Councilwoman Christianson sets the record straight on SLO developments

With regard to Mr. Keith Gurnee’s letter of July 7, I respectfully note that no council can approve any project that does not fit the city’s General Plan and policies, and no Letter to the Editor should misstate historical facts as his does.

The two big downtown hotels he mentions were approved in 2010 by a completely different council (Mayor Romero, Mr. Settle, Mr. Ashbaugh, Mr. Carter and Ms. Marx) after nearly 10 years of rigorous planning processes that greatly altered the original proposals. It took another seven years and more changes to actually start building — 17 years!

With the example of the hotels in hand, let’s wait for judgment on any new project while it goes through the very same rigorous and lengthy process of professional and community evaluation. The city’s strong General Plan, which protects our hills from development and strongly addresses climate change issues, such as density and efficient use of resources, has essentially been in place since 1994. It and the update in 2014 will continue to guide the city in a sensible and careful direction.

Rewriting history and facts is not helpful for the conversations this city needs to have, and is not helpful in explaining how our General Plan and policies actually work.

We can embrace and respect our past and the leaders who brought us here, while we look forward to addressing and solving the challenges of the future. Both depend on calm, fact-based communication.