HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/2/2021 Item 11, Khorram
Wilbanks, Megan
From:Roya Leuteritz <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:URGENT: NO Pickle Ball Mitchell Park
SLO City Council,
I am sure you have seen Paul's email. I have copied it below. While a dear comrade of mine, I am not quite as peaceful
with my words as he is.
My name is Roya Khorram. I watch in the middle of the night as the cop cars, 8 of them, arrive to the park, maskless, to
remove our homeless who seek shelter there. 12am. They say, "Park is closed." "Get out of here." "Maintenance." The
city closes the park for maintenance to avoid committing an illegal human rights violation, under United States law. Now
this council is attempting something that will be used as a new tactic to justify treating humans who are experiencing
economic hardship, addiction, trauma.. like dogs. A pickle ball court.
I am tired today. I am tired of the city instagram page full of rhetoric about going downtown and spending all your money
at these large corp shops, in the middle of a global pandemic where we are being asked to stay at home. 200k for gift
cards? What were you thinking?
I live in a city where we treat young black women angry about injustice like felons, unhoused like termites, and public
safety like a back burner issue to corporate greed and capitalist consumption. Let me reiterate, fuck the property values.
And enough with this pickle ball. There are people barely surviving. in your streets. in the cold. It is a global pandemic. We
are a people in crisis.
When you look back 20 years from now and people ask you what was on your agenda during the Covid-19 global
pandemic, during a civil rights movement, a housing crisis, a climate catastrophe, you will tell them, "we were fighting with
the community about putting a pickle ball court in the park."
Roya Khorram
From Paul:
I am writing today to express my extreme disposition to the idea of citing pickleball courts in Mitchell Park.
Pickleball courts are like golf courses. They serve a disproportionately small fraction of the community for the amount of
area they consume. Fortunately for the rest of us, golf courses are generally placed at the outskirts of City limits due to
their expansive footprints. A pickleball court, however, could "fit" into the small area Mitchell Park provides. But that "fit"
will come at the expense of one of the nicest green places in SLO, and what has become the de-facto gathering site for
freedom of speech in SLO.
I can imagine several other larger parks in SLO that afford the space to add pickleball courts without jeopardizing the
overall feel of the park. Laguna Lake, Meadow Park and Sinsheimer Park all come to mind. There is plenty of space at
these parks, and a large paved area like a pickleball court wouldn't necessarily detract from the feel and setting of the
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park. A pickleball court at Mitchell Park is a horrible idea and it will destroy the quaint, calm feel of the little downtown
gem.
Furthermore, and a pickleball court would drastically reduce the available space for gatherings, rallies, and free speech
events at Mitchell Park. Is it possible that the City is interested in curtailing these events by paving the park for a very
select few who would use the pickleball court?
There are several better locations for a pickleball court at SLO parks. Mitchell Park is not the right location. Please do not
ruin this beautiful, peaceful space.
Respectfully,
Paul Andreano
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