HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/22/2020 Item 1, Stackhouse
From:Steph Stackhouse <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Re: Feedback re: downtown street closures
Me again…I had an opportunity to read the plan you’ll be reviewing tomorrow
(https://www.slocity.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=26394&fbclid=IwAR0xtbZ3Gqz2CBm8M86nnTpZRzP8qZ9eRgMjIar_
4LJRKS6rhHq8Y2TcJGY)
And while I’m supportive of the intent there are a couple of areas that are of big concern. Particularly, extending the
Higuera street closure all the way to Nipomo and the proposal to repurpose the parking lot by Old SLO BBQ for outside
dining and retail. The plan says that the goal is to provide equitable access to all businesses but I am struggling to
understand how this benefits businesses other than restaurants (primarily).
My biggest concern is the use of the parking lot 10 and the proposed duration: the program would be in place up to one
year, then would be re-evaluated May 2021. Once we are able to re-open (as part of stage 3), this creates a significant
hurdle for our customers, in addition to the hurdles that will already be in place with taking appropriate physical
distancing measures.
One other comment I have on the plan, as someone with 20+ years of marketing research experience, is the inclusion of
the survey responses. There were only 10 responses to the survey and so I question why this would be included at all. It
provides minimal directional data and so additional due diligence should be done across a broader population to
accurately gauge the appeal.
Please take into consideration the impacts of this plan to a broad range of businesses operating in the core of downtown
SLO.
Thank you,
Stephanie
Stephanie Stackhouse
Owner | SLO Yoga Center
www.sloyogacenter.com
Cell (805) 903-2729
From: Steph Stackhouse <stephstackhouse@gmail.com>
Date: Wednesday, May 20, 2020 at 7:47 AM
To: "emailcouncil@slocity.org" <emailcouncil@slocity.org>
Subject: Feedback re: downtown street closures
I appreciate all the ongoing updates and leadership from our City Council during this challenging time. I’d like
to share my feedback on the plan to provide more open-air spaces for our community to gather and dine as part of
the re-opening.
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I think this is a great idea and will encourage people to come downtown and start supporting local businesses
again. Especially in the short term as we are still in Stage 2 of the state’s resiliency roadmap. However, I have some
concern for the long term impact of this on businesses like mine (SLO Yoga Center – 672 Higuera St (second and third
floors between Broad & Nipomo)), where our customers already give us feedback about having a tough time parking
downtown. I think retail businesses and salons might have a similar sentiment. In addition, depending on how/if things
move forward with the Palm/Nipomo garage, the end of Higuera towards Nipomo will be a more challenging part of
downtown for parking.
So, my feedback and request would be to take into consideration potential impacts to businesses other than restaurants
with the longer term strategy of more parklets and outdoor spaces within the core downtown. Maybe instead of
reducing Higuera to one lane, some portions of side streets could be closed off like a portion of Monterey or Broad. I
know it’s a challenging issue and I’m very supportive of the intent. I just want to share my input as I know this is top of
mind right now.
Thank you for your consideration and I’m very happy to be involved in discussions or offer assistance where I can.
Be well,
Steph
Stephanie Stackhouse
Owner | SLO Yoga Center
www.sloyogacenter.com
Cell (805) 903-2729
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