HomeMy WebLinkAbout4/15/2025 Item 7a, Whalen1
Purrington, Teresa
From:Rachel Whalen <rachel@slochamber.org>
Sent:Thursday, April 10, 2025 5:52 PM
To:E-mail Council Website
Cc:Jim Dantona
Subject:Item 7a Council Agenda April 15
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Dear Mayor Stewart and Councilmembers,
On behalf of the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce, thank you for the opportunity to provide input
on the City’s 2025–2027 Budget and Major City Goals. We appreciate the City’s continued commitment
to economic vitality, housing, and fiscal responsibility, among others that are foundational to a thriving
San Luis Obispo.
As we look toward the challenges and opportunities of the next two years, we encourage the Council to
prioritize strategic investments in the following key areas:
Economic Development
With economic headwinds on the horizon, our board would like to see the city increase the amount of
money and focus allocated to Economic Development and Business Retention. The Buy Local Bonus
Program is a great example of an impactful way to invest in our city’s economic development. From our
perspective, this is among the most effective uses of city dollars, delivering outsized returns by bringing
people downtown and reinvigorating our local retail sector. Not only has this program been proven to be
successful statistically, but there have also been numerous anecdotal stories that we have experienced
in our Visitor Center from people participating in the program. We heard from multiple tourists that they
now plan their vacation to SLO during the Buy Local Bonus time, so that they can do all their holiday
shopping here and receive gift cards to local shops. We understand Buy Local Bonus is slated to
continue in FY25-26, and we strongly recommend prioritizing this program for the foreseeable future.
Housing and Infrastructure
It is essential that we have well-maintained and well-planned infrastructure to ensure that our
community remains vibrant, and it is a necessary element in supporting us to create more housing.
In our previous comments at the January budget meeting, we mentioned that we wanted the Land Use
and Circulation Element to be included in the 2025-2027 budget, so that it would not be a hindrance to
development. It is our understanding that the Housing Element will be taking place during this budget
cycle and as long as this creates opportunities for new housing, we feel it meets the intent of our initial
request. The SLO Chamber believes we need to do everything we can to increase our housing stock,
particularly small, dense, attainable units, in order to retain and attract the workforce necessary to
sustain our economy.
As we recently heard from our Next Generation of Homeowner’s Panel at the SLO County Housing
Summit, today’s younger demographic, that is our current and future workforce, is more open to high-
density living, multi-family housing and mixed-use developments that offer affordability and walkability.
Homeownership is out of reach for much of our local workforce due skyrocketed costs, with the average
2
home price now nearly ten times the median annual income. This financial barrier forces many people to
remain renters, often struggling with high rental costs and limited availability. It is important that we
consider this as we want to attract and retain young adults to contribute to our workforce, which is why
we are looking forward to collaborating with the city on the workplan tied to housing and housing safety
in the Major City Goals.
Fiscal Responsibility
We commend the city for its progress in addressing the unfunded pension liability. The continued
commitment to an additional $2 million in discretionary payments to CalPERS is a prudent measure to
ensure long-term fiscal sustainability. We appreciate the thoughtful and consistent leadership that has
gone into this effort and encourage its continuation.
Finally, we thank city staff for their willingness to continually engage with us on these important issues.
Your openness to collaboration helps build a stronger San Luis Obispo for everyone.
Sincerely,
Rachel Whalen
she/her/hers
Governmental Affairs Coordinator
805.786.2763
rachel@slochamber.org
895 Monterey Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401