HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/19/2017 Item 15, Summer
Christian, Kevin
From:John and Liz Summer <thesummergroup@sbcglobal.net>
Sent:Tuesday, September 19,
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:avila ranch project support
To the Planning Commission and the City Council of the City of San Luis Obispo.
When my wife Liz and I brought our family to San Luis Obispo 22 years ago, we were fortunate to be able to afford a nice home in a
good school district with the many amenities that SLO offers. Today, our children are grown and doing well in life. But as successful
as they are, they would be hard pressed to afford to move back to our community if the opportunity presented itself. This shouldn't
be the case.
As long as we've lived here, we've heard the constant call for "affordable housing", which is kind of silly if you consider the recent
article in the Tribune which focuses on the median cost home in SLO of $530,000 that would buy a substantial home in the Santa
Maria area or north county. But San Luis Obispo can have a more affordable home community if it is serious about it.
I'm supporting a project that I believe offers solutions to not just more affordable homes, but also to other issues that result from
our workers having to live outside of our community. This project is called Avila Ranch.
Having lived near Buckley Road for the past two decades, I've noted the increasing amount of traffic on 227, Price Canyon, South
Higuera, Los Osos Valley Road and even the 101. The bulk of this traffic is generated by commuters....many working at places like
Mindbody and companies across from the airport but living elsewhere. This results in more auto emissions into our air, wear on our
roads, increased collisions, the cost of a longer commute and just the nuisance of having to sit in traffic.
The Avila Ranch project on Buckley Road offers many solutions to the issues we hold dear:
. It provides a more affordable place to live than most developments in recent years.
. It provides more than 700 of these dwellings, which is considerable.
. It provides those homes near concentrated places of employment within walking or biking distance.
. It enhances a piece of land that has remained fallow for years, and brings foliage and creek flow to this land, along with bike and
walking paths and other recreation spaces.
. It finally extends Buckley Road directly to South Higuera, thereby eliminating the need to navigate one of the worst intersections in
the city at the current union of those two streets.
. The planned Buckley extension intersects with South Higuera near the Octagon Barn project, with its planned union with the Bob
Jones Trail, creating a seamless path to Avila Beach.
. It uses many sustainable practices in all aspects of the project.
. And oh, by the way, it creates a new tax base the city sorely needs to support its infrastructure and city services commitments.
The Avila Ranch project solves many of our most pressing problems, and does so with quality in design and construction from what
I've been able to determine. Of course that's your job to confirm. But in any case, I urge you to do what is necessary to make Avila
Ranch happen. I only see benefits from Avila Ranch, and no downside. Please shepherd this development quickly through your
processes so that we can walk the walk and not just talk the talk on making living in SLO accessible to those who desire to do so.
Hopefully that will include some of our children in the future!
My thanks in advance. John and Liz Summer and Family. 5636 Tamarisk Way, San Luis Obispo, Ca. 93401
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