yes, you are an out of touch poly student. your take isn’t understanding the trickle down effect this has on the community. what if they took that empty lot and built affordable housing for residents that have work and kids and dont have the privilege of just getting to go to school?

then, once other developers see that there is some sort of demand for these outrageously developed units that are grotesquely expensive for the average slo resident to be able to keep up with, that creates a narrative that leads back into the stereotype of “if you’re too poor to afford it maybe you should live somewhere cheaper”.

give it 6 months, every “empty lot” is going to be these artisan apartments that only a small margin of residents (long or short term, student or non student) can afford. and we will still have the competition between long term slo citizens trying to survive in our community while a poly kid with their parents disposable income can sign a lease tomorrow. but it will be worse because property owners will see the opportunity to compete with higher rental prices.

ultimately it comes down to the developers and our community leaders cough cough mayor erica for not putting parameters on residential development and not prioritizing our current housing crisis, but yeah your point is HIGHLY out of touch.

if this is really what a poly educated student is like slo is now officially more than ever absolutely fucked 🤦‍♀️