A bus stop shelter stalled the Santa Maria Planning Commission’s review of plans for an apartment complex on the southwest side of the city.
Avante Apartments, LLC proposed 86 apartment units in four buildings three stories tall at the southwest corner of South Blosser Road and Carmen Lane. The units would have two and three bedrooms.
The developer also wants to subdivide a 3.91-acre parcel into two lots.
In addition to the apartment units, the projects would include two outdoor play areas, two community club rooms, community laundry rooms, and barbecue areas.
The project requires 172 parking spaces but the developer plans to include 180.
Developers plan to complete the project in two phases, with the second to follow six months to a year after the first buildings are done.
But a dispute over a proposed condition requiring the developer to build a bus stop shelter prompted a postponement of the item until the Nov. 16 meeting.
The applicant spoke favorably about the bus stop proposed for the site.
“We think it’s an amenity for the whole area,” said architect Scott Martin from RRM Design Group. “We’re swallowing hard trying to accept the full cost of it. … Happy to build it. Happy to accommodate it. Just having a hard time saying we should pay for it all.”
The applicant, Steve Simoulis, said he didn’t know how much the shelter would cost, but estimated $50,000 based on a similar facility in San Luis Obispo
“It’s really fancy, and it hasn’t been proposed in Santa Maria before. It has solar panels and lighting and bike loops. It’s a pretty elaborate bus stop structure,” Simoulis said.
The applicant’s representatives said adding it seems like an undue burden for the apartment complex project when the bus stop will serve a wider community.
“We do not think it’s an unreasonable condition. For a project this size, to serve the project and the immediate neighborhood, we think it is a valid condition,” said Assistant City Attorney Heather Whitham said.
She said it would up to the commission to decided whether to include the condition, and that the applicant could appeal any decision to the City Coucnil.
“Your decision, you think the condition is valid you should go ahead and impose it. If you think the condition is an overreach or not needed, then you could choose not to impose the condition,” Whitham said.
She added that developers often are tasked with undertaking amenities to mitigate the impacts of their projects, and that those mitigation measures often extend beyond the project site to benefit the neighborhood.
Planning Commission Chairman Robert Dickerson asked if the agenda item should be delayed to determine the cost estimated for the bus stop shelter.
Commissioners previously approved an 85-unit project for the site, but the Serra Monte Townhomes has been dropped and replaced by Avante Apartments.
Commissioner Maribel Aguilera-Hernandez said the prior project approved in 2019 didn’t include a condition to add the bus stop shelter.
“If they were asking for a reduction in parking, it would be easy for me to say yes, this triggered the need for a bus stop,” she said.
“I don’t see the correlation of requiring this for one addition unit,” she said, with Commissioner Tom Lopez agreeing.
Dickerson said he appreciated their stance but didn’t agree.
“The whole basis of any of these developments throughout the city is that you have city improvements that are made. The bus stop is not specific to the number of units that are coming into play with this new project. The basis of it is that it’s an improvement to the city that is needed in the overall scheme of things,” Dickerson said.
Commissioner Esau Blanco agreed with Dickerson, and noted that the city rules had changed since the prior project’s approval.
The developer said he would agree to the continuance, which is aimed at clarifying the costs of the bus stop shelter project.
“To me, it’s a substantial dollar amount issue. It may seem like small percentage, but to me it’s an issue,” Simoulis said.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.