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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic CommentFrom: Olivia Montiano Sent: Tuesday, September 5, 2023 8:09 AM To: Planning Commission Public Comments Subject: Public Comment from Grand Oaks Paseo HOA For item "4701,4711,4721,4731,4741 EL CAMINO REAL and 5900 THROUGH 5938 GRAN PASEO WAY" on Sept. 5 Planning Commission hearing agenda: Hello, My name is Olivia Montiano, and I am a current homeowner and HOA board member in Grand Oaks Paseo. I moved in in April of 2022. We were told the project would be done in 2022. The development progress has not changed much since that time, 18 months ago. The developers remind us of the obstacles they've faced with the unforeseen challenges of the pandemic: supply chain issues, increased costs, funding issues, etc. But what we saw were construction crews hired by Cal Coastal being directed to Cal Coastal's other projects, which also contributed to a year plus of neglect. We watched crews have morning briefings on our property only to leave to work on other sites for the day. For well over a year, we experienced mismanagement by Cal Coastal, living in a construction zone far longer than anticipated, which included: • Sporadic HOA due billing with little transparency and few questions answered • Poor communication from the seller's agent (our only point of contact for questions and • issues) including delayed email responses of weeks to months • No landscaping around phase 2 homes for more than 6 months upon move in • No hired landscape service until May of this year • Inadequate care of the oak tree at the center of our community that is now in jeopardy • due to the stress of living in a construction zone and inadequate follow-up of expert recommendations detailed in an arborists report Just to name a few. 1 RECEIVE® SES' - 5 2023 AM !V P 2-3 -bb�v COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT In May of this year, Ted Lawton and Jack Phelan from Cal Coastal Holdings reached out to the homeowners to elect an HOA -- 1 year and 3 months after the first homeowner moved in -- despite our bylaws clearly stating that "in no event shall the first meeting be held later than six months after the closing of the sale of the first subdivision interest without regard to the number of subdivision interests authorized for sale in the first public report." In July of this year, an HOA board member was approached by builder Jake Sanchez (owner of Azteca Construction), regarding the proposed landscape changes under review today. Jake was invited to our HOA meeting on July 27th to share the changes with the community. Jake declined and planned to meet with homeowners individually to share the plans and provide them the opportunity to sign an agreement with their approval of the plans. Some homeowners did not feel comfortable with that and so Jake hosted a meeting on- site to share the plans with the homeowners on August 16th, 2023. At this meeting, Jake and Marco Caracas, the newly hired broker and seller's agent for Cal Coastal, pressured the homeowners to agree to these changes expressing that there is no money in the budget to do anything but what is being proposed and expressing that if we don't agree to these changes it would significantly delay and/or halt the project. Given that the homeowners want this project completed for better living conditions, most signed the document at the meeting. The signed letter was given to the HOA president to hold onto if any other homeowners who were not present at the meeting wanted to sign. After a few days of reflection, the HOA board expressed their hesitations regarding the proposed plans and the pressures put on the homeowners. So, the board obtained permission from the homeowners who signed the document to withhold the signatures. Since then, the HOA has been in communication with Cal Coastal regarding these changes and our hesitations, and have requested to negotiate. Cal Coastal has refused to agree to reasonable requests for completion deadlines of the community spaces following city approval. We share these insights with the City in hopes for your support in addressing our needs for the community spaces, which are: • Utilities: • Electric conduit at the Dog Park/Community Garden; electrical AND gas hookup at the Central Park for shared BBQ space • Addition of 1-2 new oak trees • in Central Park to replace the oak tree that was lost earlier in the construction • Promised delivery date • of Central Park by December 2023 & completion of proposed dog park/garden by May • 2024 We hope our lived experience is helpful to your decision. We do not want the project to be delayed, but trust the City to advocate for its residents on this matter. Thank you very much, Olivia Montiano Grand Oaks Paseo resident and HOA board member August 28, 2023 Cal Coastal Communities 4711 EI Camino Real Atascadero, CA 93422 Hi Marco, Leann and I are very excited to move into and live at the Grand Oaks Paseo development. We have been dealt a few obstacles with the projected move -in date, but we are staying resilient and optimistic that the house will be ready as currently promised. We understood that there was originally to be a community building on the site, but instead, there is now going to be a dog park introduced to utilize that space. We think a dog park would be a delight for the furry friends of the community, and being positioned at the front of the development, is a perfect location. We are really looking forward to settling into our new house with no further delays with the development. Best Regards, Aaron and Leann Alduenda Future Grand Oaks Paseo Residents M211 K''Ir"30,17411111- pC k(0 P.P. R' - SEP - 5 2n23 �rnAl W'20 ANT;