How much poor behavior can one Morro Bay City Council meeting produce (8/24/22)?
Let me single out one item: an appeal of a super-small, 2-story house on a substandard bluff top lot.
The Planning Commission denied the permit because it required four variances not including a possible fifth exception if the Building Dept. requires a retaining wall. Obviously, what the developer wants doesn’t fit the code because it took her four years to negotiate to this point.
Council’s decision to allow such an offense to other property owners, neighbors, and tourists (it’s on Main, a scenic corridor) was compounded by staff, mayor, and council members refusing to show a picture of the house, how it fit on the lot, and its relationship to adjacent homes. At a public hearing, the Public is not allowed to view what is being voted on?!
Three requests for a picture were ignored. Instead, council members chose to describe it: “quirky,” “funky.”
What were they hiding? Get your hands on the staff report. What the house looks like could be classified as a spaceship sitting on the bluff, a building from a futuristic world, or a miniature skyscraper from Dubai (it’s between 2 one-story houses).
Time for respectful voices on the City Council.
Betty Winholtz
Morro Bay