HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/4/2026 Item 4a, Pinard (6)
Colunga-Lopez, Andrea
Subject:FW: Emerson Park: Documented Safety and Liability Concerns Requiring Council
Attention
Receive and file. Response provided via PRR response.
From: Peg Pinard <
Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2025 9:52 AM
To: E-mail Council Website <emailcouncil@slocity.org>; Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Shoresman, Michelle
<mshoresm@slocity.org>; Boswell, Mike <MBoswell@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan
<jmarx@slocity.org>
Subject: Emerson Park: Documented Safety and Liability Concerns Requiring Council Attention
Dear Mayor and Council Members,
I am writing to formally document a serious concern regarding the proposed placement
of a fenced dog park immediately adjacent to children’s active recreation areas at
Emerson Park.
Emerson Park serves a dense neighborhood where many children rely on the park’s
limited open turf area as their primary space for active play. The current plan removes a
substantial portion of that space while placing a dog park next to a playground,
basketball courts, and the remaining open turf. This configuration presents an inherent
and foreseeable safety conflict between dogs and children engaged in active recreation.
The concern is not a matter of design preference. It is a matter of risk. Co-locating dog
parks with children’s active play areas is widely recognized as increasing municipal
liability exposure due to the foreseeable risk of injury and conflict. These risks exist
regardless of fencing, signage, or rules.
To date, no documented risk assessment or formal review by Risk Management
addressing this siting decision has been produced. In addition, public records requests
seeking documentation of how and why the dog park was introduced into the Emerson
Park project have not produced staff reports, internal analyses, or grant application
materials that explain this decision.
As Council is aware, once concerns regarding safety and liability are raised and
documented, continued advancement of a project without addressing those concerns
places responsibility squarely with the decision-makers who allow it to proceed.
Council has the authority to direct that the Emerson Park project be amended to remove
elements that introduce avoidable risk, particularly where those elements reduce
already-limited recreational access for neighborhood children.
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This issue is before you now because it cannot be undone later without far greater cost
— financial, legal, and reputational. I urge you to review this matter independently of
staff assurances and ensure that children’s safety and the City’s liability exposure are
fully considered before the project proceeds further.
With a Council meeting scheduled for February 4, 2026, residents remain unable — despite repeated
records requests — to determine when or how the dog park element was introduced into the Emerson
Park proposal or whether that decision received substantive commission review. Proceeding without
that documented history places both residents and Council at a disadvantage.
Respectfully,
Peg Pinard
Former Mayor, City of San Luis Obispo
Founder, Old Town Neighborhood Association
Resident, Emerson Park Neighborhood
______________________________________
For Council’s awareness, I am attaching the City Clerk’s latest response to my CPRA
inquiry, which reflects the level of uncertainty and delay surrounding the production of
basic project records, including the grant application itself.
RE: Public Records Request Regarding Grant Applications and Background Information for
Meetings
Inbox
Colunga-Lopez, Andrea <AColunga@slocity.org>
Fri, Dec 19, 4:49 PM
(4 days ago)
to me, CityClerk
PRR25439 Pinard - Records related to Emerson Park
Peg Pinard:
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Your second revised request is still being processed and is not yet completed. Given the
scope of the request, we are providing production in batches on a rolling basis. The City
Attorney’s office is currently short staffed, and we are processing a record number of
requests this year. We appreciate your patience.
I am in no way an expert on this issue, but I believe at least some of the records you
are looking have been produced in the file labeled, “Public Works Files,” in our second
production batch. https://opengov.slocity.org/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=219320
Starting on page eight, there is an email and accompanying attachments sent to the
state regarding changes to the Emerson Park proposed design. As we noted in our latest
production notice, many of the accompanying architectural drawings cannot be produced
without the permission of the architects. However, these documents are available for
your in-person review.
In terms of meeting notes, I believe you will find some on pages 95-102 and additional
ones starting on page 290.
I believe what appears to be the initial application begins on page 238 and continues to
page 289.
If my characterization of these documents is incorrect, I apologize. Just let me know and
I will reach out to the appropriate departments after the holiday break and get a more
detailed explanation.
Sincerely,
Andrea Colunga-Lopez
pronouns she/her/hers
Deputy City Clerk I
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