Sunny Acres' building plans could halt before they get started

Posted: Jul 19, 2010 4:09 PM by Danielle Lerner
Updated: Jul 7, 2011 6:06 PM

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A local sober living facility says it is building more resources for residents, despite a judge's order to shut down.

Sunny Acres has announced plans to build an 8,000 square foot home on the Los Osos Valley Road property.

Sunny Acres Owner Dan Devaul says he will apply for the residential building permit in the next couple of weeks, but the County says that may not be possible.

Earlier this month, a County judge ordered that Devaul close down the facility and evict all 30 residents by August 20. Devaul's attorney recently filed a motion to repeal that ruling, so the County needs to address that motion before it can decide on the permits.

If the permits go through, the house would have 14 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, a kitchen and dining area.

If the application goes through, the structure would have to be approved as a single-family residence, not a sober living facility, because that requires a conditional use permit.

Meanwhile a spokesperson for Sunny Acres says the community is already coming forward to help with the project.

"It has to be processed as a residence and if they decide later to convert it to more of a commercial facility of some type, than it would have to be looked at again for that kind of code compliance," said John Busselle, a senior planner with the County.

"This is such a necessary structure for these times and in our community especially, we have 4,000 homeless," said Becky Jorgeson, a spokesperson for Sunny Acres.

Devaul is also asking the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors to waive the $17,500 in fees.

If the process gets that far, the board would take up the issue in September.

Back in 2008, Sunny Acres requested a fee waiver for a conditional use permit and a residential building permit. The Board waved more than $10,000 in fees associated with the conditional use permit, but not the residence.