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Home My WebLink About6/28/2018 Item 1, Voijovich-LaBarre Tonikian, Victoria From:Mila Vujovich-LaBarre <milavu@hotmail.com> Sent:Wednesday, June 13, To:Corey, Tyler; Advisory Bodies Cc:Harmon, Heidi; Johnson, Derek; Codron, Michael; Gomez, Aaron; Pease, Andy; Rivoire, Dan; Christianson, Carlyn; Cantrell, Deanna; Olson, Garret; eric prater Subject:San Luis Ranch EIR comments Dear Planning Commission, City Council, and City Staff: The San Luis Ranch Development Environmental Impact Report concerns me for many reasons. The report states that air quality, cultural resources, land use policy consistency, noise, and transportation problems created by this project will be significant and unavoidable. This project at the time of buildout will also place unavoidable adverse impacts in the City's current sewer, water, school, law enforcement and fire protection capacities. All of these significant and unavoidable impacts were accepted by Council on July 18, 2017 due to the following "over-riding considerations. " For the reasons specified below, the City found that the following considerations outweighed the proposed projects unavoidable environmental risks: a)Provision of new residential and commercial uses b)Provision of a variety of housing types for all income levels c) Open space and agricultural protection d) Provision of park and recreational facilities e) Well planned neighborhood would reduce per capita vehicle trips f) Provision of new jobs g) Transient occupancy tax h) National Flood Insurance program and the community rating system rating improvement i) Implementation of the General Plan All that being said there are still major concerns that I have with this project. In the name of transparency, as a citizen, I was President of Save San Luis Obispo when City residents succeeded in halting development on this very property over a decade ago. It is still 131 acres of Class 1 agricultural land. Currently the City is claiming to be proactive on "Climate Change." Building on 131 acres of Class 1 agricultural land that tops our City's emergency water supply simply does not make sense. As many people may know, I did put forth a solution that was to create a "win-win-win" solution. I proposed that the administrative powers at Cal Poly and the San Luis Ranch owner Gary Grossman execute a good old- fashioned land swap. 1 Cal Poly could utilize the 131 acres of agricultural land in perpetuity for their educational efforts, complete with farm house style lodging for a handful of students majoring in agriculture. There could be a "Made in SLO" small retail site for agricultural products from the site and/or from throughout the County. Gary Grossman could build his residential units on Cal Poly land in a public/private partnership for residents, Cal Poly employees and students. The hotel that Grossman wants to build could be built adjacent to the residential units and be nearly completely staffed by students majoring in Business or Food Science. This deal would eliminate multiple problems. I wrote this a few years back and I still believe it is the best solution that would eliminate nearly all of the detrimental impacts that the proposed San Luis Ranch development will have on our community. Currently, my concerns are focused on the following: Cost and Affordable Housing In regard to the guise of affordable housing, I have personally examined some of the new development in town that was billed as affordable. It is a buzz word that is simply not true. There may be a small handful of units that fall under the Section 8 provisions but a majority of these homes and condominiums will be built and the developer will charge what the market will bear. It is also very interesting that the "affordable housing" component of Serra Meadows and the Toscano development have yet to be built. At what phase of development on San Luis Ranch will "affordable housing" be built? Water Nearly 3.5 years ago, a group of concerned citizens and I began meeting with City officials about the drought and the long term availability for water for our community. These meetings started because one of the local developers looked at me in a different meeting and stated that he was not really sure if the City had enough water for all of the development that was given the proverbial "green light" in the Land use Circulation Element (LUCE) document. I do not believe that our City has enough water for the project buildout that is in the LUCE. The LUCE was developed by and supported by a number of people that were in development. The dissenting opinion or the Minority Report for the LUCE talks about concerns about water. The LUCE talked about the availability of water quality but did not go into enough depth on water quantity. Again, before any building is allowed on San Luis Ranch, the long term availability of quality, affordable water should be verified. Traffic Prado Road has been on the City General Plan on paper since 1960. The road in the approved LUCE now extends, as a four-lane truck highway, from Madonna Road through to Broad Street. There has never been a comprehensive EIR of Prado Road which is in violation of CEQA. The cumulative impacts of the road and the cost of the road have never been properly documented or analyzed. The City transportation department will say that is has been "studied" but the studies have all been myopic. If so much development is being permitted, approved and constructed, City Residents are owed a long term analysis of the impacts of this road and development should be paying for Prado Road not City residents. Currently, Prado Road is being "piecemealed" or illegally segmented. This approach will be very detrimental to the residents of our beautiful City a decade from now. The breadth and the depth of the San Luis Ranch development needs to have the Prado Road overpass/ intersection at Highway 101 completed. The traffic will be horrific for residents and tourists alike. If the City is now encouraging multi-modal transportation then the overpass at Prado Road should be encouraged and paid for by development interests. Just imagine the amount of pedestrian and bicycle traffic alongside the cars and trucks! If a four-lane truck highway is what the 2 LUCE document calls for, then it should be done. Planners should not be "cherry picking" the LUCE document. In other words, allowing for the development without the accompanying support of sufficient, affordable water and a sound traffic infrastructure. Please remember, the traffic infrastructure is not there just so people can go to their homes and jobs easily. It is in place to provide appropriate police and fire emergency services, as well for our growing population. It is of great concern that the construction of Prado Road does not appear mandatory prior to occupancy of Phase 2 of the project. Funneling all of the traffic to Madonna Road and to Froom Ranch Road is a recipe for disaster. Pedestrian Traffic and Park Access Although it has been discussed in numerous meetings, there should be bonafide access to the Laguna Lake open space and park for residents of all ages. In the current plan, Madonna Road will become unsafe and snarled with traffic. A pedestrian and bike bridge should be a part of the construction for the residents of San Luis Ranch and as a courtesy for the general population. Schools All of the new developments are going to impact the local San Luis Coastal Unified School District (SLCUSD). This is occurring at the same time that the SLCUSD will be experiencing severe financial cutbacks due to the closure of Diablo Canyon. My math does not show that the net gains in property taxes and fees from development are going to provide for the long term educational infrastructure, including payroll for certificated and non-certificated staff. Viewshed The scenic, public view shed will be permanently altered. It is treasured by locals and tourists alike. In numerous meetings since 2004, I have stated that if development takes place on this property, it should be configured so that it is east to west adjoining the existing shopping center. That way the vista and trees along Madonna Road could be saved. The magnificent view could be partially preserved. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Mila Vujovich-La Barre 650 Skyline Drive San Luis Obispo, California 93405 milavu@hotmail.com 805-441-5818 3