09/25/2024
Hi Friends. Please take a moment and read this about what's coming down at us in Fullerton regarding high density housing.
I've been a proponent of better scaling, design, massing and not creating big walls of housing. Fullerton Has acted so desparately and let bad design come in. Case in point the old Chevrolet prop on Commonwealth...the street frontage is abominable...but if you drive around it the project looks much nicer. Other cities have seen fit to better scale, use set backs, terracing to decrease the impacts on streets and neighborhood. Fullerton for NO GOOD REASON has not. High density is coming but there's no reason we can't do a better job of making these projects LOOK LIKE FULLERTON! PLease read this below and AT LEAST BE AWARE of what's going on if not active. Our leaders need to start answering to and thinking about us when these projects come up.
....As you may know, in an effort to provide affordable housing, California is mandating that Fullerton accommodate 13,209 new housing units, although fewer than 7,500 of these are actually required to be affordable. According to the City, the new zoning could result in a total buildout of 32,234 units, a population increase of 96,711 people, and a net loss of 5,577 jobs in the next few years.
Our city’s General Plan did not anticipate these stunning new levels of housing, many in districts never considered for them. The Commission is being asked to recommend that the City Council adopt the plans at the Council’s November 19th meeting. The Council will then decide whether to essentially pre-approve the vast majority of these units this year, shutting them out of traditional public process.
Note: As passionate as we are about saving Fullerton’s unique character, we are keeping in mind that rents have skyrocketed and people need places to live. Since it’s not a building crisis, but an affordability crisis, we believe we can have both - affordability AND preservation of what’s unique about Fullerton’s historic built environment.
Fullerton has a unique feel and characteristics that should be preserved WHILE addressing affordable housing needs. We are focusing on:
-Preserving certain buildings and corridors we don’t feel should be in the plan
-Directing most growth to the original areas envisioned in our General Plan to save more existing residential and historic buildings
-Requesting 15% affordable units in new high-density developments rather than 10%, to increase affordability without as much overbuilding
-Reprioritizing non-profit projects that provide a higher percentage of affordable units, again, to increase affordability without as much overbuilding
-Asking the City to do its due diligence in determining adverse impacts before these approvals rather than hoping they catch things afterward in their new private process
-Retaining reasonable setbacks and stepbacks in historic or residential-adjacent areas
-Preventing speculation and displacement
Friends for a Livable Fullerton
Updates and more resources are available:
Website: www.SaveFullerton.com/Housing
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SaveFullerton
