Dozens of people from the community were in attendance Tuesday when the Dana Reserve project’s updated plan was approved 4 to 1.
There was a common theme surrounding the project during the special meeting: progress, not perfection.
After lawsuits urged developers to protect nearby wildlife, the original 1,370 home plan has been downsized to 1,242.
One Nipomo resident, Robert Audibert, said he’s disappointed to see an affordable housing component taken away.
“There's enough, you know, really expensive housing in Nipomo now,” Audibert said. “We don't need more. It seems like that's the only way, though. You got to make some money, I guess.”
The lawsuit was filed by the Nipomo Action Committee. Herb Kandel, one of the organization’s board members said the new plan is a compromise both sides can live with.
“A disappointment for all of us that it was the low-income housing that needed to go,” Kandel said. “It wasn't it wasn't what we asked for. But it was what came together in the end to be able to be viable for the developer to protect some oak trees.”
The approved plans increase the project’s open space by about 5 acres and no longer require the developers to build 100 accessory dwelling units at initial construction.
Jocelyn Brennan is a spokesperson for Project developer NKT Commercial. Brennan said there will still be housing opportunities for low-income families.
“It's unfortunate that we lost, some of the affordable units but we're still providing 78 affordable units which is what the county or people self-help typically does in a year,” Brennan said. “So that's actually more than they typically do in a year and we're doing that with one project. So we're really proud of that.”
With construction on the project moving forward, some residents who live near the proposed site still have concerns.
Maureen Murphy said she lives close to the perimeter of the project.
"I had concerns about traffic,” Murphy said. “I had concerns, about congestion and I don't know that that's all been taken into consideration.”
The project is set to go before the County Board of Supervisors for a vote on the community plan in November.
