From: R.C.Grencik
To: City Council
Cc: chaomanestatefoundation(nbgmail.com
Subject: Opinion on Chapman Estate with Historical Perspective Date: Thursday,February 13,2025 1:14:34 PM
Attachments: Ltr2Council-Chapman-13Feb25.docx
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Dear Honorable Council Members:
I respectfully ask that you take a few moments to read the attached letter regarding this issue.
In doing so, you may learn a few issues of historical note.
Thank you for your time - I greatly appreciate it !!
Respectfully,
Rik Grencik
13 February 2025
Honorable Council Members:
The purpose of this letter is to express my support for the continued ownership and maintenance of the Chapman Estate by the City. As the City has learned, although the Chapman Estate was and remains a"once in a lifetime"Gift to the City,obviously, it is expensive to maintain. Besides pointing out the obvious, in a following paragraph I will provide solutions to this challenge but,first, it may be helpful to provide you with a bit of background so that you may understand my perspective.
By way of introduction, my name is Rik Grencik and I have been privileged to live in Shell Beach for over45years. For the Last 40 years of that tenure, I have lived at 369 Santa Fe,which is approximately 3 houses away from the Chapman Estate. During the majority of my time in Shell Beach, I was deeply, deeply honored to know both Clifford Chapman and Don Shidler. Not only were we neighbors, I considered both Clifford and Don to be very dear Friends. In my entire Life, I have never known any individuals who were more giving and generous than Clifford and Don, both individuallyto others and to the community as a whole-if time allowed, I could share hundreds of examples. Besides knowing both Clifford and Don personally, at the time of their ownership I was extremely familiar with the Estate itself due to countless hours spent on the property assisting Clifford and Don in both maintenance and repairs. So much so,that atthe time of Clifford's passing,Don asked me to oversee the maintenance of the property.
As you may be aware, at the time that the City took possession of the property,there was a small but very vocal contingency of individuals that were extremely loud in their opposition to having (any) events at the Estate. Having personally discussed with Clifford the actual cost of maintaining the property multiple times, I knew how expensive it was. At the time that the"opposition"was raising a stink with the City, I expressed my views to the Council that in order to maintain and continually improve the Estate, it was imperative that the City have the latitude to have enough events to provide for the funding that the Estate required. I predicted and shared with the Council that to not have enough events to properly fund the Estate, we would eventually be at the impasse that you are currently in.
Of note, in my opinion,there were two primary opposition members that"scared"the City enough to sway the Council to severely limit the number of events. The first was an attorney who happens to live across the street from the Estate-his threatened lawsuits were continuous. Ironically,he resides in Bakersfield to my best guess at least 80%of the time, if not more. The second primary opposition "voice" that was loud (and obnoxious) was a woman who lived on Santa Fe who relentlessly complained to anyone and everyone that parking was going to be a nightmare for every resident of Shell Beach. Again, ironically,this individual lived more than halfway up the block and has since sold
her home and moved out of the area. For comparison,overthe years,my home which is three houses away from the Estate has rarely been impacted by parking and that's even before the City required parking at the school. For perspective, even during the large events that Clifford would have, I never saw a parking issue on Santa Fe much farther up the street than my Home.
In my opinion,the solution for the City is simple. Increase the number of allowed events at the Estate to fund the property. If the City chose to make it an Enterprise Fund, so be it. As each budget was Laid out, allow the number of events for that year to adequately support the maintenance and continued improvement of the property. I highly suspect that without overwhelming the surrounding neighbors, the City could actually make money off of the Estate. Even with inflation, at $10,000 to $15,000 per, a half dozen or so weddings a year would go a long way to supporting the Estate.
Once again from a historical perspective, every one of the Shell Beach neighbors, whether they live close to the Estate or far away, knew that the Chapman Estate existed prior to the time they moved in. If they didn't know before they moved to Shell Beach, at the time of Clifford and Don's residency at the Estate, they soon learned that there were numerous events at the Estate, and certainly, far more than exist now. Additionally, I highly doubt that any Shell Beach Resident, or any of the thousands of visitors to Shell Beach think of it as an eyesore. It's like moving next to an airport and then complaining about the noise.
Any City has a responsibility to enhance their attributes. Morro Bay has the Harbor, and I am certain that the harbor impacts those that live nearby. San Francisco has Fisherman's Warf and, again that area is impacted. San Luis Obispo chooses to have their famous Farmer's Market that impacts the neighbors. The City of Pismo Beach has been given the unbelievable and generous Gift of the Chapman Estate. In accepting this Gift, like other Communities they now have an opportunity to enhance the City for both the Residents and the Visitors.
To give up on this opportunity is the easy way out. As an individual who has lived close to the Estate for decades, I can honestly attest that there is very little impact to the surrounding neighbors. strongly encourage you to not take the cowardly way out by giving up on this incredible Gift. If necessary,find and have the courage to stand up against the simpletons(those that yell"No"loudly) by embracing and enhancing this Gift that we have been provided.
Even though you will be discussing this issue in closed Session, had the opportunity to express these views in person been provided, I would have happily done so. Thank you very much for your time.
Respectfully,
R. C. Grencik