Plans to build new 1475 student dorms in a controversial location of the Cal Poly campus are still on track following a community hearing Tuesday night.
About 200 people showed up to the meeting according to the San Luis Obispo City Clerk's office. The vast majority of those who spoke—about 40 total—were against the project's planned location near the Grand Avenue entrance to campus.
In the end though, members of the San Luis Obispo City Council agreed only to have Vice-Mayor Carlyn Christianson send a letter to Cal Poly reflecting the comments expressed at the meeting. They'd also include a DVD of the meeting.
Even if the council had officially voiced opposition on the issue, it has no jurisdiction over the Cal Poly matter. The University says it has listened to input from the Mayor and council members on this project throughout its planning phases, even before it went public.
Alta Vista Neighborhood Association Chairperson Karen Adler told KCBX she believes other locations would serve the community better.
"It's tremendous impaction, it's not considerate of Cal Poly, although consideration, I don't believe, is the main criteria of economics," Adler said. "We appreciate Poly trying to find more housing, they just have picked a horrible location."
Cal Poly's Vice President of Student Affairs, Keith Humphrey, says their research shows otherwise.
"We continue to believe that the Grand Avenue site is a good location for these new halls. All of that is not to say that all the sites we've looked at on campus are not good sites for future on campus housing," Humphrey said. "But at this time this site holds the best possibility for Cal Poly."