via email to emailcouncil@slocity.org City Council City of San Luis Obispo 990 Palm Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Re: Support for Avila Ranch – Item #15 on your September 19, 2017 Agenda Dear Mayor Harmon, Members of the City Council and Staff: I am excited to write today to wholeheartedly support the approval of the Avila Ranch project. I encourage you to unanimously approve Avila Ranch because it complies with all requirements and offers a wide variety of benefits to the City of San Luis Obispo and our community as a whole. While I have always liked the Avila Ranch project, I raised concerns to the Planning Commis- sion that the project failed to meet the land dedication requirements of the City’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance. By just offering to dedicate the minimum amount of land for 24 units of low income housing, $1 million in development costs would be passed on to the ultimate developer of the affordable units. I then met with the developer – Andy Mangano. He told me that he was in negotiations with an affordable housing developer over the terms for the land dedication. He also assured me that he would develop the affordable units if an affordable housing developer was unable to. This condition was subsequently added to the development agreement for the project. My concerns have been satisfied by the developer’s commitment and the language in the development agreement. I now support the Avila Ranch project without reservation. As I mentioned in my first paragraph, Avila Ranch offers many benefits to the City of San Luis Obispo and our community. The first of this is providing 720 new housing units that are sorely needed in our community. Instead of providing only large single family homes, Avila Ranch will include a variety of housing types and sizes, including small detached homes, town homes and apartments. This unit mix ensures that the project will serve a broader range of our commu- nity than do typical residential developments. The developer is also committed to meeting local housing needs by giving a first priority to local employees and instituting a five year owner occupancy requirement. I especially applaud the developer for his innovative workforce housing program. Under this totally voluntary program, he will offer 25 detached single family homes at prices that are San Luis Obispo City Council September 18, 2017 Page 2 of 2 $100,000 to $150,000 below market values. He will also provide a $500,000 down payment assistance fund to assist individual home buyers. This program meets a real local need and far exceeds the requirements of the City’s inclusionary housing program. Avila Ranch will also help fund critical gaps in our local infrastructure including improvements to roads and intersections, bike paths and parkland. Connecting Buckley Road to Higuera has long been needed and will now be possible thanks to Avila Ranch. Traffic congestion through- out much of the city will be relieved because the project will contribute funds for various other infrastructure improvements. Avila Ranch will also help meet the GHG goals of the City’s Climate Action Plan. Commuter traffic from the tens of thousands of people who work in San Luis Obispo but cannot live in the City is probably the largest single source of GHGs in the county. Avila Ranch will take more r than 1,000 commuters off the highways each and every morning and evening by improving the City’s jobs-housing mismatch. Fewer commuters means less GHGs. Once again, please vote to approve Avila Ranch for these and other reasons. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Gerald L. Rioux Executive Director