Atascadero housing development held up by mismanagement claims 

A proposed change to an ongoing housing development in Atascadero has one resident attempting to rectify what she claims to be a mishandling of construction.

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• File Photo By Jayson Mellom
• LEGAL WOES Atascadero planning commissioners approved a new tract map for a development at 10850 Camino Real, despite one resident who claimed that the development damaged her property.

Originally approved in 2017, the development located at 10850 El Camino Real aimed to build 48 senior living apartments, 20 townhomes, seven single-family residential cottages, parking, and amenities.

During a Feb. 7 Planning Commission meeting, Community Development Director Phil Dunsmore explained that the original tract map approved for the development expired in 2019. The developer came back to the city in 2022 with a revised tract map that would convert the senior apartments into 43 condominiums.

On Feb. 7, city resident Paula Ramsum—who has an ongoing lawsuit against both the city and developer over flooding from the project site in 2021—asked commissioners to delay approval of the new map until it reviews what she called drainage issues at the construction site. She also submitted a letter to the Planning Commission prior to the meeting.

"At this point, construction has taken years to build, still is not complete, and now they want to build more," Ramsum wrote in the letter. "I was never informed of this plan to divert more water than this small drain can handle. I was never informed that my house could be in danger."

Ramsum alleges that before her property flooded on Jan. 27, 2021, construction crews diverted water runoff from the construction site into an 18-inch wide drain located in the back corner of her property.

In her lawsuit, Ramsum claims that she was misled by the developer, who originally promised to perform repairs on her property located at 920 La Costa Lane after it flooded. The lawsuit alleges that the city of Atascadero is complicit in the damages to Ramsum's property because it owns the storm drain. City approval of re-grading and storm drain improvements combined with a recommendation to place silt protection fabric over the storm drain caused "government induced flooding," according to the suit.

On Feb. 7, Ramsum's lawyer, John Belscher, urged commissioners to take a closer look at the map before making a decision.

"Should we plunge ahead and hope that it all works out again, knowing that we still have a rainy season ahead of us?" Belscher asked during the meeting. "Or, are we going to take a leap of faith and say, 'Well, we're pretty sure the engineers will figure this out?'"

Commissioners requested that staff review the project again before it returned for discussion at the Feb. 21 meeting. In a letter submitted to the Planning Commission, property developer spokesperson/representative John Carnesale disputed the allegations made by Ramsum and her lawyer during public comment at the Feb. 7 meeting, claiming no wrongdoing.

Carnesale pointed to city-approved drainage plans that raised the site elevation by 8 feet to ensure runoff only ended up in the retention basin. Carnesale also claimed that the 2021 flooding incident was a "freak occurrence," referring to the drainage improvements still being under construction.

"The developer has been in the city of Atascadero for 25 years, as owners of the 140 apartment units across El Camino. After 25 years, there are no significant complaints from the tenants or neighbors of that complex," Carnesale wrote. "After 25 years, the developer has no desire to cause issues with the neighbors, and it would only appear that only one neighbor is disgruntled and unhappy with the situation."

After reviewing information presented about the project, the Planning Commission voted to unanimously approve the updated tract map. Unless the project is appealed, the project will not require approval from City Council. Δ