This has been a notable year for Community Development, with some key staffing changes in a new Community Development Director, Bruce Ambo, AICP, and Assistant Community Development Director, Susan Clark, AICP. Both have been on the job since February and March, 2001 respectively.

Bruce Ambo brings about 20 years of experience in both the public and private sectors in planning and land development. Bruce came here from the City of Reno, Nevada, where he handled redevelopment, capital project management and planning in downtown Reno. He has lived and worked in the Central Coast area for the cities of Santa Barbara, Santa Monica and Simi Valley. Prior to California, Bruce worked as a project manager for an engineering firm and land development consultants in Austin, Texas. Bruce is from Chicago, attended undergraduate school at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, and graduate school at the University of Texas in Austin.

Susan Clark has lived on the Central Coast for the last 20 years. She earned an undergraduate degree in Political Science and a Master's Degree in City and Regional Planning at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Prior to joining the planning team at Grover Beach, Susan was a land use planning consultant for a local planning firm in San Luis Obispo for the last seven years. During her consulting tenure, Susan collaborated on a wide range of planning projects in over 30 different communities from Southern California, the Bay Area, the Central Valley, and many local projects.

Bruce and Susan look forward to a responsive and productive working relationship with the community, Planning Commission, and City Council. The Department will continue to focus on customer service in building and planning services, street maintenance and construction, and economic development.

Capital Improvement Projects

If you haven't driven down Highland Way lately please do, so that you can see the good repaving job done by a local contractor. Hats off to Toste Grading and Paving, who completed the entire street in about two to three weeks, with minimal disruptions to area businesses.

Several other important projects are in the final design phase, and targeted for completion by the end of the year or early Spring. Within the next few months, you can expect to see the following construction projects underway:

• Farroll Road Overlay from 4th to 13th Streets
• 10th Street from Longbranch to Mentone Avenues
• Trouville Avenue from 8th to 10th Streets
• Brighton Avenue from 3rd to 4th Streets
• Brighton Avenue from Front to Beckett Streets
• The Pike from 13th through Arroyo Grande
• Mentone Storm Drain Improvements
• North Oak Park Boulevard

We've compiled some performance indicators to give you some idea of the workload the Department handles each year. From July 1, 2000, through the end of June, 2001 (projected), approximately 195 Building Permits have been issued, totaling approximately $1.9 million in building valuation improvements. The Building and Planning counter averages between 100 to 150 customers per week, equating to approximately 5,200 to 7,800 service inquiries per year. This figure doesn't include numerous telephone inquiries, which are comparable in number to walk-ups. There are also about 50 different building inspections (framing, electrical, etc.) conducted each week, equating to approximately 2,600 inspections on a yearly basis.

The Planning Department had 102 Planning Commission items throughout the year, averaging 8.5 items each meeting. Out of that caseload, there were approximately 15 in depth environmental reviews. In addition, planning related research was conducted and several Zoning Ordinance amendments were initiated.

Future Projects

A snapshot of some major projects that have been approved, are in the plan check process for a Building Permit, or are ready to begin are as follows:

The 90 unit La Serena project off Farroll Road is likely to get under construction by the end of this year. Site work could begin by the end of the year, with home construction beginning in the Spring.

We could also see a new project on the south side of Grand Avenue next to the train depot area under construction this season called Beach Place. This is an exciting mixed-use project with 12,435 square feet of commercial space, and 10 residential units above the commercial space.

The Brad Forde industrial project along the west side of Front Street between Ramona and Brighton Avenues could also be under construction later this year. This project has 10 light industrial buildings with approximately 53,000 square feet of high-tech floor area.