San Luis Obispo Realtors

Atascadero is among the most aggressive communities in the state in providing affordable housing for its residents, according to a study released this week.

The California Coalition for Rural Housing said the North County community was one of eight cities where at least 10 percent of its available housing was offered at below-market rates, and where 50 or more affordable units were built in the past seven years.

It was the only Central Coast city to make the list.

Housing advocates consistently describe Atascadero’s inclusionary housing policy — which the coalition says has led to the approval of 224 affordable dwellings since it was enacted in 2003—as the most aggressive in San Luis Obispo County. The mandate requires

builders of projects with 11 or more units to devote one-fifth of their housing stock to low-to moderate-income residents.

The coalition released its findings Wednesday in a detailed study. In it, researchers analyzed how many homes were approved under inclusionary housing policies between 1999 and 2006, Executive Director Rob Wiener said.

Of the eight communities the group recognized, five were in the Bay Area, where sky-high housing costs have long been an issue, and only one was in Southern California. Davis was the only Central California community.

The statewide recognition affirmed Atascadero’s commitment to providing reasonably priced housing for the middle-class workers who live there, said Community Services Director Warren Frace.

The council “had a lot of foresight to make sure we included affordable housing,” he said. “… We were on the cutting edge when people weren’t really talking about it.”

Atascadero’s policy was the driving force behind almost three dozen affordable homes set aside in two high-profile developments.

At Dove Creek, developer Centex Homes reserved 20 townhouses for “very low income” families, those earning about $31,000 for four people. The developer sold the 1,431- square-foot condominiums for $87,248, less than one-fourth the price at which it plans to sell the remaining 117 townhomes.

Midland Pacific Homes, meanwhile, has set aside 14 homes in the Colony at Apple Valley for families earning $74,050 per year or less.

But some builders have criticized inclusionary housing programs similar to Atascadero’s, saying they help create higher costs for those who do not qualify.

Jerry Bunin, government affairs director for the Home Builders Association of the Central Coast, said inclusionary housing policies were among many factors that drive developers away from the region.

The policies, he said, slow down the approval process, making the cost to build even higher.

“From our point of view, there are no more inclusionary ordinances here than elsewhere,” he said, “but it all adds up to making housing hard to produce and expensive.”

For home buyers, San Luis Obispo County has some of the most expensive properties in the nation. The median price of a home in the county last month — new, resale and condominiums— was $530,000.

Atascadero and four other San Luis Obispo County cities — Arroyo Grande, Morro Bay, Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo—have inclusionary housing policies, according to a database assembled by the rural housing coalition.

The county Board of Supervisors is expected to decide whether to enact a similar ordinance for unincorporated regions this fall.

Wiener said the county would be wise to emulate Atascadero’s policy.

“Atascadero is ahead of the game, but it’s not impossible that you’ll see it in the county,” he said. “It’s a county that’s certainly ripe for this kind of policy.”

Original Source

The owners of coastal bluffs near Avila Beach known as Pirates Cove have secured the right to receive water from thecounty— increasing the price of their land, raising the possibility of housing development and placing another obstacle in the path of those trying to buy the property for a public park.

Having water available makes land more valuable. A preliminary appraisal of the 131 acres in and around Pirates Cove conducted in February, after the will-serve letter became known, came to $13.5 million, according to Karen

Frankel, project manager with the Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit group working to broker the land purchase for San Luis Obispo County.

Last November, the trust’s estimate was $6 million to $10 million.

In addition, the county Planning Commission approved a so-called “declaration of conformity” two weeks ago, affirming that the development on the site fits with the county’s General Plan. That also pushes up the price.

The county parks division and land preservation groups have been eyeing the property since last year, when its owners, San Miguelito Partners, announced they were willing to sell.

The land is east of the Chevron/Unocal tank farm site at Avila Beach and contains a rocky point known as Mallagh Landing and the Pirates Cove nude beach, as well as an inland peak called Ontario Ridge.

It contains six legal lots, with four residential building sites. Even with the water available, there are other hurdles to building on the property. A builder most likely would have to put up retaining walls, said county planner Matt Janssen, and figure out a way to deal with the big landslide area directly above the cove.

County officials and conservationists believe the site would make a striking spot for a park and would help to connect some of the trails along the coast.

But the county’s fiscal contribution is in question. It is in a belt-tightening mode, in part because the real estate slump has led to declining property tax revenues.

That leaves it up to groups such as Frankel’s to collect money from various sources.

“We’re still hoping to do something out there,” Frankel said last week. But she acknowledged that it would be challenging. She is seeking money from an alphabet soup of state, federal and private organizations.

The heightened marketability of Pirates Cove is the second blow to the purchase in less than a year.

In November, the federal government turned down a $3 million grant request from the county that would have been used to help buy Pirates Cove.

The higher price doesn’t mean the deal is dead, said Jerry Lenthall, chairman of the Board of Supervisors.

“Everything is still on the table,” said Lenthall, who represents the area. “There are proposals. Any number of combinations might work,” including the county getting some, rather than all, of the land.

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The Paso Robles Planning Commission will hear Tuesday evening three requests for development projects on the northeast side of the city.

The projects are drastically different in nature — a senior residence, a commercial project and an RVpark— but each has the potential to change the neighborhood where it is proposed.

The commission is scheduled to consider:

•A proposal by Atascadero developer Kelly Gearhart to develop 14 acres of The Links golf course in Paso Robles for commercial and light industrial use.

The proposal for 5151 Jar-dine Road is greatly downsized from a plan Gearhart submitted in 2005.

Two years ago, Gearhart bought The Links and proposed a development of 100 acres with 222 buildings, encompassing more than 1 million square feet. That version of the project never made it to the Planning Commission.

The new proposal includes 32 buildings with just over 150,000 square feet of development space.

The golf course would remain unaltered.

Access from Dry Creek Road to the project would be on Aerotech Center Way, which would be extended to meet Beacon Road.

• A request to build a 125- unit senior retirement community at 1450 Golden Hill Road. It would require a rezoning of the property and an amendment to the city’s General Plan.

Property owner Bill Hawk wrote in a letter to the commission that he and his wife want to develop the property to serve the Paso Robles community. The land is now home to the Covenant Presbyterian Church and preschool, which would remain on the site. A lot split and expansion of the church are also proposed.

Two neighboring landowners, Harvey Mundee and Kenneth Clouston, have expressed concerns about the development and a proposed easement on their properties.

A petition with 124 signatures of local residents who support the project is part of the application.

•A proposed zoning change to property on Golden Hill Road, which would allow construction of an RV park.

The 160-acre parcel at the northern end of Golden Hill Road is currently designated for agricultural use, with an airport overlay. The land is beneath the flight path of planes taking off from the Paso Robles Municipal Airport, making it problematic for residential development.

Owner Ken Mundee has asked the city to change the zoning to parks and open space with an airport overlay, which would allow construction of his proposed Mundee Motorcoach Resort. A conceptual plan for the resort includes 600 RV spaces, a spa, tennis courts, swimming pool and other amenities.

Some neighbors, who live in the Circle B Springs development across the street, are concerned about the RV park.

Victoria Simon Berg, who opposes the project, said she is worried about traffic, noise, environmental damage and potential harm to property values.

A fourth agenda item, a proposed shopping center at Highway 46 East and Golden Hill Road, will be postponed to the commission’s Aug. 28 meeting.

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