SAVE ATASCADERO
(FORMERLY OPPOSE WAL-MART) UPDATE
May 12, 2010
Contact us at info@opposewalmart.com or go to
opposewalmart.com or saveatascadero.com
(Please notify us of email address changes)
Editor: Lee Perkins
TO VIEW PAST SAVE ATASCADERO UPDATES, PLEASE
GO TO saveatascadero WEBSITE
- WAL-MART OPEN HOUSE AT ATASCADERO CITY HALL 5/5/10
- SCOPING FOR WAL-MART/ANNEX EIR (Environmental Impact Report), TUESDAY, MAY 25 AT 6:00 P. M.
- GENERAL PLAN INFORMATION
**********
- WAL-MART OPEN HOUSE AT ATASCADERO CITY HALL
THE CITY OF ATASCADERO SPONSORED A WAL-MART/ANNEX OPEN HOUSE ON WEDNESDAY MAY 5 AT THE CITY HALL.
- Wal-Mart’s architectural plan has changed completely along with its size, now down to 123,112 sq ft. Smaller is better, but we believe this store is still too big for our City. The new architectural plan, a sequence of boxes, does not reflect a Colony Style or conform to the General Plan as written:
“Programs:
1. Update and maintain the Appearance Review Manual to include provisions for rural
character design features, street trees, landscaping, parking, fencing, screening, and
architectural design (except for single family development), with standards tailored to
specific areas of the City, including commercial corridors, and gateways such as
Highway 101 and Morro Road.”
- SCOPING MEETING FOR WAL-MART/ANNEX EIR, TUESDAY, MAY 25 AT 6:00 P. M.
Mark your calendars to attend the City Council and the Planning Commission joint EIR scoping session on Tuesday, May 25 at 6:00 p.m. at the City Hall. THIS IS A CRITICAL MEETING!
Re scoping: “a scope will be proposed based on public input and the CC’s observations, which outlines what needs to be studied during the EIR. Traffic, biology and environmental assessment such as noise, light pollution and aesthetics are typical. There can also be a Retail Sector Strategies Report to assess the Town’s retail sector and recommend measures to proactively preserve and promote economic vitality and growth within the City. The public needs to raise the issues and any others that are important to them or it will not be addressed in the EIR.
Discussion regarding the Wal-Mart/Annex project has gone on for several years and many concerns over the years have been expressed at the lectern. The scoping process is like starting over. Any concerns residents of the City and neighbors have to the development must be expressed during the scoping process meeting May 25 to be considered in the EIR.
Come and speak if you have concerns about:
- Traffic, noise, glare, hazardous dumping
- Night time deliveries, idling big rigs
- Security issues, crime, funding of emergency services and police
- Economic impact to our local stores and sustainability of local grocers and their jobs
EACH PERSON WILL HAVE 3 MINUTES TO SPEAK–MAKE THE MOST OF IT! Use your time to outline what needs to be examined during this EIR process.
The City Council must approve the EIR scoping process. Only you can express your individual or neighborhood concerns at this meeting. Organize your neighbors! If you believe someone else will voice an issue, that issue may not be brought up. The CC majority is way in favor of the project at all costs, but they must hear from you as a voter about how you want this project to go forward and must be held accountable to deal with the findings, rather than dismissing them for “overriding economic considerations” which the CEQA law allows.
This is our City and this development will affect all residents directly or indirectly.
- GENERAL PLAN INFORMATION
I recommend to all of you to go to the City website and take a look at the General Plan. In light of the recent tabling of the Request for Participation in a State Grant Application: Small cities of San Luis Obispo County Climate Action Plan which would help guide us to a “sustainable” city and which the state is paying the tab. It is an impressive document which took years of citizen input that IS AN OFFICIAL guide and sets criteria for growth, environmental issues and safety in our town.
I have copied a few statements from the General Plan for your perusal, but suggest you take a look yourself. We need to hold our CC accountability to its General Plan.
2. Require landscaping and/or screening to buffer non-residential uses from residential areas.
3. Continue to support the Neighborhood Preservation Program.
4. Update and maintain the Sign Ordinance with higher standards for the quality and visual impact of signs.
5. Develop incentives to encourage existing uses to upgrade to contemporary design
standards, including frontage and parking lot landscaping, and the screening of loading and service areas.
Policy 1.4: Ensure that “darkness” remain a rural characteristic by requiring that all exterior
lighting does not result in significant off-site spillage or glare.
Goal LOC 7. Tree-covered hills shall be preserved to retain the distinctive scenic quality of the community.
Policy 7.1: Ensure that the native trees of Atascadero are protected from new development in
order to retain the natural character of the community.
THESE ARE JUST A FEW THAT AS CITIZENS, WE NEED TO SPEAK TO!
Trackbacks /
Pingbacks