HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/6/2021 Item PC, Christie
Wilbanks, Megan
From:Santa Lucia Sierra Club <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Feb. 6 Major Goal Setting meeting
Dear Councilmembers,
Pursuant to your Feb. 6 meeting on Major City Goals, we are re-sending the Sierra Club’s letter per your public workshop
last month. Please post in the Agenda Correspondence for the meeting.
We agree that the acquisition and maintenance of open space is operationalized by the City as an ongoing project. That,
however, is not a basis for the omission of open space from Major City Goals, because the protection of open space,
separate from acquisition or maintenance, is not operationalized. Maintenance is focused on recreation. Restoring open
space protection as a Major City Goal goes to the primary purpose of the City’s natural reserves, as described in your
General Plan: the protection of wildlife and natural resources. Please note the wording used in the City's recent surveys
cited below, which registered overwhelming support from city residents for “Open space preservation,” “Preservation of
Open Space and Natural Areas,” and the City Council’s 2015 designation of “Protect and Maintain Open Space” as a
Major City Goal.
Andrew Christie, Director
Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club
P.O. Box 15755
San Luis Obispo, CA 93406
(805) 543-8717
Re: 2021-23 Financial Plan Process
Dear Mayor Harmon and Councilmembers,
In 2012, the City distributed a detailed survey to 25,000 residents and business owners as part of its General
Plan update process.
Survey recipients were asked this question: On a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being less and 5 being more, do you
think the city should provide less, about the same, or more of each of the following services? If you think the
city should provide more or less of a certain service, indicate whether you would be willing to pay more for it or
whether you would divert funds from that use to other services.
When staff collated the more than 2,000 responses received, they found that out of all city services, only four
service areas were supported by a majority of respondents, who approved of seeking additional facilities and
services: 58% supported acquiring and maintaining open space for peaks and hillsides, 54% supported acquiring
and maintaining more open space land for the city’s greenbelt, 53% supported more open space land for creeks
and marshes, and 50% would like more bike lanes. Further, staff reported, “Despite support for some services,
only a slight majority of respondents said they would support paying more for just two; 54% for open space for
peaks and hillsides, and 52% for open space for the City’s Greenbelt.”
To a survey question seeking input on the most and least important aspects of “quality of life,” respondents
overwhelmingly rated the natural environment (air quality, open space) as having the highest impact on their
quality of life (71.1%).
Natural open space was the clear top priority, and those 2,000+ responses from residents and business owners
remain to this day the largest response the City has received from any survey on the subject.
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In 2014, “Open space preservation” was the first funding priority listed in the text of Measure G, the City’s
sales tax renewal measure.
In 2015, the City Council’s designation of “Protect and Maintain Open Space” as a Major City Goal and a top
priority for the City resulted in the adoption of an Open Space Maintenance Plan, the hiring of a sufficient
number of rangers to patrol and maintain the City’s natural reserves, enforcement of the Open Space Ordinance
in the city’s natural areas, and the convening of a Natural Resources Roundtable.
In 2017, the City Council dropped open space protection as either a Major City Goal or Other Important
Objective for the first time in more than 20 years.
The results of the 2020 City Survey for the Sales Tax Measure/ Measure G ranked “Preserve open space and
natural areas” at #1 (“Final Online Survey Results,” page 1), duplicating the result of the 2018 sales tax
community survey, in which “Preservation of Open Space and Natural Areas” received the highest percentage
in the “Extremely Important” ranking among all City infrastructure projects and services.
SLO’s natural open space reserves are the primary reason for SLO’s famous designation as “one of the
happiest cities in the United States” in the book Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way, which pointed
to the significant role they play in enhancing the quality of life for residents.
Now more than ever, the protection and maintenance of the City's natural areas should be a Major City Goal
for 2021-23.
Thank you for this opportunity to comment,
Andrew Christie, Director
Sierra Club Santa Lucia Chapter
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