Five large, new neighborhood projects are either under construction or projected to start this year in the City of San Luis Obispo.
“What happens in our city is that we have more jobs than we have housing,” said SLO City Council Member Andy Pease. “About 30,000 people commute into the city every day for their jobs and some of it is because they like to live in the other beautiful parts of our county, but some of it is that they just can’t find housing in the city. The growth is really in response to pent-up demand.”
San Luis Obispo City officials say they’ve seen the average annual residential growth rate double from 0.6% in 2015 to 1.2% in 2020. The five major neighborhood projects in development include San Luis Ranch, Avila Ranch, Froom Ranch and the Margarita and Orcutt areas.
The housing market will ultimately determine how much these homes cost, but Michael Codron, SLO City Community Development Director, said the prices could range from $300,000 to upwards of $1 million.
Fifteen percent of these houses will be for those who qualify for affordable housing.
"The city does have an affordable housing wherein every one of the new neighborhoods in the city, there are approximately 15% of all the units will have a deed restriction of affordability,” Codron said.
The housing developments are prioritizing those who already work in San Luis Obispo, then open up availability to other county residents.
“We want to be able to accommodate those folks who are working in the city to help reduce their commutes, improve their quality of life and have some better equity,” Pease said.
Most of these housing projects are expected to be completed in the next five years. City officials will reevaluate if more housing projects are needed by 2035.
