HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-01-2023 PRC MinutesCity of San Luis Obispo, Agenda, Planning Commission
Minutes
PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
Parks and Recreation Commission
Minutes
February 1, 2023
Library Community Room – 995 Palm Street
The City of San Luis Obispo has returned to in-person meetings. Zoom participation will not
be supported. For those attending in-person, City facilities will be at limited capacity and
masks are strongly recommended.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT:
Public Comment prior to the meeting (must be received 3 hours in advance of the
meeting):
Mail - Delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. Address letters to the City Clerk's
Office at 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California, 93401.
Email - Submit Public Comments via email to advisorybodies@slocity.org. In
the body of your email, please include the date of the meeting and the item number
(if applicable). Emails will not be read aloud during the meeting.
Voicemail - Call (805) 781-7164 and leave a voicemail. Please state and spell your
name, the agenda item number you are calling about, and leave your comment.
Verbal comments must be limited to 3 minutes. All voicemails will be forwarded to the
members and saved as Agenda Correspondence. Voicemails will not be played
during the meeting.
*All correspondence will be archived and distributed to members, however, submissions
received after the deadline will not be processed until the following day.
Public Comment during the meeting:
Meetings have returned to an in-person format. To provide public comment during the
meeting, you must be present in the Library Community Room, 995 Palm Street. Zoom
participation will not be supported. The Parks and Recreation Department is located 1341
Nipomo Street, San Luis Obispo. If you have questions, contact the City Clerk's Office at
cityclerk@slocity.org or (805) 781-7100.
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Wednesday, February 1, 2023
5:30 p.m. REGULAR MEETING Library Community Room
995 Palm Street
CALL TO ORDER: Chair Robert Spector (absent)
ROLL CALL : Vice Chair Kari Howell, Commissioners Rick Blair, Kari Duperron and Andrew
Webber present. Kris Roudebush (absent) and Adam Stowe (absent).
(Four of the seven commissioners present adhere to a quorum)
PUBLIC COMMENT: At this time, people may address the Committee about items not on the
agenda. Persons wishing to speak should come forward and state their name and address. Comments
are limited to three minutes per person. Items raised at this time are generally referred to staff and, if
action by the Committee is necessary, may be scheduled for a future meeting.
CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES
1. Motion made to approve the Minutes of the Parks and Recreation Committee meeting of
January 4, 2023. Motion to accept the January DRAFT minutes was made by Commissioner
Webber with a Second by Commissioner Blair. The motion passed and the minutes were
accepted.
CONSENT ITEMS
NA
BUSINESS ITEMS
2. Presentation on the Final Concept Plan for the Laguna Lake Dog Park Project
(Kloepper/Long – 30 minutes)
Recommendation: Receive presentation from City Planning Staff on the updated scope and
concept design for the Laguna Lake Dog Park.
1. Review and provide feedback on final concept layout.
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2. Provide additional direction to Staff to proceed with design.
Commissioner questions:
Commissioner Blair: Dry creek bed and its location makes sense. Will grading be
happening for drainage?
Klopper: Yes, we will work with our Civil Engineers. We could propose several options.
Director Avakian: Tonight’s goal is to review this plan and assure we captured the concepts.
The details will come later.
Commissioner Blair: Walkway and sidewalk around the edge of the parking area would be a
good addition. Will a specific area for puppies be included?
Erica Long: Temporary fence line could accommodate this.
Commissioner Webber: Will wait for public input.
Twelve members of the public (Sherry Lewis, Kathy Smith, John McKenzie, Kathy
Kimball, Pamela Werth, Sandra Colbert, Bob Goldman, Lori Renee, Gordon Mullin,
Kelly Heffernon, Scott Prentis and Bill Weiner) presented their input on Laguna Lake
Dog Park to the Commissioners.
Sherry Lewis: Where are the rocks located and fencing? It doesn’t look far enough out.
Sidewalk inside is great for accessibility.
Director Avakian: Boulders have been there quite a while and borders the three acres. That
is the footprint we are working with.
Kathy Smith: Excited about park upgrades. I go to many parks in the city. Pleased that you
have been listening to the public. Concerned about underground infrastructure issue. Funding
the project for adequate staffing is needed to make it successful.
John McKenzie: Friends of SLO City Dog Parks. 1) Move fencing away from Dalidio
Drive. 2) Modify small dog area to improve for alternative activities. 3) Water features are
needed. A fun interactive dog water feature. 4) Wind protection is important and needed
sooner rather than later. 5) Large dog area for dogs that do not get along with small dogs.
Kathy Kimball: I’m a frequent dog park user. Disagree that a separate large dog areas are
needed. Parking is a concern and the water runoff and mud. Appreciate the additional
sidewalk and access areas on the outside areas to accommodate ADA accessibility.
Pamela Werth: I’m a frequent dog park user. My concern is splitting the park into two areas.
Do not need a separate mixed-use area.
Sandra Colbert: I’m a frequent dog park user. The dogs will get along, so we don’t need to
separate them. We need more parking and more accessibility parking.
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Bob Goldman: Has reviewed and discussed the “Friends of the Dog” park proposal was and
expressed that he did not think the survey provided adequate information as reviewed by the
Wallace Group.
Lori Renee: We go to El Chorro park instead of Laguna Lake Park. The design is not
conducive for large dog that don’t like small dogs. Please consider having a large dog only
section.
Gordon Mullin: Parking revision suggestion. Bark mulch is a poor choice for ground cover
because it breaks down when it gets wet. Dogs don’t like rock features, so that’s not needed.
Good to have a separate large and small dog area. I am not in support of the agility area.
Less trees.
Kelly Heffernan: Many people don’t go to Laguna Lake Park dog park because it is not
enclosed. It is not fair that little dogs can go into both areas, but big dogs can only go into the
large dog area. I am not in favor of the mixed-use area. Need parking modifications and
enlarge the overall area.
Scott Prentice: This design is much improved. Don’t use wood chips. A small dog area is
not needed. Leave the fencing open.
Bill Weiner: Do not support over all fencing. Don’t need dry creek as there is a natural creek.
Small dog park area is needed. Fencing is needed so dogs don’t run off. Current parking is
bad, and we need parking.
Commissioner Webber: Outer fence is mandatory. Large dog area would be good. Two
sections would be good. DG is best (groundcover). Dry creek bed is for drainage and that’s
good. Could a wind screen be added as a temporary measure until trees grow?
Commissioner Dupperon: Bark mulch/ground cover needs to be discussed further. We need
to figure out the dog separation areas.
Commissioner Blair: Finding a balance is the goal. Two versus three spaces seem to be
good. We could always change/revise that with a temporary fencing if needed. Parking
remains an issue. Can we identify more temporary parking identified.
Commissioner Howell: Is this layout conducive for temporary fencing? Temporary fencing
that could be set up. A large dog area and more open space is the public input. Staff, please
address the budget. Shade areas need to be phased in.
Director Avakian: Parking plan reviewed. We are working with Public Works for this
project, and it is part of the overall Laguna Lake enhancements project. Budget was planned
for in 2021 with approximately 400K, costs have increased since then. When we have the
final design, we will have an idea of what work is done at the onset, phased in and what in
addition is needed. We could also do fundraising. Phasing in would include primary shade
areas and phase in smaller ones. We can experiment with temporary or future fencing before
we install something permanent for a third area. Something similar is at French Park.
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3. Receive Department-wide Program Updates (Staff – 40 minutes)
a. Ranger Service, Project Status, General Department-wide Updates
a. Storm Impacts to Facilities and Open Space – FEMA, EOC update, Fiscal
Health Contingency plan. All will impact adding new project plans.
b. Emerson Park RFP update – contract signing.
c. Playground replacement update
b. Youth Services - Looking for a Site Director for Hawthorne Child Care program.
c. Community Services - Jack House and Arboretum tours, Senior Center updates,
Youth Sports - Basketball and Junior Giants, Adult Sports - Softball, Contract
Classes and Community Gardens, Volunteer Program (new Coordinator on-board
Kiersten Anderson),
d. Public Art - Mural project on hold due to storm damage.
e. Aquatics - Staffing at a place where we can offer more scheduling. A new Aquatics
Specialist is now onboard. Lifeguard certification course is now scheduled.
f. Golf - Storm impact and erosion caused bridge closure and a divert to course play.
Were only able to be open for 5 days during the month of January.
g. Facilities - Many fields were closed for the majority of the month of January. French
Park is still closed. NAACP will hold vigil this coming Saturday.
SUBCOMMITTEE LIAISON REPORTS & COMMUNICATIONS
Subcommittee Liaison Reports (Chair– 15 minutes)
a. Adult and Senior Programming: Commissioner Blair
i. No new update.
b. Active Transportation Committee: Commissioner Webber
i. Initiating talks about riding bicycles on the sidewalks
c. Jack House Committee: Vacant
d. Youth Sports Association: Commissioner Stowe (absent)
i. No updates
Communication:
ADJOURNMENT: Meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m.
To the Regular M eeting of the Parks and Recreation Committee as approved by the PRC to
Wednesday , March 1 , 2023, at 5:30 p.m. to be in-person at City Hall (990 Palm Street).
The City of San Luis Obispo wishes to make all of its public meetings accessible to the public. Upon request, this
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agenda will be made available in appropriate alternative formats to persons with disabilities. Any p erson with a disability
who requires a modification or accommodation in order to participate in a meeting should direct such request to the Parks
and Recreation Department at (805) 781-7300 at least 48 hours before the meeting, if possible. Telecommunications Device
for the Deaf (805) 781-7107.
Meeting audio recordings can be found at the following web address:
http://opengov.slocity.org/WebLink/1/fol/61014/Row1.aspx