HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/14/2025 Item 7c, RQN
RQN of SLO <
To:Stewart, Erica A; Francis, Emily; Shoresman, Michelle; Marx, Jan; Boswell, Mike
Cc:E-mail Council Website
Subject:SUBJECT: Item 7c, 2025-27 Budget Foundation
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Dear Mayor Stewart and Members of the Council,
Residents for Quality Neighborhoods requests the following items be included in the 2025-27
Budget/Financial Plan for the reasons provided. We further request these items be consolidated under a
“Neighborhoods” umbrella and considered a Major City Goal.
A. Add Community Development positions.
1. Add two Code Enforcement Officers to effectively carry out proactive enforcement.
Discussion.
Several residential developments have been added since code enforcement staffing was last reviewed and
increased. And the number of fraternity main houses and satellite houses located in the city’s
neighborhoods has also increased with concomitant code enforcement issues. The Community
Development Director has stated there is insufficient Code Enforcement staff to handle the
workload. Thus additional staffing is required to address current code enforcement problems throughout
the city and its neighborhoods.
2. Add one staff position to oversee the enforcement process for fraternity and sorority use of
residential properties.
Discussion.
Identifying residential properties as fraternity or sorority houses and addressing their code violations is a
long and arduous task, especially since Cal Poly has removed all the street addresses from their AB 524
(2022) Report (Campus Recognized Sorority & Fraternity Transparency Act). In addition, only a few of the
fraternity main houses and satellite houses have the required Conditional Use Permits. The appropriate
paperwork must be properly completed, but in the past this has not always occurred; a subject-matter
expert performing quality control would alleviate this.
3. Revive the Neighborhood Services Manager position and locate it in the Community Development
Department.
Discussion.
The Neighborhood Services Manager position was previously located in the Police Department; however,
that position has been modified and is now the Police Public Affairs Manager. Also, previously one of
Community Development’s planners was designated as “the Neighborhood Planner.” This planner was a
resource for residents, providing information when a proposed or new state law would affect
neighborhoods or assisting residents with problem-solving. A new Neighborhood Services Manager would
be able to fill both needs and should also act as an advocate - much like the City’s Bicycle Coordinator,
DEI Manager and Sustainability Manager do.
B. Add two Community Service Officers (42K’s) to the Police Department for noise enforcement.
Discussion.
Add two Community Service Officers dedicated to enforcing noise complaints from Thursday through
Sunday. The City of Davis utilized these enforcement officials to curb their student party noise in
neighborhoods and it was very successful. The additional enforcement personnel will enhance existing
enforcement efforts and free up police officers for higher priority crime response.
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C. Following St Fratty’s Day 2025, have the City Manager form a task force to address concerns
surrounding the event.
Discussion.
Cal Poly formed a task force after the 2024 event which gave them a year to put into place new policies
and procedures to address the destructive behaviors that had occurred, and to train the appropriate
personnel on what they were to do. Our city may be able to benefit from this level of engagement by
including personnel from various departments as well as city residents, and by putting new policies and
procedures in place before the next year’s event occurs.
Request you will favorably consider these recommendations and include them in your Major City Goals.
Thank you for your time and your consideration.
Sincerely,
Sandra Rowley
Chairperson, RQN
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