HomeMy WebLinkAbout8/19/2019 Item Public Comment, Grady
Wilbanks, Megan
From:John Grady <
To:Advisory Bodies
Cc:E-mail Council Website; Codron, Michael; Johnson, Derek; Dietrick, Christine
Subject:ARC Correspondence - Re: Hotel SLO non-compliance with ARC direction
Dear ARC:
I am dismayed at the regularity of developers appearing before our city's advisory bodies agreeing to terms, specs and
conditions for their proposed development who then proceed to flaunt these mutually agreed upon conditions for
development by doing whatever they please with regards to materials, finishes, color palettes, etc.
The latest case in point is the Hotel SLO in our city's historic Chinatown District. Many of the design characteristics,
building finishes, and approved colors that your body helped to implement as a condition for project approval are now
being disregarded! This is wrong, and I hope your body will take action to impose adherence to your original conditions of
approval by whatever means you have at your disposal - be it through direct communication with the developer or via the
City Attorney, the Community Developer Director, or the City Council.
Following are some major deviations I am aware of from the project you approved:
Elimination of the base color of 'qing' which exemplifies a historic color used in our Chinatown District.
Use of shadow boxes (which I find ugly) but which more importantly exacerbate the perceived height of this structure
which many residents believe is already too tall.
Substitution of the dark Corten steel on the upper stories where an off white paint finish had been called for in your
approval.
These are the most grievous violations which greatly change and detract from the appearance of the project you
approved. These changes diminish the project's respect for the Chinese heritage it was meant to represent. Given all
these violations, there likely are many more as yet undetected violations.
What's the point of having projects go through the review process including the CHC, the ARC, and the Planning
Commission if the City doesn't enforce the conditions agreed upon by all these parties? I urge your strongest efforts to
force the developer to comply with the design characteristics, materials, and paint colors your body approved (and which
the developer agreed to) for the Hotel SLO. No single individual in city government should be allowed to usurp your
directives and conditions which came about after many hours of public deliberations and public input.
Please also urge the City of San Luis Obispo to decline issuance of an occupancy permit until all of your original
conditions of approval are met.
Thank you.
John Grady
San Luis Obispo, CA
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