SLO County project blends condos and commercial spaces — with a special use rule
A pair of new commercial spaces and seven new condos are coming to Shell Beach — and none of the new units can ever serve as vacation rentals.
On Tuesday evening, the Pismo Beach Planning Commission unanimously signed off on a new mixed-use project at 1717 Shell Beach Road, with Commissioner Jimmy Summer recusing himself from the vote because his home is within 1,000 feet of the project.
As a condition of the approval, the Planning Commission added a requirement that the project’s homes can never serve as vacation rentals down the line.
Applicant managing partner Mark Burns — who previously served on the Planning Commission for eight years — said the project has been longer in the making than it may seem, getting pushed down the line since August 2023 by staffing turnover and other factors.
The original version of the project would have been all affordable housing using contributions from the city’s housing fund, but those delays caused the developer to reexamine some of the project’s priorities, Burns said.
“The City Council opted to take those funds a different direction, so we had to take the project sort of a different direction,” Burns said. “From the inception, these residential units have been about the people that work here can live here.”
Shell Beach project packs a lot into a small space
Designed by Hunter Smith Architecture, the project will sit on just a 9,007-square-foot parcel and feature seven studio condominiums — five of which will sell at market rate — plus one accessory dwelling unit, for a total of around 3,634 square feet, according to the staff report.
Meanwhile, the two ground-floor commercial spaces would total around 2,086 square feet, along with around 40 square feet of outdoor seating.
The building will stand 25 feet tall, reaching Shell Beach’s height limit, with an elevator shaft exceeding that limit and part of a portion of a roof parapet extending 12 inches above the height limit
The seven studio units will range between 364 and 470 square feet, sitting over and behind the commercial spaces on each corner of the Shell Beach Road side of the building, according to the staff report.
Beneath the project, a garage makes up part of the 15 provided spaces, split between commercial and residential uses, exceeding the number of required spaces by one, according to the staff report.
Though the project qualifies for the state housing density bonus law — which allows developers to request building code concessions in exchange for including affordable housing — it requested no concessions while still including the affordable units, according to the staff report.
A pair of residential units will be deed-restricted as affordable for sale to 1 very-low-income household and 1 moderate-income household, and the developer only used the affordable units as a way to allow for a higher density of units than would typically be allowed, according to the staff report.
“I was glad to see that a density bonus project could come forward that isn’t asking for every single concession that they can possibly get, and I do believe that the size is appropriate for this location,” Commission Chair Clare Malone Prichard said.
What’s next for mixed-use project?
With the Planning Commission’s approval, the project is clear to break ground and start construction, barring any appeals that would require a second hearing at the City Council.
Burns said the start of construction will be entirely contingent on how long it takes the project to clear the appeal period and plan check review.
“We of course would like to get through it as quickly as possible, but we don’t know,” Burns said. “We have to meet we have all the exceptions in the planning, but we still have to meet all of the ... building codes.”
