How can I communicate with City Council
How can I express my opinion on an upcoming Council agenda item?
During the meeting:
Council Meetings are held in-person, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, unless otherwise posted on the agenda.
In-Person Participation: Speakers are encouraged to complete a Speaker Card (available in paper or digital form) and provide it to the Clerk before the meeting starts. The Mayor will call speakers in the order received and you will have up to 3-minutes to address the Council. Note: Municipal Advocates must disclose themselves as such and identify the party(ies) represented per SLOMC Sec. 2.64.070.
Prior to the meeting:
Written Communication (received 3 hours prior to the meeting): All interested persons are invited submit written communications to the City Council (emailcouncil@slocity.org) to express their opinions for or against the agenda item. Citizens are encouraged to present written comments (including email) no later than 3 hours prior to the meeting. This provides the Council with a greater opportunity to review and consider issues and/or concerns expressed prior to the meeting. All emails and letters will be archived in the public record for the meeting and distributed to councilmembers, however, submissions received less than 3 hours prior to the meeting may not be archived/distributed until the following day. Emails and letters will not be read aloud during the meeting.
Verbal Comment (received 3 hours prior to the meeting): To leave a verbal comment for City Council in advance of the meeting, 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 Comment (received 3 hours prior to the meeting): Limited 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.
Electronic Visual Aid Presentation
To conform with the City's Network Access and Use Policy, as detailed in the Council Policies and Procedures Manual, 1.3.8 Public Use of Visual Aids at Council Meetings, members of the public who desire to utilize electronic visual aids to supplement their oral presentation are encouraged to provide display-ready material to the City Clerk by 12:00 noon on the day of the meeting.
Sign up to receive emails when City Council agendas are posted, or for the various Advisory Bodies to the City Council, or to our various news stories posted to the City's website.
Where can I access past meeting records or watch past meetings?
- The Records Archive contains a vast array of records including past City Council meeting agendas and minutes.
- Minutes from as far back as 1870 are available.
- The Action Update informs of Council Action the day following meetings and should only be used as a reference until the official Minutes are created.
- The Video Archive contains meetings prior to June 2020. Meetings following June 2020 may be watched on the City's YouTube channel.
New Format for Advisory Body Agendas:
We are currently transitioning our Advisory Bodies to our new City Council style agenda format. If the Advisory Body agenda you are interested in is not listed above, please visit their individual Advisory Body webpage.
How can I communicate with the Advisory Bodies?
During the meeting: The City has returned to an in-person meeting format. If you would like to address an Advisory Body during the meeting, you must be present at the meeting location. Speakers are encouraged to complete a Speaker Card (available in paper or digital form) and provide it to the Clerk before the meeting starts. The Chair will call speakers in the order received and you will have up to 3-minutes to address the Advisory Body. If you have questions, contact the City Clerk's Office at cityclerk@slocity.org or (805) 781-71114. Note: Municipal Advocates must disclose themselves as such and identify the party(ies) represented per SLOMC Sec. 2.64.070
Written Communication: All interested persons are invited submit advance written communications to the Advisory Body (advisorybodies@slocity.org) to express their opinions for or against the agenda item. Citizens are encouraged to present written comments (including email) no later than 3-hours in advance of the meeting time/day. This provides the Advisory Body members with a greater opportunity to review and consider issues and/or concerns expressed prior to the meeting. All emails and letters will be archived in the public record (Agenda Correspondence) for the meeting and distributed to councilmembers, however, submissions after 3-hours in advance deadline may not be archived/distributed until the following day. Emails and letters will not be read aloud during the meeting.
Verbal Comment (received no later than 3-hours in advance of the meeting time/day): To leave a verbal comment for the Advisory Body in advance of the meeting, 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 Advisory Body members and saved as Agenda Correspondence. Voicemails will not be played during the meeting.
Video Comment (received no later than 3-hours in advance of the meeting time/day): Limited to 3 minutes, email your mp4 video to advisorybodies@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 Advisory Body Members and saved as Agenda Correspondence. Videos will not be played during the meeting.
Please contact the City Clerk’s office for assistance.
Electronic Visual Aid Presentation
To conform with the City's Network Access and Use Policy, as detailed in the Council Policies and Procedures Manual, 1.3.8 Public Use of Visual Aids at Council Meetings, members of the public who desire to utilize electronic visual aids to supplement their oral presentation are encouraged to provide display-ready material to the City Clerk by 12:00 noon on the day of the meeting.
Sign up to receive emails when the agenda for the Advisory Body you have interest in is posted. This tool also allows you to subscribe to City Council and Advisory Body agendas, and to our various news stories posted to the City's website.
Where can I access past meeting records or watch past meetings?
- The Records Archive contains a vast array of records including past Advisory Body Agendas and Minutes.
- The Action Update informs of Advisory Body Action the day following meetings (Architectural Review Commission, Cultural Heritage Committee, Planning Commission and Tree Committee only.) These should only be used as a reference until the official Minutes are created.
- The Audio/Video Archive contains recordings of past Advisory Body meetings. Note that the Planning Commission is the only Advisory Body with video recordings available. Planning Commission meetings prior to June 2020 are held in the Video Archive. Meetings following June 2020 may be watched on the City's YouTube channel.
When and where does Council meet?
Date and Time: The City Council meets the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 5:30 p.m.
Location: Council Chambers at City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo.
Parking: Starting on July 8, 2024, any community member who attends a public City Council or City Advisory Body meeting can receive a complimentary parking validation ticket that will provide one hour of free parking in the parking garages at 919 Palm Street or 871 Marsh Street. Learn more here.
When and where do Advisory Bodies meet?
For in-person meetings please see agendas for meeting locations as they may vary due to room size needs for continued COVID-19 safety protocol.
- Area Agency on Aging (AAA): Meets the 4th Thursday of each month at 3:00 p.m. at the Central Coast Commission for Senior Citizens in Santa Maria, 582 South Broadway, Santa Maria
- Administrative Review Board (ARB): Meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 3:00 p.m. in the Council Hearing room, City Hall, 990 Palm Street
- Architectural Review Commission (ARC): Meets on the first and third Monday of each month at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Hearing Room, City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo
- Active Transportation Committee (ATC): Meets at least quarterly, the third Thursday of every other month (starting January) at 6:00 p.m. in the City Council Hearing Room, City Hall, 990 Palm Street, SLO.
- Construction Board of Appeals (CBoA): Meetings are scheduled on an as-needed basis.
- Council Compensation Committee (CCC): When convened, meetings are scheduled on an as-needed basis.
- Cultural Heritage Committee (CHC): Meets the fourth Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Hearing Room, City Hall, 990 Palm Street, SLO.
- Housing Authority (HA): Meets the third Thursday of each month at noon in the Housing Authority office located at 487 Leff Street, SLO.
- Human Relations Commission (HRC): Meets at least quarterly, the first Wednesday of the month at 5:00 p.m. in the Council Hearing Room, City Hall, 990 Palm Street, SLO.
- Investment Oversight Committee (IOC): Meets quarterly and on an as-needed basis. Location varies depending on room availability. See current agenda.
- Mass Transportation Committee (MTC): Meets the second Wednesday of every other month at 2:30 p.m. in the Council Hearing Room, City Hall, 990 Palm Street, SLO.
- Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC): Meets the first Wednesday of every month at 5:30 p.m. in the Parks and Recreation Conference Room, 1341 Nipomo Street, SLO.
- Personnel Board (PB): Meets on an as-needed basis. Location varies depending on room availability and need. See posted agenda.
- Planning Commission (PC): meets the first and third Wednesdays of each month at 6:00 p.m in the City Council Chamber, City Hall, 990 Palm Street, SLO.
- Promotional Coordinating Committee (PCC): Meets the second Wednesday of every month at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Hearing Room, City Hall, 990 Palm Street, SLO.
- Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID): Meets the second Wednesday of every month at 10:00 a.m. in the City Council Hearing Room, City Hall, 990 Palm Street.
- Tree Committee (TC): Meets the fourth Monday of every month at 5:30 p.m. at the City's Corporation Yard located at 25 Prado Road, SLO.
For more information about the various Advisory Bodies please see their individual web pages.
Schedule changes and additional meetings which may be scheduled are publicly noticed in advance of meetings according to Brown Act regulations. See agendas when posted.
