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Home My WebLink About2/24/2026 Item 4a, Patrick Weston Kenneth Patrick < To:E-mail Council Website; Stewart, Erica A; Francis, Emily; Boswell, Mike; Marx, Jan; Shoresman, Michelle; Tway, Timothea (Timmi); McDonald, Whitney Cc:Tanner Schinderle; Meghan Schuler-Jones Subject:Cal Poly ASI Student Government Rental Registry Resolution Attachments:CalPoly-ASI-Rental-Registry-Resolution-Draft-2026.pdf Hello Madam Mayor, Members of the San Luis Obispo City Council, Manager McDonald, and Director Tway, My name is Weston Patrick, and I am currently serving as this year's Secretary of Community Relations for Cal Poly Associated Students Inc. (ASI) Student Government. ASI serves as the official voice of the over 23,000 Cal Poly students, and I am reaching out to you all today to inform you about a resolution currently under consideration by our Board of Directors. The resolution is urging the establishment of a rental registry program in San Luis Obispo to help better support student renters. The resolution has cleared administrative review as well as our Internal Review committee and will now move to a vote by the ASI Board of Directors on March 4th. As the official voice of Cal Poly Students, this resolution would constitute a statement made on behalf of the student body. I have attached the draft resolution currently under consideration to make you all aware of this effort, as it may be relevant to the council's upcoming study session concerning a rental registry. Should the resolution pass the board, you will all be sent an official copy, as you are all listed as recipients on the resolution. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out. Thank you all so much for your service to our community. I am grateful that Cal Poly students have the opportunity to work with such a driven and engaged city council and staff. Best, Weston Patrick ASI Secretary of Community Relations Computer Science Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo 1 Associated Students, Inc. California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo Resolution #26-xx RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO EFFORTS TO ESTABLISH A RENTAL REGISTRY PROGRAM WHEREAS: The Associated Students Inc. (ASI) Board of Directors serves as the official voice of students at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo; and WHEREAS: The City of San Luis Obispo is currently considering the adoption of a rental registry program due to the fact that “while staff and Council frequently receive community feedback and concerns regarding pricing, safe housing, evictions, and other issues specific to rental housing, the City has very few reliable data sources to assist in evaluating potential tools to address these concerns”1 according to a report presented by the Department of Community Development to City Council on October 28, 2025; and WHEREAS: A rental registry is defined by the City of San Luis Obispo Department of Community Development as “a database of all rental housing units in the City, with associated information collected from each unit owner and is intended, in part, to provide a jurisdiction with data about rental units” and would hold relevant information to student housing such as property attributes, owner information, lease language, rent amount, additional fees, and city code enforcement data;1 and WHEREAS: Students primary concerns regarding off-campus housing, as stated by Sarah Bacio, the Off-Campus Housing Program Coordinator for the Cal Poly Dean of Students Office, are numerous: “The top challenges heard from students leading up to their off-campus experience is the cost of housing in SLO County and knowing what rentals are available and when. Once students are living off campus, the top challenges become timely responses to maintenance requests and communication with landlords/property managers;”2 and WHEREAS: ASI is currently assessing the data from its “Let’s Hear It: Off Campus Housing” survey, which aims to better understand these concerns3; and WHEREAS: According to the 2020 US Census, 62% of housing units in the City of San Luis Obispo are rental units;4 and 1 Council Agenda Report Item 5a, 10/28/25: https://pub-slocity.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=22115 (See Pages 18-20) 2 Sarah Bacio, Off-Campus Housing Program Coordinator, Student Affairs, Dean of Students. As stated over email. 3 Mountain, Dora, ASI Blog, ‘Let’s Hear It: Off-Campus Housing:’ https://www.asi.calpoly.edu/asi-now/asi-blog/lets-hear-it-off-campus-housing/ 4 United States Census Bureau, San Luis Obispo, S2504, Physical Housing Characteristics for Occupied Housing Units: https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2022.S2504?q=housing%20stock%20san%20luis%20obispo%20city&g=160XX00US0668154 WHEREAS: Approximately 13,930 Cal Poly Students live off-campus, representing 61% of the student body;5 and WHEREAS: On October 28, 2025, at a San Luis Obispo City Council special meeting concerning renter protections, Cal Poly Vice President of Facilities Management and Development Mike McCormick stated that off campus housing rates were one of the “guiding parameters” the university utilizes when it comes to decisions and planning regarding growing on campus housing. Further, Vice President McCormick stated that the University attempts to stay within the “band of external rates.”6 This statement by Vice President McCormick demonstrates that Cal Poly utilizes off- campus rental data to inform on-campus housing decisions; and WHEREAS: Despite the value and necessity of this data, Cal Poly entities such as ASI or the Off Campus Housing Program currently do not use a single source of data and instead rely on sparse, incomplete internal and shared survey data. This leads to the existence of multiple data disagreements that ultimately affect the pursued goals of these entities. As stated by Sarah Bacio, the Off-Campus Housing Program Coordinator for the Cal Poly Dean of Students Office, “Currently we rely on a curated list of apartment complexes and property managers that has been developed over the years. However, this list is not all encompassing of the available rentals in the community. Currently there is no list of landlords (different from a Property Management) that is reliable;”2 and WHEREAS: Ms. Bacio has described the potential benefits of a rental registry on student resources, stating “Having a rental registry would allow for advertisement of rentals to students, ultimately, helping the properties get filled. As well as better partnership among housing providers and the campus. A main goal of the Off-Campus Housing Program is to provide education to students and it's important to know the challenges both students and landlords/property managers are facing. If we don't know who the housing providers are then it is more challenging to offer that support;”2 and WHEREAS: ASI has additionally relied on a combination of external sources and its own surveys to assess the student housing landscape and inform advocacy at both the university and city level. A recent example of such an effort is the “Let’s Hear It: Off-Campus Housing” survey which aimed to “gather a variety of data regarding off-campus housing, including rent pricing and accessibility, to inform conversations with campus administration and the City of San Luis Obispo;”3 and WHEREAS: In the City’s case, rental, lease, and landlord data exists in the form of a business license database managed by the City’s Finance Department, which provides information on active property owners renting their units in San Luis Obispo. However, this database provides limited rental information, currently only including owner name, address, property address, and a short description, all self-reported and without a requirement to list all addresses managed under a license. Additionally, this data is currently spreadsheet-based, where a rental registry would be a 5 U.S. News & World Report Cal Poly Fall 2024 Enrollment Stats: https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/california-polytechnic-state-university-san-luis-obispo-1143/student- life 6 San Luis Obispo Special Meeting on October 28th, 2025 – Renter Protections: 10/28/25 City Council Special Meeting - Renter Protections: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge0SV5ZSl1A (See Timestamp 35:00) software-based solution, likely with a map interface.7 This data mechanism currently does not include information about student occupancy of a rental property;1 and WHEREAS: The City of San Luis Obispo Department of Community Development states in its October 28th Council Agenda Report on the subject of “Rental Protections Study Session: Safe and Stable Rental Housing" that a rental registry could identify a “breakdown of students vs families in specific neighborhoods;”1 8 and WHEREAS: One of the City of San Luis Obispo’s goals outlined for 2025-27 is ‘Housing and Neighborhood Livability – Healthy, Safe, and Affordable.’ All facets of this goal would be aided by the instantiation of a rental registry by providing critical information on the 62% of SLO households that are rental units 9 10; and THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: The ASI Board of Directors, and thus the students of Cal Poly, strongly urge the City of San Luis Obispo to establish a comprehensive rental registry program; and FURTHERMORE BE IT RESOLVED: Such a program should make a deliberate effort not only to identify student housing but also to track areas of discrepancy for students living in San Luis Obispo, including but not limited to lease terms, rental increases, predatory application processes, and substandard housing issues; and FURTHERMORE BE IT RESOLVED: A problem that cannot be diagnosed cannot be addressed. With an ever-changing housing landscape in San Luis Obispo and rising rents, especially for students, a rental registry program is the essential first step for comprehensive action both at the university and city level to address real student renter issues; and FURTHERMORE BE IT RESOLVED: The ASI Board of Directors encourages continued collaboration and data sharing between the City of San Luis Obispo and the University to address student concerns as they relate to off- campus housing. Further, the board urges that the City of San Luis Obispo use the data collected in a rental registry to inform future housing policies relevant to Cal Poly students; and 7 San Luis Obispo Special Meeting on October 28th, 2025 – Renter Protections: 10/28/25 City Council Special Meeting - Renter Protections: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge0SV5ZSl1A (See Timestamp 1:15:00) 8 San Luis Obispo Special Meeting on October 28th, 2025 – Renter Protections: 10/28/25 City Council Special Meeting - Renter Protections: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge0SV5ZSl1A (See Timestamp 1:15:44) 9 City of San Luis Obispo 2025-27 City Goals: https://www.slocity.org/government/mayor-and-city-council/city-goals 10 City of San Luis Obispo 2025-27 Major City Goals Task: https://www.slocity.org/home/showpublisheddocument/37899/638894893475700000 (See Page 4) FURTHERMORE BE IT RESOLVED: The ASI Board of Directors recognizes that there are many student concerns surrounding off campus housing and commits to continuing advocating both at the city and university level to address these concerns; and FURTHERMORE BE IT RESOLVED: That this resolution be sent to the following: Erica A. Stewart, Mayor of San Luis Obispo Emily Francis, Vice Mayor, City Council of San Luis Obispo Jan Marx, Member, City Council of San Luis Obispo Michelle Shoresman, Member, City Council of San Luis Obispo Michael R. Boswell, Member, City Council of San Luis Obispo Whitney McDonald, City Manager, City of San Luis Obispo Timothea Tway, Director of Community Development, City of San Luis Obispo Courtney Kienow, Director of Community Relations and Economic Development, Office of the President at California Polytechnic State University Certified as the true and correct copy, in witness thereof, I have set my hand and Seal of the San Luis Obispo Cal Poly Associated Students, Inc. this day of , 2026. Attest: ASI Secretary ADOPTED at the regular meeting of the Board of Directors at San Luis Obispo Cal Poly Associated Students, Inc. this day of 2026. Signed: ASI Chair of the Board Signed: ASI President Authored By: Weston Patrick, Secretary of Community Relations Andrew Angulo, ASI Board of Directors, College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences