Another new housing development in Nipomo sparked significant debate at the most recent San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission meeting.
Located off Magenta Lane, the project entails the construction of 72 multi-family residential apartment units, one designated as a manager's unit and the remainder as affordable housing.
The developer will group the units into different income levels, with the lowest income set at $27,000.
“The housing, if it's not the most important, it certainly is one of the most pressing needs that we have in this community. Affordable housing is at the top of that list that's needed, and what we're proposing here is a 100% affordable family project,” said John Mussell, development applicant.
However, several Nipomo residents raised concerns during the meeting.
Cole Gibson and Mark Schoening expressed worries about potential traffic congestion on Magenta Ln., especially with the added traffic from both the development and current traffic created by the post office.
“When we have the Postal Service with their ingress and egress of business, you've got one lane to pass through here for a majority part of the day," Gibson said.
“They have to actually back into this space and so they're often quite large trucks, and so that's stopping traffic while that's happening,” Schoening said.
Others shared concerns about law enforcement as a sheriff’s substation is yet to be constructed in Nipomo.
“We’re more concerned about 72 new units being there with the law enforcement saying that they're capable of governing,” Daniel Perez, another Nipomo resident, said at the meeting.
The Planning Commission staff addressed residents' questions regarding the applicant's traffic reports, which were deemed thorough by the Department of Public Works.
After three hours of deliberation, the project was ultimately approved unanimously. However, it was contingent on the developers demonstrating coordination with the U.S. Postal Service, the Department of Planning and Building, and Public Works to address potential traffic issues along Magenta Ln.
Some residents, like Gibson, were still unhappy with the outcome.
“We're going to do everything we can to file an appeal, at least try to get some type of density questions answered or settled. Again, the project does sound great. It does sound pretty. It does sound advantageous for the community,” he said.
