Before the end of April, the controversial Dana Reserve project and local residents should have an answer from the SLO County Board of Supervisors.
On April 23 and 24, the proposed Nipomo development will have its days in front of supervisors, six months after the county Planning Commission recommended approval of the project.
The development, the largest proposed for SLO County in 25 years, has been a hot topic for community members as many Nipomo residents think the project is too big and comes with too many environmental impacts.
“It creates a huge struggle that I’ll have to live with and maybe even my kids and their kids will have to live with because the destruction of the trees and just the development in general will have such a catastrophic effect,” co-founder and co-executive director of the Central Coast Student Coalition Cesar Vasquez told New Times. “I want the Central Coast to be a place where kids can truly thrive and where future generations can fully thrive, and his development doesn’t do that.”
The project is planning to cut down more than 3,000 oak trees, Burton Mesa Chaparral habitat and other nonnative grasslands to help make room for its 1,318 residential units, 203,000 square feet of recreational space, a shopping center, California Fresh Market grocery store, South County Cuesta College campus, and neighborhood parks, according to an August 2023 SLO County staff report.
Dana Reserve developer and Nipomo native Nick Tompkins told New Times that he wants to bring new opportunities and housing options to Nipomo.
“The goal is to offer a range of housing types so it would meet the needs of lots of different people across 10 different neighborhoods essentially,” his daughter Elizabeth said. “It’d be sort of a master-planned community where many of your daily needs could be met on-site, so it would promote walkability, bike-ability, and there would be parks, native parks, and it could support everyone living there and bring things to the community.”
The Central Coast Student Coalition teamed up with the Nipomo Action Committee, and the YTT Northern Chumash Tribe to create an alternative map that will incorporate 800 housing units while keeping more than 100 acres of open space and natural habitat.
“We fully understand the need for housing in San Luis Obispo County,” YTT Northern Chumash Tribal Chair Mona Olivas Tucker told New Times. “But we also understand not just the cultural significance of oak trees, but the value that they add to combating climate crisis, and deforestation isn’t the right step to take to combat the climate crisis. It’s not the right step to take to protect invaluable cultural resources.”
On April 23, the Central Coast Student Coalition will be holding a rally from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in downtown SLO to promote the alternative map. Δ
This article appears in Apr 11-21, 2024.
Why does the NewTimes only write about housing negatively? Please build more housing!
Wish you would have contacted Generation Build to get a comment of support to balance out this incredibly biased article that leaves out many facts. We are the largest local advocacy group and are excited about this project. We look forward to a 5-0 vote in favor.
This is getting tiring. Just build the homes!
This project is necessary to move the needle. We are in a housing crisis. It also takes substantial mitigation steps. To anyone reading this article, please educate yourself on all this project will do. It’s more than worth supporting. Let’s build!
This isn’t rocket science, folks. If we don’t grow housing in this area so that working families can afford to live here, we have failed. Want good medical care? Build houses for families. Oh, you need a strong workforce? Build houses for them to live in.
As a person of color living in SLO County, I respectfully disagree with the article’s critique of the Dana Reserve housing development. I strongly support this development because it provides an opportunity for my children and other families to stay in SLO County, by alleviating the housing supply issue we are facing.
The author of the article fails to acknowledge the real struggles faced by BIPOC families in finding affordable housing in this area. The housing crisis disproportionately affects communities of color, pushing us out of neighborhoods we’ve called home for generations. The Dana Reserve development offers a chance for us to remain in Nipomo, close to schools, jobs, and support networks.
It’s important to note that the author’s perspective reflects that of a privileged individual. They may not fully grasp the urgent need for affordable housing among BIPOC communities and in general. White privilege often blinds individuals to the systemic barriers faced by marginalized groups, such as discriminatory housing practices and economic inequalities.
The Nipomo Action Committee Plan blatantly overlooks the pressing need for housing accessibility for families. It’s time to prioritize the needs of marginalized communities and ensure that housing developments like Dana Reserve include affordable options for families like mine.
I am relatively new to the SLO area, and am eager to stay, build a family here, and become part of the community. Developments like Dana Reserve give people like me the opportunity to make that first, affordable home purchase.
Vasquez states, “I want the Central Coast to be a place where kids can truly thrive and where future generations can fully thrive, and his development doesn’t do that.” but without affordable housing being built, there won’t be anywhere for the future generations to live. Housing is a fundamental need, and simply dismissing the importance of providing adequate housing solutions is short-sighted.
Vasquez states, “I want the Central Coast to be a place where kids can truly thrive and where future generations can fully thrive.” However, future generations will not be able to thrive if they cannot afford to buy a home of their own. Housing is a fundamental need, and simply dismissing the importance of providing adequate housing solutions is short-sighted. We have the demand for more housing but do not have the supply. This housing project will help bridge this gap.