With a number of significant downtown development projects underway and two more that could potentially increase housing, office and commercial space still under consideration, the SLO Chamber is taking a new look at downtown building codes and where additional heights in the downtown commercial district may be appropriate.
Housing remains the top challenge and priority of SLO Chamber members and increasing height limits and density in select areas is one way to allow for more downtown residences.
This past month the Chamber Board of Directors, following guidance from its Economic Development Committee and Housing Task Force volunteers, directed the Housing Task Force to start an evaluation of the appropriateness of taller buildings in various areas of San Luis Obispo. The volunteer task force will begin this work before year end.
“We’ve been involved in this process for some time and are revisiting the issue in order to evaluate how taller building heights could fit in with community character and housing goals in the city,” said Charlene Rosales, director of governmental affairs at the Chamber.
Mixed-use projects, such as the proposed Fremont Square and San Luis Square developments, create an opportunity to turn limited downtown real estate into housing, office and commercial space, creating density while helping to sustain the city goal of preserving open space and preventing sprawl.
The building heights conversation was last meaningfully taken up eight years ago when a SLO Chamber subcommittee consisting of architects, designers, engineers and planners made a careful study of the matter over more than one year and provided input to urge for a moderate height limit increase to 60 feet. However, the Downtown Building Height Ordinance that the Planning Commission ultimately forwarded on to the SLO City Council for adoption created additional regulations and a process that was more difficult, time consuming and expensive than initially conceived.
A letter to the city council from the 2007 SLO Chamber Board of Directors read “We now find ourselves in the unusual position of opposing an ordinance that was supposed to implement a resolution that we supported. The Downtown Building Height Ordinance forwarded to you by the Planning Commission is fatally flawed, as it would not increase the feasibility of creating moderately taller buildings. In fact, it would do the exact the opposite.”
The regulations that were eventually adopted by the city allows for downtown buildings to go from 50 feet up to 60 feet after meeting certain conditions that could include: additional pedestrian amenities, view access and preservation, economic impact, historic preservation, open space preservation and or energy efficient design. To go from 60 to 75 feet requires meeting the previous goals for 60 feet and meeting the increased Affordable and Workforce Housing Objectives.
Since adoption, no projects in the downtown have gone to the higher limits and both Garden Street Terraces and the Chinatown project – which are being redeveloped currently – did scale back and not to include as much housing.
Fremont Square and San Luis Square are being proposed for 56-70 feet, respectively.