Council approves Avila (Avalon) Ranch final map after debate over bike bridge timing and flood risks

The San Luis Obispo City Council on Tuesday approved the final map for a southeast portion of the Avila (also referred to in staff materials as Avalon) Ranch project, resolving a developer-requested change in phasing while adding a timing condition to require transportation improvements before further residential permits.

Council members voted 5-0 to accept the map after staff said negotiated “timing triggers” will require Buckley Road widening and a bicycle bridge on the south side of Buckley to be built concurrent with either phase 4 or phase 5, whichever comes first.

The approval followed more than an hour of questions from council and concerns from nearby residents and preservation advocates about the long delay in bike facilities and the project’s potential effect on flooding in the East Fork/San Luis Obispo Creek confluence. Supervising civil engineer Gabe Munoz Moraes explained the change staff negotiated with the developer and why the bridge had not yet been built: “The bridge on the southern side was originally tied to phase 2,” he said, and was later tied to phase 4; the developer requested reordering to record phase 5 before phase 4 and staff adjusted the timing triggers so the improvements are required with whichever phase comes first.

Why it matters: the Buckley Road widening and the bicycle bridge have been repeatedly delayed in earlier phasing, and residents said the developer still lacks an agreement with a property owner…