It is our position that when development damages neighborhood and community character, it negatively impacts neighbors’ property values.  An over-sized out-of-place house in a neighborhood of smaller homes clearly has a negative impact on the value of homes where access to views, light, and air have been seriously impacted, but we believe that the potential for damage goes beyond that.  The excessively large house is regarded by some as a form of “visual pollution”, and may destroy the ambiance that made a neighborhood desirable.

We are not the only ones who believe that development that does not suit a particular area can harm property values.  Example:  An editorial appearing in the April 6, 2007 edition of the Tribune discusses the protection of Cayucos viewsheds.  With regard to the construction of homes in the area, the editorial states, “While a ridgeline home would certainly reap a one-time handsome chunk of change, the long-term effects of dozens or even hundreds of such homes would reduce the area’s charming rural attraction and ultimately lessen surrounding property values."  We think the same applies to our neighborhoods

Some say that restricting house size will harm property values.  We disagree.   Many of the California cities that have enacted size controls via Floor Area Ratio have some of the highest real estate values in the state. These include Carmel, Monterey, Mill Valley, Tiburon, Belvedere, and Del Mar.  We say that managing house size will keep our property values high by keeping Morro Bay a desirable place to live.

When people buy a house, they also buy a neighborhood, and a community.   Obviously, many people don’t want to live next door to a home that does not fit into the neighborhood, but some people will not even want to live on the same block.  They will bypass the block where the over-sized, out-of-place house is located, and seek an area with the harmonious ambiance that drew them to our town in the first place.

Our community character is one of the major reasons most of us choose to live here - and why people continue to move and buy homes here.  Morro Bay has a seaside “village” look and feel with a wide variety of casual, informal architectural styles and a slow-paced, friendly atmosphere.  We have easy parking, few traffic lights, and nothing even resembling city traffic.  We enjoy beautiful views of the ocean and bay from our homes and/or when we go out for a walk or to run errands, and we breathe wonderful ocean air, free from city pollution.

It’s paradise - but for how long?  If the developers have their way, not very.  It is still reasonably hard to find “McMansions” in many of our neighborhoods, but it is getting easier.

We believe that the majority of Morro Bay residents do not want over-sized houses in their neighborhoods, blocking light, air and views, and damaging neighborhood character and ambiance. Most of us live in small- to medium-sized houses, condominiums, apartments and  mobile homes, with small gardens and yards.  Older and newer houses sit side-by-side.  Our houses are proportional to the lots they occupy, and to surrounding structures.  If people are trying to “keep up with the Joneses”, or to get ahead of them, they don’t show it.  We like to think we (at least most of us) are wiser than that. We like to think that we have no need for the status symbols, and competitiveness that we see in some other communities.

So, why are some developers being allowed to build projects that, if unchecked, will eventually turn our town into another Manhattan Beach?   Why does our city allow this kind of development, when the majority of citizens don't want it - as is clearly illustrated by the fact that General Plan/Local Coastal Plan specifically calls for preservation of neighborhood  and community character and affordable housing?   We applaud the Council's January 29, 2007 decision to require that City staff begin working on bulk and scale issues within four months, but what about a deadline for implementing new zoning controls, and what about solicitation of input from citizens BEFORE the Planning Department works on this task?

The time to act is now.  Once it is lost to unwise development, our community character cannot be regained, and it is already being eroded.  Builders of the”McMansions” are threatening to remake our town into something in the image of a Los Angeles suburb.


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