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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/6/2021 Item PC, Swigger Wilbanks, Megan From:Bettina Swigger < To:E-mail Council Website Subject:Downtown SLO's 2021-2023 Budget Goal Setting Comments Attachments:Downtown SLO Advocacy Major City Goals 2021-2023.pdf PDF attached; full text of letter below Dear Mayor Harmon, City Council, and City Staff, On behalf of the Board of Directors of Downtown SLO, I am pleased to submit the following recommendations for the City of San Luis Obispo’s 2021-2023 Budget Goal Setting Process. 1 Thank you for including Downtown Vitality as a Major City Goal in the current two-year budget plan. 2020 was an extraordinary year for our Downtown. Downtown has been visibly, fundamentally changed because of COVID-19. Because the Downtown Vitality Major City goal was in place, our organization’s partnership with the City has strengthened and deepened, and as a result, we have been able to more quickly adapt to the dynamic business- environment during the COVID-19 pandemic together. We commend the work the City has engaged in, from rapid deployment of parklets to investing in new holiday celebrations. We are living through hard times, but there have been bright spots. We were pleased to see Downtown Vitality as an area of focus emerging from the Community Priorities Survey and the Community Workshop and it is clear that many of the other top priorities identified intersect with Downtown Vitality. Economic Recovery, Housing, Infrastructure, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Homelessness are all relevant in our downtown, and our city must have a vibrant Downtown in order for all of these important issues to be addressed. We encourage you to again keep Downtown Vitality as a Major City Goal in the next two-year budget cycle. Prior to the pandemic, Downtown San Luis Obispo was the economic, cultural, and social center of our dynamic region and its success will be critical to the overall economic recovery of our city. Downtown is home to plentiful retail and dining establishments and an array of cultural and entertainment options. New hotels opened just prior to the pandemic will be ready to accept new visitors as we emerge from this period and we must have a vibrant downtown to welcome them. Our businesses are suffering and the very nature of our work to bring people together has been radically disrupted. Going forward, it will be imperative for all of us to work together to make Downtown a safe, attractive and welcoming environment, while supporting local access and varied use of the public and private spaces therein. We advocate for you to address Downtown Vitality through the following lenses: 1.Economic Resiliency We encourage the City to continue providing direct relief to local business through grant programs and creative initiatives like the Buy Local Bonus program. We also encourage the City to continue to offer marketing support to local businesses and to spotlight Downtown as an economic center for local spending and for visitor spending, when the time comes. 2. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion We invite the City to invest in programs and activities that benefit the complete range of people and cultures and to support projects that are affordable and accessible for all. We hope that arts and culture will be elevated as a way to celebrate our differences and our similarities. 3. Innovation We encourage the City to continue pandemic response activities into the next two-year budget cycle, including permanent parklets for outdoor dining, and investing in more permanent improvements such as permanent tables and chairs for Mission Plaza that can allow the Downtown Dine Out program to continue. We support the implementation of enhanced cleaning services and the daily use of sidewalk sweepers in the downtown. 4. Environmental Placemaking 2 We ask for additional support from the City when the time comes for the return of beloved programs & activities that have been suspended, such as Thursday Night Farmers’ Market and Concerts in the Plaza, and we encourage a spirit of entrepreneurship when it comes to their operation. We support the evolution of the Open SLO program and invite the City to continue to think creatively about ways to use the public right-of-way and public space, including Mission Plaza, the creek walk and parks adjacent to downtown to create safe places for families to explore and enjoy. We advocate for housing in the Downtown core, and encourage the adoption of policies that create multi-use developments and redevelopments in the downtown core. We recognize that affordable housing is a pressing issue for our community to remain vital, especially for those who have retail and service jobs in the Downtown core. We advocate for multimodal transportation in order to improve access to Downtown. As transportation needs shift on a macro level, the City of SLO must ensure that infrastructure exists to provide proper access to our urban center. We support increased marketing and promotion efforts for public transportation to increase ridership. We support expanded bicycle paths and appropriate bicycle parking/storage downtown. We support the implementation of the Active Transportation Plan to provide better access for all to come and enjoy downtown. Finally, we strongly advocate for the further implementation of the Downtown Concept Plan. We were pleased to participate in the creation of the Downtown Concept Plan and Mission Plaza Concept Plan. Working in concert with private business and government, many of these dreams can become a reality in the next two years, including the construction to begin on the Palm/Nipomo street parking structure, which will also be the site for the new SLO Rep theatre, the establishment of a cultural district and the renovation of the restrooms/Adobe in Mission Plaza. 5. Fiscal Responsibility We ask you to enhance public/private partnerships such as the continuation of the Contracts for Services with Downtown SLO to provide services and facilitate events. The City has supported an expanded Clean and Safe program providing additional ambassador hours of service in the Downtown Business Improvement Area, and starting in December 2020, a new partnership with CAPSLO began to provide outreach to unhoused individuals in the Downtown to build trust and connect them to services. Most recently, we partnered on the very successful Light Up Downtown holiday initiative, which has been partially extended into 2021. We invite the City to continue to support and advocate for these efforts and we thank you for your continued support of our weekly Monday Zoom calls, open to all businesses in the downtown. In addition to our participation in the community forum, our Board of Directors and member businesses have been thinking creatively and strategically about specific areas to invest in downtown. On pages 3 &4 of this letter, you can see these items placed in descending order of importance. These were identified through two online meeting sessions with our Board of Directors and one with members of our general business community. 3 As always, we appreciate the time and thoughtful care you put into all of your decisions, and I personally thank you for your service to our community. Sincerely, Bettina Swigger she/her/hers CEO, Downtown SLO 1135 Chorro San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 bettina@downtownslo.com Voice: (805)234-9677 Text: (719)322-6438 Learn about how to support local at DowntownSLO.com 4 5 6 7 Downtown SLO, 1135 Chorro, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 DowntownSLO.com City Council City of San Luis Obispo 990 Palm St. San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Re: City Budget Goal Setting Process 2021-2023 January 21, 2021 Dear Mayor Harmon, City Council, and City Staff, On behalf of the Board of Directors of Downtown SLO, I am pleased to submit the following recommendations for the City of San Luis Obispo’s 2021-2023 Budget Goal Setting Process. Thank you for including Downtown Vitality as a Major City Goal in the current two-year budget plan. 2020 was an extraordinary year for our Downtown. Downtown has been visibly, fundamentally changed because of COVID-19. Because the Downtown Vitality Major City goal was in place, our organization’s partnership with the City has strengthened and deepened, and as a result, we have been able to more quickly adapt to the dynamic business- environment during the COVID-19 pandemic together. We commend the work the City has engaged in, from rapid deployment of parklets to investing in new holiday celebrations. We are living through hard times, but there have been bright spots. We were pleased to see Downtown Vitality as an area of focus emerging from the Community Priorities Survey and the Community Workshop and it is clear that many of the other top priorities identified intersect with Downtown Vitality. Economic Recovery, Housing, Infrastructure, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Homelessness are all relevant in our downtown, and our city must have a vibrant Downtown in order for all of these important issues to be addressed. We encourage you to again keep Downtown Vitality as a Major City Goal in the next two-year budget cycle. Prior to the pandemic, Downtown San Luis Obispo was the economic, cultural, and social center of our dynamic region and its success will be critical to the overall economic recovery of our city. Downtown is home to plentiful retail and dining establishments and an array of cultural and entertainment options. New hotels opened just prior to the pandemic will be ready to accept new visitors as we emerge from this period and we must have a vibrant downtown to welcome them. Our businesses are suffering and the very nature of our work to bring people together has been radically disrupted. Going forward, it will be imperative for all of us to work together to make Downtown a safe, attractive and welcoming environment, while supporting local access and varied use of the public and private spaces therein. We advocate for you to address Downtown Vitality through the following lenses: 1.Economic Resiliency We encourage the City to continue providing direct relief to local business through grant programs and creative initiatives like the Buy Local Bonus program. We also encourage the City to continue to offer marketing support to local businesses and to spotlight Downtown as an economic center for local spending and for visitor spending, when the time comes. Downtown SLO, 1135 Chorro, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 DowntownSLO.com 2. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion We invite the City to invest in programs and activities that benefit the complete range of people and cultures and to support projects that are affordable and accessible for all. We hope that arts and culture will be elevated as a way to celebrate our differences and our similarities. 3. Innovation We encourage the City to continue pandemic response activities into the next two-year budget cycle, including permanent parklets for outdoor dining, and investing in more permanent improvements such as permanent tables and chairs for Mission Plaza that can allow the Downtown Dine Out program to continue. We support the implementation of enhanced cleaning services and the daily use of sidewalk sweepers in the downtown. 4. Environmental Placemaking We ask for additional support from the City when the time comes for the return of beloved programs & activities that have been suspended, such as Thursday Night Farmers’ Market and Concerts in the Plaza, and we encourage a spirit of entrepreneurship when it comes to their operation. We support the evolution of the Open SLO program and invite the City to continue to think creatively about ways to use the public right-of-way and public space, including Mission Plaza, the creek walk and parks adjacent to downtown to create safe places for families to explore and enjoy. We advocate for housing in the Downtown core, and encourage the adoption of policies that create multi-use developments and redevelopments in the downtown core. We recognize that affordable housing is a pressing issue for our community to remain vital, especially for those who have retail and service jobs in the Downtown core. We advocate for multimodal transportation in order to improve access to Downtown. As transportation needs shift on a macro level, the City of SLO must ensure that infrastructure exists to provide proper access to our urban center. We support increased marketing and promotion efforts for public transportation to increase ridership. We support expanded bicycle paths and appropriate bicycle parking/storage downtown. We support the implementation of the Active Transportation Plan to provide better access for all to come and enjoy downtown. Finally, we strongly advocate for the further implementation of the Downtown Concept Plan. We were pleased to participate in the creation of the Downtown Concept Plan and Mission Plaza Concept Plan. Working in concert with private business and government, many of these dreams can become a reality in the next two years, including the construction to begin on the Palm/Nipomo street parking structure, which will also be the site for the new SLO Rep theatre, establishment of a cultural district and the renovation of the restrooms/Adobe in Mission Plaza. 5. Fiscal Responsibility We ask you to enhance public/private partnerships such as the continuation of the Contracts for Services with Downtown SLO to provide services and facilitate events. The City has supported an expanded Clean and Safe program providing additional ambassador hours of service in the Downtown Business Improvement Area, and starting in December 2020, a new partnership with CAPSLO began to provide outreach to unhoused individuals in the Downtown to build trust and connect them to services. Most recently, we partnered on the very successful Light Up Downtown holiday initiative, which has been partially extended into 2021. We invite the City to continue to support and advocate for these efforts and we thank you for your continued support of our weekly Monday Zoom calls, open to all businesses in the downtown. - Downtown SLO, 1135 Chorro, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 DowntownSLO.com In addition to our participation in the community forum, our Board of Directors and member businesses have been thinking creatively and strategically about specific areas to invest in downtown. On pages 3 &4 of this letter, you can see these items placed in descending order of importance. These were identified through two online meeting sessions with our Board of Directors and one with members of our general business community. As always, we appreciate the time and thoughtful care you put into all of your decisions, and I personally thank you for your service to our community. Sincerely, Bettina Swigger Chief Executive Officer, Downtown SLO bettina@DowntownSLO.com Downtown SLO, 1135 Chorro, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 DowntownSLO.com Downtown SLO, 1135 Chorro, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 DowntownSLO.com