Mayor Karen Bright of Governments to improve infrastructure in this area where new housing units were being built. The remainder of the project funding included state transportation funds and the city’s general fund, plus gas tax revenue, and other sources. Guided by the West Grand Avenue Master Plan, adopted in 2011, the project’s key features include a new landscaped center median, new crosswalks with enhanced safety features, pavement rehabilitation, a painted bike lane, new streetlights, new storm drains, and more trees. Bronson adds that the city is also working with CalTrans (California Department of Transportation) to improve pedestrian access and safety where West Grand Avenue crosses State Highway 1 and ends at the coast.“We will see more demand for that crossing as we have more housing units, more residents, and more customers wanting to stroll a few blocks to enjoy our great beach,” he said. “The West Grand Avenue development represents a total transformation of our main commercial corridor,” Eriksson states. “Our downtown will be completely different. It will drive people to the area businesses.And adding housing will make it an area where everyone will want to be. I think beyond the aesthetic appeal, the pedestrian improvements will get people out, walking and interacting with each other and our businesses.” THE HOUSING AGENDA Regarding new housing, Bronson conveyed that a housing shortage is a significant issue throughout the entire region and state, and every city is required to have a certain number of housing units identified over a multi-year period.“Our goal as a city is to help increase housing availability on all different levels including affordable housing,” Bronson states. “But Grover Beach is a two-mile-square built-out city; we don’t have any areas where hundreds of singlefamily housing units can be built. So, more housing in our city means infill developments and increasing housing units through greater height and density.” “Right now, we have 150 housing units under construction on West Grand Avenue, a third of which are deed-restricted ‘affordable’ for low and very low-income individuals in our community. We’re Mayor Pro Tem Robert Robert 7 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 12 GROVER BEACH, CA
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