The San Luis Obispo City Council held a public meeting on July 20, 2021 and made some headway on important communitywide topics. Here’s a brief recap of what happened.
Post Date:07/21/2021 6:02 PM
The San Luis Obispo City Council held a public meeting last night and made some headway on important communitywide topics. Here’s a brief recap of what happened.
Open SLO Long-term Strategies: At last night's study session, Council directed staff to develop a permanent Open SLO program (including parklets, sidewalk dining, and the one-way configuration of Monterey Street between Chorro and Morro streets). Thousands of people provided feedback through a survey in advance of the meeting and staff will bring this program plan back for formal public review at a later date.
SLO Museum of Art Lease and Community Partnership Agreement: Council approved a lease amendment and community partnership agreement with the SLO Museum of Art. The museum will manage the City’s Public Art Program for the next 2 years, which will include downtown public art installations, roundabout public art installations, and neighborhood greenway installations. This will help draw more patrons and visitors to San Luis Obispo as well as beautify the City.
Housing and Homelessness:
RFP for a Mental Health Clinician: Council authorized City staff to move forward with a Request for Proposals for a Mental Health Clinician, which will help the City add a second team to its Community Action Team (CAT) program. The team consists of a Mental Health Clinician and a police officer. This is a physically and mentally demanding role that requires assessments and services to be administered in the field during response calls through emergency dispatch or as identified by on-site observation during regular patrol duties. The RFP will be posted on the City’s website at a later date.
Climate Action, Open Space & Sustainable Transportation:
Update on Groundwater Sustainability Plan: Acting as the City of San Luis Obispo Groundwater Sustainability Agency, Council received an update on the development of the SLO Basin Groundwater Sustainability Plan. Council provided input, including support for the inclusion of a project to sell City recycled water to the Edna Valley Growers within the GSP. A final copy of the plan is scheduled to be brought before the City Council for adoption on December 7, 2021.
Railroad Safety Trail updates: The Railroad Safety Trail is identified as one of the highest priority projects in the City’s Active Transportation Plan and supports the City’s major goals around climate action, open space and sustainable transportation. Council approved adding more safety lighting throughout the trail and to extend it 200 feet south to the intersection at Mill and Pepper streets.
Award the Orcutt/Tank Farm Roundabout Project: The City awarded the construction of the project to Souza Construction. This high-priority transportation project supports two major city goals related to (1) Climate Action, Open Space and Sustainable Transportation and (2) Housing and Homelessness, by providing the infrastructure needed to support housing production within the Orcutt Area and improve mobility and safety for all road users.
The next City Council meeting will take place on August 24, 2021.
How to Participate
Tune in Remotely
While City Council meetings happen in person, you may also tune in for the live discussion or review meeting recordings
Televised live on Charter Cable Channel 20
View a livestream of the meeting on the City’s YouTube channel: http://youtube.slo.city (videos here are also recorded for on-demand viewing)
The City Council accepts public comment in-person, but if you can’t attend a meeting you may also provide public comment via mail, email, voicemail or video message. Please be sure to submit your public comment by 3:00 PM on the day of meeting
Mail: Send U.S. Mail to City Clerk at 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
All emails and letters will be archived/distributed to councilmembers, however, submissions after 3:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting may not be archived/distributed until the following day. Emails and letters will not be read aloud during the meeting.
Voicemail: Call (805) 781-7164 to leave a voicemail; State and spell your name, reference the agenda item number you are calling about, and leave your comment. Voicemails are limited to 3 minutes. All voicemails will be forwarded to the Council Members and saved as Agenda Correspondence. Voicemails will not be played during the meeting.
Video: Limit your video to 3 minutes, email your mp4 video to emailcouncil@slocity.org or drop off a USB containing the video to the City Clerk’s Office at 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. Videos will be forwarded to the Council Members and saved as Agenda Correspondence. Videos will not be played during the meeting.
