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Home My WebLink About04/19/1999, Agenda Agenda Distribution List (12/98) I. Unuaid subscriptions: (All mtgs.unless o/w noted) AIA President council agenda BASI SA Presidentborah Holley CITY O F SAN LUIS OB Chamber of Commerce CITY HALL, 9 9 0 PALM Cuesta College / K. Roberts B. Thoma / Chamber of Comm. Co. Board of Spvrs. _ Paul Hood, Co.Administration Housing Authority Monday, April KCBX KCOY KCPR: (2) Gen.Mgr. & News Dir. KDDB 7:00 P.M. STUDY SESSION KEYT ;r KGLO et KKJG KSBY KUHL CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Allen K. Settle KVEc KPRL Library (front desk) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mustang Daily New Times (front desk) Pac.Bell / V. Montalban ROLL CALL: Council Members Joh Pac. Gas & Elec. / B.Burke Schwartz, Vice Ma of Planning Comm. (� Comm. Dev.) y So. Calif. Gas / V. Sterling Council of Govts / R. DeCarli League of Women Voters Telegram-Tribune (front desk) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD(not to exceed 15 minutes U Public Interest Action Ctr. The Council welcomes your input. (FOR ITEMS NOT ONi ECOSLO / Geoffry Land cil by completing a speaker slip and giving it to the City Cle Res.forQual.Neigh / C.Sanders 3y address the Council on items that are not on the agenda Sierra Club / Gary Felsman is three minutes. State law does not allow the Council tc SLO Property Owners Assoc. ie Fred Strong (The Citizen) agenda, except that members of the Council or staff Sonic Cable/Jackie or questions posed by persons exercising their public testi UNOCAL/J. Bray aff may be asked to follow up on such items. Staff reports al Telegram Tribune/S.Lyons ch item referred to on this agenda are on file in the City Clerk PegP�inard/SLO County II.Subscriptions Paid or Env. Provided STUDY SESSION (rea.mtas.only) : John Whiley esq. Easter Rents, Inc. 1. 1999-01 FINANCIAL PLAN COUNCIL G IMS/S. Krautheim (DUNN/STATLER/410-02 - 3 HOURS) IDA (Ener. Dev. Assoc.) Ellenburg Capital Corp. Linnenbach RECOMMENDATION: Review, modify as desire Local Government Services Goal Work Programs or - . RRM Design Group / LeeAnne f 199901 9 Vista Information Services Wallace, John L. & Assocs. A. ADJOURNMENT. Walter Bros. Construction Co. A. J. Diani Construction Fugro/McClelland ® Cannon Assoc. SLO Assoc of Realtors Regular City Council meetings are broadcast on KCPR, 91.3 1 Kimley-Horn .m Jude the disabled in all of its services,programs,and activities. Telecommuni, Heritage Oaks Bank -peak to the City Clerk prior to the meeting if you require a hearing amplification council agenda CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO CITY HALL, 990 PALM STREET Monday, April 19, 1999 ACTION UPDATE 7:00 P.M. STUDY SESSION Council Chamber 990 Palm Street CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Allen K. Settle PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL: Council Members John Ewan, Jan Howell Marx, Ken Schwartz, Vice Mayor Dave Romero, Mayor Allen K. Settle PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD(not to exceed 15 minutes total) The Council welcomes your input (FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA) You may address the Council by completing a speaker slip and giving it to the City Clerk prior to the meeting. At this time, you may address the Council on items that are not on the agenda or items on the Consent Agenda. Time limit is three minutes. State law does not allow the Council to discuss or take action on issues not on the agenda, except that members of the Council or staff may briefly respond to statements made or questions posed by persons exercising their public testimony rights (Gov. Code Sec. 54954.2). Staff may be asked to follow up on such items. Staff reports and other written documentation relating to each item referred to on this agenda are on file in the City Clerks Office in Room 1 of City Hall. STUDY SESSION 1. 1999-01 FINANCIAL PLAN COUNCIL GOAL WORK PROGRAMS. (DUNN/STATLER/410-02 - 3 HOURS) RECOMMENDATION: Review, modify as desired, and tentatively approve Council Goal Work Programs for 1999-01. ACTION: Council reviewed, modified and tentatively approved Council Goal Work Programs for 1999-01, (5-0). A. ADJOURNED council agcnaa CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO CITY HALL, 990 PALM STREET Monday, April 19, 1999 7:00 P.M. STUDY SESSION Council Chamber 990 Palm Street CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Allen K. Settle PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL: Council Members John Ewan, Jan Howell Marx, Ken Schwartz, Vice Mayor Dave Romero, Mayor Allen K. Settle PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD(not to exceed 15 minutes total) The Council welcomes your input. (FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA) You may address the Council by completing a speaker slip and giving it to the City Clerk prior to the meeting. At this time, you may address the Council on items that are not on the agenda or items on the Consent Agenda. Time limit is three minutes. State law does not allow the Council to discuss or take action on issues not on the agenda, except that members of the Council or staff may briefly respond to statements made or questions posed by persons exercising their public testimony rights (Gov. Code Sec. 54954.2). Staff may be asked to follow up on such items. Staff reports and other written documentation relating to each item referred to on this agenda are on file in the City Clerk's Office in Room 1 of City Hall. STUDY SESSION 1. 1999-01 FINANCIAL PLAN COUNCIL GOAL WORK PROGRAMS. (DUNN/STATLER/410-02 - 3 HOURS) RECOMMENDATION: Review, modify as desired, and tentatively approve Council Goal Work Programs for 1999-01. A. ADJOURNMENT. ® Regular City Council meetings are broadcast on KCPR, 91.3 FM. The City of San Luis Obispo is committed to include the disabled in all of its services, programs,and activities. Telecommunications Device for the Deaf(805)781-7410. Please speak to the City Clerk prior to the meeting if you require a hearing amplification device. For more agenda information.call 781-7103. council M` D' ice 9 j ac En ba RepoRt 'i" b� CITY OF SAN LUI S O B I S P O FROM: John Dunn, City Administrative Officer Bill Statler, Director of Finance SUBJECT: COUNCIL GOAL WORK PROGRAMS CAO RECOMMENDATION Review, modify as desired and tentatively approve Council goal work programs for 1999-01. DISCUSSION Background. At the January 30, 1999 budget workshop, the Council established twenty-eight goals organized into three priority categories: major City goals, other important objectives and address as resources permit. The purpose of the accompanying Council goal work programs is to link the adopted goal statements with the action plans and the resources needed to achieve the objective by: ■ Clearly defining and scoping the work program. ■ Ensuring that there is a clear understanding of the means selected to pursue the goal. ■ Converting the general goal into specific action steps so we can measure progress in achieving it. The Introduction section of the attached report fully discusses the purpose,background, organization and content of the work programs. It also summarizes the cost of these programs, and assesses the difficulty we will have in preparing a balance budget given this very ambitious action plan for the next two years. Difficult Budget Choices Ahead. As discussed in greater detail in the attached report, General Fund operating and capital costs to implement the work programs total about $7.1 million over the next two years. While we have not yet finalized revenue projections for 1999-01, it is clear based on the results of the five year forecast that we will not be able to fund all of the work programs and also ensure that we maintain essential services and adequately address other critical infrastructure and facility needs. This means two things in preparing a balanced budget for 1999-01: following as closely as possible the goal priorities set by the Council (funding major City goals before other important objectives, and other important objectives before address as resources permit); and in doing so, seriously considering the remaining revenue options available to the Council under Proposition 218. This is especially important given that many of the work programs include plans and studies that could lead to much higher costs in future years in order to implement them. Tentative Approval of the Work Programs. Approval of the work programs at this stage is not formal approval of either the goal or the budget for it; this will not occur until the Council approves the 1999-01 Financial Plan in its entirety in June of 1999—and this will not occur until after extensive workshops and public hearings. However, if the Council believes that some of the work programs are too ambitious—or do not go far enough—then we need this direction now. Given the Council Agenda Report—Council Goal Work Programs Page 2 pressures we see on the General Fund budget at this time, we recommend that the Council lean towards scaling back work programs rather than adding to them. Next Steps. In-depth reviews of departmental budget requests and revenue projections are currently underway. Once these are completed and the Council has approved the goal work programs, we plan to finalize budget recommendations and issue the Preliminary Financial Plan on May 10, 1999. Key next steps in the budget review process are: Budget . Date • Preliminary Financial Plan issuance Monday, May 10 • Budget workshop:Financial Plan overview and General Fund operating programs Monday,May 17 (special meeting) • Budget workshop: General Fund CIP projects(special meeting) Wednesday,May 19 • Budget workshop:Enterprise Fund programs,projects and rates(special meeting) Tuesday,May 25 • Continued budget review(regular meeting) Tuesday,June 1 • Continued budget review and budget adoption(regular meeting) Tuesday,June 15 FISCAL IMPACT There are no direct fiscal impacts associated with tentatively approving Council goal work programs: approval of work programs is not approval of the budget. As discussed above, this will only occur with adoption of the Financial Plan in June, following issuance of the Preliminary Financial Plan and extensive budget workshops and hearings. Nonetheless, this is a very important step in the process: with this direction, staff will be certain we understand the Council's intent, and we can prepare the Preliminary Financial Plan accordingly. However, as discussed above, achieving high-priority Council goals while ensuring that we maintain essential services and adequately address our infrastructure needs will require making difficult budget choices from many equally desired—but ultimately competitive—City goals. SUMMARY In the final analysis, a balanced budget is not just a financial concept: it also means a balance between delivering day-to-day services, maintaining and improving public facilities, and funding new initiatives. This balance, ultimately set by the Council, can not be made until all of the budget components are in place and comprehensively viewed. While the Council goal work programs lead the way, the Preliminary Financial Plan will provide us with the opportunity to take this more comprehensive view—and it is likely that some of the work programs will change as we take this broader look at our needs and our fiscal resources. ATTACHMENT Council Goals Work Programs for 1999-01 G: 1999-01 Financial Plan/Council Goal Work Programs/Agenda Report—April 19, 1999 1999-01 Financial Plan COUNCIL GOAL WORK PROGRAMS April 19, 1999 l city of san IDIS OBISPO p 1999-01 Financial Plan COUNCIL GOAL WORK PROGRAMS Table of Contents INTRODUCTION OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES Overview 1 Transportation Summary of Council Goals 4 General Fund Cost Summary 6 Circulation Element Implementation 54 Revenue Options Under Proposition 218 7 Bikeway and Pedestrian Improvements 57 Flood Protection 60 Transit Service 64 MAJOR CITY GOALS Transit Transfer Center 67 Leisure,Cultural& Social Services Public Safety Laguna Lake Master Plan 70 Public Safety Services 8 Social Services 73 Public Utilities Community Development Long Term Water Supply 11 Margarita Area Specific Plan 76 Affordable Housing 79 Transportation Creek Habitat Protection 83 Economic Development 85 Streets and Sidewalks 17 Parking and Downtown Access Plan 20 ADDRESS AS RESOURCES PERMIT Leisure,Cultural& Social Services Parks and Recreation Element Implementation 23 Transportation Community Partnerships for Cultural Resources 28 Circulation Element Update 89 Community Development Airport Area Annexation 31 Community Development Downtown Plan 36 Urban Design Quality 91 Open Space Preservation 41 Agricultural Zoning 94 Neighborhood Preservation and Enhancement 44 South Broad Area Plan 97 General Government General Government Cal Poly Relationships 46 Cal Poly Annexation Study 100 Long Term Fiscal Health 49 COUNCIL GOALS: 1999-01 FINANCIAL PLAN INTRODUCTION OVERVIEW next two years. Accordingly, the purpose of each work program is to: Council goals for 1999-01 and the related work • Define and scope the adopted goal. programs reflect a very ambitious action plan for the . Ensure that there is a clear understanding of the next two years, resulting in General Fund operating means selected to pursue the goal. and capital costs of about$7.1 million over the next two years. • Convert the general goal into specific action steps so we can measure progress in achieving While we have not yet finalized our revenue it. projections for 1999-01, it is clear based on the results of the five year forecast that we will not be This is especially important in the case of objectives able to fund all of the work programs and also where fully achieving the goal is likely to extend ensure that we maintain day-to-day services and well beyond the two-year Financial Plan period. adequately address other critical infrastructure and However, we can measure progress—and our facility needs. success in accomplishing the goal—by clearly defining the specific actions we plan to undertake This means two things in preparing a balanced over the next two years. budget for 1999-01: following as closely as possible the goal priorities set by the Council; and Tentative Approval of the Work Programs. considering the remaining revenue options available Approval of the work programs at this stage is not to the Council under Proposition 218. formal approval of either the goal or the budget for it; this will not occur until the Council approves the BACKGROUND 1999-01 Financial Plan in its entirety in June of 1999—and this will not occur until after extensive workshops and public hearings. The purpose of the City's Financial Plan process is to link the most important, highest priority things Other Program Objectives. The Preliminary for us to achieve for our community over the next Financial Plan (which we plan to issue on May 10, two years with the resources necessary to do them. 1999) will also include objectives proposed by the staff for improving the delivery of City services. Council Goal-Setting. For this reason, the City These are different from Council-initiated goals in begins its budget process with Council goal-setting. two important ways: This follows an extensive effort to involve advisory bodies and the community in this process. It also Council goals are generally focused on follows consideration of a number of analytical objectives that can only be successfully reports such as the General Fund Five Year Fiscal achieved through Council leadership, support Forecast. The following work programs have been and commitment; program objectives proposed prepared based on the goals set by the Council at an by staff are typically more internally focused on all-day workshop held on January 30, 1999. improving day-today operations, and can usually be achieved through staff leadership, Purpose of the Work Programs. The goals set by support and commitment. the Council drive the budget preparation process. . Achieving major City goals has a higher However, before the staff can build the Preliminary resource priority. Financial Plan around Council goals, it is essential that we have a clear understanding of what the Each of the 70 operating programs presented in the Council hopes to achieve with each goal over the Preliminary Financial Plan will clearly identify 4- COUNCIL GOALS: 1999-01 FINANCIAL PLAN INTRODUCTION major City goals, Council goals, and other program • Address As Resources Permit. While it is objectives. desirable to achieve these goals over the next two years, doing so is subject to current General Budget Preparation Framework. Our resource availability. short-term strategy in balancing the 1999-01 budget while striving to achieve Council goals and also Within each priority category, the work programs ensuring that essential services are delivered at are organized by functional area; public safety, acceptable levels consists of the following four public utilities, transportation, leisure, cultural & parts: social services, community development and general government. • Limiting operating cost increases and reviewing service levels for expenditure reduction CONTENT opportunities. • Developing a capital improvement plan (CIP) Each work program provides the following that adequately maintains our existing infrastructure and facilities. information: • Considering new revenue opportunities as . Goal priority category and short title. allowed under Proposition 218. • Objective. • Making strategic use of fund balance that may • Discussion, including the proposed workscope, be available above minimum policy levels. related work accomplished in the past, and challenges we will face in achieving the goal. ORGANIZATION: GOAL PRIORITIES • Action plan detailing specific tasks and schedule. • Responsible department. The work programs are organized into the following . Financial and staff resources required to achieve goal priorities as set by the Council: the goal. • Major City Goals. These represent the most • General Fund revenue potential, if any. important, highest priority goals for the City to • Outcome—final work product. accomplish over the next two years, and as such, resources to accomplish them should be WORK PROGRAM COSTS included in the 1999-01 Financial Plan. If the work program approved by the Council for a major City goal is not included in the General Fund work program operating and capital Preliminary Financial Plan prepared by the City improvement plan (CIP) costs are summarized on Administrator, compelling reasons and page 6,and total about$7.1 million as follows: justification must be provided as to why resources could not be made available to ' 1 (Two Year Total) achieve this goal. Operating CIP total g Major City Goals 676,400 4,889,400 5,565,800 Important Objectives 156,700 1,229,000 1,385,700 • Other Important Objectives. Goals in this As Resources Permit 105,000 0 1os,000 category are important for the City to Total 938,100 6,118,400 7,056,500 accomplish, and resources should be made available in the 1999-01 Financial Plan if Short Term Outlook—Balancing the 1999-01 possible. Budget. The initial results of the five year forecast indicate available General Fund resources of about 2- COUNCIL GOALS: 19ba-01 FINANCIAL PLAN INTRODUCTION $5.8 million to fund CIP projects and new operating SUNEM ARY initiatives over the next two years. This may improve as we finalize our revenue projections and expenditure plans for 1999-01. However, given There are no direct fiscal impacts associated with other demands on our resources in maintaining tentatively approving Council goal work programs: essential services and addressing other operating formal approval of the work programs is done with and capital needs not reflected in Council goals, we approval of the budget. This .will occur with will not be able to include all of the work programs adoption of the Financial Plan in June, following in the Preliminary Financial Plan. issuance of the Preliminary Financial Plan and extensive budget workshops and hearings. In preparing a balanced budget for 1999-01, this means: Nonetheless, this is a very important step in the process: with this direction, staff will be certain we • Closely following the goal priorities set by the understand the Council's intent, and we can prepare Council, funding major City goals before other the Preliminary Financial Plan accordingly. important objectives, and other important objectives before address as resources permit. However, it is very clear at this time that achieving • Seriously considering the remaining revenue high-priority Council goals while ensuring that we options available to the Council under maintain essential services and adequately address Proposition 218. These were previously our infrastructure needs will require making reviewed by the Council as part of the 1997-99 difficult budget choices. ■ Financial Plan, and are summarized on page 7. Longer Term Outlook. Achieving Council goals becomes even more difficult as we look beyond the next two years. Many of the work programs for 1999-01 include plans and studies that could lead to much higher costs in future years in order to implement them. This underscores the importance of considering new revenues if we want to achieve this work program. The necessary steps to effectively prepare for this in light of Proposition 218 are discussed in the Long Term Fiscal Health goal. NEXT STEPS In-depth reviews of departmental budget requests and revenue projections are currently underway. Once these are completed and the Council has approved the goal work programs, we plan to finalize budget recommendations and issue the Preliminary Financial Plan on May 10, 1999. -3- COUNCIL GOALS: 195_ J1 FINANCIAL PLAN SUMMARY OF COUNCIL GOALS MAJOR CITY GOALS ■ Community Partnerships for Cultural Resources. Promote the City's Community Partnership Policy by assisting local groups in identifying needs and Public Safety outside funding opportunities in supporting the development and expansion of our cultural resources ■ Public Safety Services. Support ongoing public such as: County Historical Museum, San Luis Obispo safety services consistent with community growth, Art Center, adobe restorations, natural history with a special emphasis on neighborhoods and the museum, railroad museum, archeological museum, downtown. Children's Museum, San Luis Obispo Little Theatre and demonstration farm/agricultural history/petting Public Utilities zoo. ■ Long Term Water Supply. Obtain supplemental Community Development water supplies consistent with General Plan growth limits and reliability reserve requirements. Programs ■ Airport Area Specific Plan. Complete the Airport and projects to achieve this goal include: water Area Specific Plan, related facilities master plans, conservation, water reuse, Nacimiento pipeline, and the associated environmental impact report. preservation of Salinas reservoir water rights, After adopting the plans and completing the evaluation of other water supply sources, and annexation of the airport area, initiate a program to increased public awareness through periodic reports, fund and install the public improvements needed to public outreach and education. serve the area. ■ Downtown Plan. Develop a program to advance the Transportation objectives of the Conceptual Physical Plan for the City's Center with the purpose of enhancing retail ■ Streets and Sidewalks. Complete an inventory of opportunities, rationalizing parking and circulation, current sidewalk conditions, create a Sidewalk and strengthening its cultural core. Management Plan, and continue maintenance of City streets and sidewalks. ■ Open Space Preservation. Continue preserving open space within and around the City. ■ Parking and Downtown Access Plan. Adopt and begin implementing the Parking and Downtown ■ Neighborhood Preservation and Enhancement. Access Plan addressing a balance between parking Work proactively to maintain and enhance the supply,management and demand reduction. traditional qualities of San Luis Obispo neighborhoods by: improving street and walk-way Leisure, Cultural& Social Services lighting for better pedestrian safety; and enhancing code enforcement to reduce neighborhood nuisances. ■ Parks and Recreation Element. Continue General Government implementing the Parks and Recreation Element, with a special emphasis on: ■ Cal Poly Relationships. Strengthen relationships • Athletic Fields. Complete property acquisition with Cal Poly by obtaining increased understanding for athletic fields, prepare environmental studies and cooperation in solving problems and exploring and construction documents, and start opportunities generated by the adjacency of the construction; and negotiate with other agencies university campus with the City, especially for joint use of their fields. expanding on-campus housing. • Community Center and Therapy Pool. Conduct ■ Long Term Fiscal Health. Protect the City's Long- a needs, location, and funding study for a new term fiscal health by maintaining a balanced budget, community center (senior and multi-use); and an adequate capital improvement plan and an evaluate options for a multi-use/therapy pool. adequate fund balance. -4- COUNCIL GOALS: 1999-01 FINANCIAL PLAN SUMMARY OF COUNCIL GOALS OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES Community Development ■ Margarita Area Specific Plan. Complete and adopt Transportation the Margarita Area Specific Plan and annex the Margarita area to the City. ■ Circulation Element Implementation. Continue ■ Affordable Housing. Encourage the production and implementing the Circulation Element to relieve availability of affordable housing by implementing congestion and slow traffic along neighborhood the Housing Element's affordable housing policies thoroughfares to improve pedestrian safety. and programs, including but not limited to ■ Bikeway and Pedestrian Improvements. Complete monitoring and evaluating the jobs housing Phase II of the railroad recreation trail; pursue and imbalance, pursuing affordable housing grants, and implement Phase III (from the Amtrak passenger partnerships with non-profit groups. terminal to Marsh Street); review the Bicycle ■ Creek Habitat Protection. Explore amending the Transportation Plan to improve linkage between the creek ordinance to include creek management for railroad area and downtown;begin implementing the habitat protection and creek bank restoration. first phase of the Bob Jones City to the Sea Bike Trail extending through the Water Reclamation Facility to Economic Development Pursue economic Los Osos Valley Road; and prepare route plans for development objectives to increase higher paying subsequent phases of this trail. jobs, retain and expand existing businesses, and recruit targeted industries. ■ Flood Protection. Adopt and begin implementing flood management. plans for creeks, open channels ADDRESS AS RESOURCES PERNHT and storm drainage systems and begin work necessary for implementation of upcoming federal National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Transportation (NPDES)requirements for storm water discharge. ■ Transit Service. Continue current transit service ■ Circulation Element Update. Update the levels and look for ways to expand them; and Circulation Element, including working with maintain low cost or zero fares for Cal Poly students, Caltrans on freeway off-ramp closures and the Santa faculty and staff. Rosa/Highway 101 interchange. ■ Transit Transfer Center. Reinitiate studies to develop an off-street transit transfer center; adopt Community Development plan;identify funding sources;and pursue acquisition of property. ■ Urban Design Quality. Improve the urban design quality and the visual image of the City. Leisure, Cultural 6 Socia/Services ■ Agricultural Zoning. Evaluate creating an agricultural zone district and an urban growth ■ Laguna Lake Master Plan. Continue implementing boundary. the Laguna Lake Master Plan: complete necessary studies, obtain approvals and prepare construction ■ South Broad Area Plan. Develop a concept plan for documents for Laguna Lake dredging. the South Broad Street area(High to Orcutt streets). ■ Social Services. Continue(and increase as available) General Government funding for existing social service programs including: the homeless shelter, Prado Day Center, ■ Cal Poly Annexation Study. Continue the Housing Authority, affordable housing needs and cost/revenue analysis of annexing Cal Poly. HRC grants; and support a community health needs assessment. -5- COUNCIL GOALS: 1999-01 FINANCIAL PLAN GENERAL FUND COST SUMMARY The following summarizes General Fund operating programs and capital improvement plan (CIP) costs to achieve Council goal work programs. It excludes enterprise fund and grant funded programs and projects. Operating Programs and CIP Projects: 1999-01 Operating Programs CEP Projects 1999-00 2000-01 1999-00 2000-01 Total Major City Goals 384,100 292,300 2,60$,300 2,281,300 fA65;800 Public Safety Services 118,000 136,300 32,000 0 286,300 Long Term Water Supply ss ss ss ss ss Streets and Sidewalks (Note 1) (Note 1) 1,595,000 1,641,000 3,236,000 Parking and Downtown Access Plan Parks and Recreation Element Implementation Athletic Fields 9,500 12,500 40,000 10,000 72,000 Community Center/Therapy Pool Study 20,000 20,000 Community Partnerships for Cultural Resources 97,600 85,600 230,000 413,200 Airport Area Annexation 8,100 0 0 0 8,100 Downtown Plan(Note 2) 65,000 0 491,300 430,100 986,400 Open Space Preservation 0 0 200,000 200,000 400,000 Neighborhood Preservation and Enhancement 45,900 57,900 0 0 103,800 Cal Poly Relationships 0 0 0 Long Term Fiscal Health 40,000 0 0 40,000 Other Tmportant Ohjectives 125,700 31,000 -228,000 1',001,000 ._ 148-A799 Circulation Element Implementation(Note 3) 0 0 25,000 25,000 50,000 Bikeway and Pedestrian Improvements 0 0 80,000 110,000 190,000 Flood Protection(Note 4) 50,000 0 0 866,000 916,000 Transit Service Transit Transfer Center Laguna lake Master Plan 0 0 123,000 0 123,000 Social Services 30,000 15,000 0 0 45,000 Margarita Area Specific Plan 5,700 0 0 0 5,700 Affordable Housing 0 0 0 0 0 Creek Habitat Protection 0 0 0 0 0 Economic Development 40,000 16,000 0 0 56,000 AsIdress As Resoyrew Wrinit Mr . Circulation Element Update 0 0 0 0 0 Urban Design Quality 30,000 0 0 0 305000 Agricultural Zoning 0 0 0 0 0 South Broad Area Plan 75,000 0 0 0 75,000 Cal Poly Annexation Study 0 0 0 0 0 TOTAL - _._ '800 -. ._3 0Q__ -_2,0.00.01 93RAPP,. ... s�: 04 Notes: 1. Excludes street and sidewalk maintenance and engineering costs of about$1.6 million annually. 2. Excludes debt financed costs of$750,000 for land purchases;debt service costs are not likely to begin until after 1999-01. 3. Mid-Higuera Street widenng costs included in Downtown Plan costs. 4. Sidewalk and bulb-out improvements as part of the Higuera Street bridge included in Downtown Plan costs. •• Enterprise Funds -6- COUNCIL GOALS: 199u-01 FINANCIAL PLAN REVENUE OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO THE CITY UNDER PROPOSITION 218 Several revenue opportunities as allowed under Because of upcoming changes that would be Proposition 218 were evaluated as part of the 1997- forthcoming as a result of the `certified unified 99 Financial Plan process. The following is a program agency" (CUPA) requirements, we summary of those that were not recommended at deferred implementing any changes in these fees that time, but may need to again be considered in until this program was in place. balancing the budget for 1999-01. While almost five years have passed since this fee Planning Fees study, we are close to completing a joint cost study with the County on CUPA fees, and we plan to present the results to the Board of Supervisors and The City's user fee policy calls for 25% cost the Council within the next few months. recovery for most current planning activities (cost recovery for other development review activities Sewer Franchise Fees such as engineering, building and fire plan check is set at 100%); in some selected instances, the City's cost recovery policy is zero. Prior to 1995, the It has been a long-standing policy for the water fund City's policy called for 50% cost recovery for to pay a 2% franchise fee to the General Fund. This planning services. Resetting the planning services is the same rate paid by electric and gas companies cost recovery goal at 50% would generate about throughout the State for wear-and-tear on City $165,000 annually. We recognize that higher streets. A similar fee could be justified for the planning fees would be paid by property owners and sewer fund, which would generate about $120,000 developers, and would slightly increase the cost of annually. development. General Fund Water Charges Hazardous Materials Regulation The General Fund currently pays about $285,000 The Fire Department performs special inspections annually for water service; most of this is related to for businesses known to use or store hazardous park and landscape maintenance. Many cities in the materials. The 1995 cost of services study central coast and throughout the State do not charge identified unrecovered costs of about $76,000 themselves for water usage. annually for this service. Under our user fee policy, these fees should be set at 100% cost recovery. -7- COUNCIL GOALS: 19L J1 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS-PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES OBJECTIVE Support ongoing public safety services consistent with community growth, with special emphasis on neighborhoods and the downtown. DISCUSSION Background Downtown Safety and Services ■ Since 1988, the Department has added only one sworn officer to the regular patrol staffing (the downtown officer). Based on demonstrated needs and the fact that the downtown core represents over 20% of the Department's calls for service, in 1996 one officer was assigned to the downtown on a permanent basis. Over the years, he has developed the program to include bicycle patrol and even received the donation of office space in the Downtown Center. As most of the initial problems were daytime related,most of his hours were spent on day shift with some adjustment to cover Thursday night Farmers' Market. ■ By all measures the downtown officer program has been a resounding success in achieving the goal of increasing both real and perceived safety in our downtown core. Not only has the officer taken effective enforcement action when necessary, but his presence has deterred other criminal and detrimental activities. The corollary effect has been to leave other field patrol units available to provide other needed services and enforcement in the rest of the community. The officer has also been the focal point of many positive contacts and collaborations with the business community and the police department. During the life of the program, the only obvious deficiency has been the limits placed on the hours available with only one person assigned. ■ Based on these successes and clearly demonstrated needs on evenings and weekends, we are proposing the addition of two officers to the downtown program. As the City has grown we have seen more restaurants, night clubs, and businesses open later in the downtown. Problems with drinking, fights, vandalism, and other offenses have clearly been increasing in the evening hours. The additional positions would allow us to add coverage to our busy daytime weekends and the busier nights of the week. As was seen with the one officer, these officers will again free regular patrol officers to handle calls and provide preventative patrols in the rest of the community - particularly in our neighborhoods during evening hours. Student Neighborhood Assistance Program (SNAP) ■ Like the downtown officer, the SNAP program was created to handle a growing service need through the use of trained students rather than sworn police officers. Over the nearly five years the program has been in place, like the downtown officer, it has been extremely effective in providing quicker responses to noise complaints while freeing up swom officers to handle more serious calls and provide preventative patrol. -8- COUNCIL GOALS: 19b*-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS-PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES ■ Last year the Police Department took over management of the program from Cal Poly and is now able to schedule SNAP personnel over more of the year. This was done to provide better coverage as both Cal Poly and Cuesta College are increasing summer enrollments with corresponding numbers of noise complaints. Even with the increased coverage and adjusting schedules, we continue to see significant delays to some of the over 3,200 noise complaints we receive annually. While we have worked with many groups to try and stem the increase in these kinds of calls, it is clear that for the foreseeable future we will continue to see the number of calls remain the same or,more likely, increase. Therefore, we are requesting an increase in funding for the SNAP program. It has reached the point that officers will have to start responding to calls or longer delays will occur. We are asking for funding to double the number of hours available for deployment of SNAP personnel. This will allow us to deploy a second team during our busier times of the year and ensure effective year round coverage. SNAP offers a high level of service for the dollar cost and helps reduce friction between our younger population and the Department. For these reasons, we believe that it is the most efficient method to address the majority of noise related problems in our neighborhoods. Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal ■ Downtown Officer. Lead time for recruitment is the most significant challenge to the timely implementation of the program. If a lateral police officer eligibility list is in place at the time of the adoption of the budget, we could conceivably have a start date of October 1999. If a new testing process must be initiated or entry level police officers are hired, implementation may well be delayed until approximately January 2000. ■ Student Neighborhood Assistance Program (SNAP). The only real challenge in this program is the ongoing requirement of recruitment, training, and monitoring of the SNAP team members. As we use students to fill these positions, we are constrained by the academic year and the fact that once a student graduates they leave the program. This challenge is somewhat reduced by the number of students who now take classes year round and the fact that when the City took the program over, we opened recruitment up to Cuesta College students. ACTION PLAN Task Date • Begin police officer recruitment process,if necessary 8/99 • Select SNAP personnel from existing eligibility list 9/99 • Select new police officers 10/99 RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT The Police Department is responsible for all aspects of this program with the exception of personnel recruitment, which falls to Human Resources. -9- COUNCIL GOALS: 19%._ ,01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS-PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL Downtown Officers 00 000 Police Officer Salary and Benefits—Two Positions * 89,700 120,400 Officer Safety Equipment—Two Positions 5,800 0 Patrol Vehicle 32,000 0 Rifle and Shotgun for Vehicle 1,000 0 In-Car Video System 5,600 0 Total $1349100 $1205400 * First year costs reflect positions costing$119,600 annually starting in October of 1999. Student Neighborhood Assistance Program (SNAP) 00 2000-01 Temporary Staffing and Benefits 15,200 15,200 Uniforms and Equipment 700 700 Total $159900 $15,900 GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL Some potential exists for fines and citations to create revenue; however amounts can not be accurately projected. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT This request is consistent with the long standing emphasis on maintaining the downtown core area as the retail and cultural center of the community and promoting the health of neighborhoods. The request for additional officers recognizes that commercial growth in the downtown will primarily be through the expansion of evening hours and weekends and that the potential of increased alcohol sales and abuse is present. Only through a consistent police presence will we be able to insure that the downtown remains a safe and enjoyable area for all to use. The request for additional SNAP team members is in direct response to the strong desire of individuals and groups in maintaining the quality of life in neighborhoods where increasing numbers of rental properties are present. SNAP is a cost effective method of addressing noise issues in the least confrontational manner possible. -10- COUNCIL GOALS: 19bv-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS-LONG TERM WATER SUPPLY OBJECTIVE Obtain supplemental water supplies consistent with General Plan growth limits and reliability reserve requirements. Programs and projects to achieve this goal include: water conservation, water reuse, the Nacimiento pipeline, preservation of the water rights to the expanded capacity of the Salinas Reservoir, evaluation of other water supply alternatives, and increased public awareness through periodic reports, public outreach and education. DISCUSSION Background ■ Developing supplemental water supplies has been a Major City Goal for some time and will likely continue to be for the foreseeable future. The nature and scope of the available water supply project alternatives will continue to result in their being multi-year objectives. Yet, significant progress has been made and it is likely that one additional water supply project (water reuse) will be brought on-line within this financial planning period. ■ All water supply development efforts, as identified in prior financial planning periods and in the Urban Water Management Plan, are consistent with the water supply needs of the City as identified in the General Plan and the Water Management Element of the General Plan. ■ The City currently has an effective water conservation program in place which is achieving nearly a 30% conservation rate over the historical high water use rate of 185 gallons per capita per day (gpcd). A revised "water shortage contingency"plan, based to some degree on the relatively high level of ongoing conservation, is currently being developed and will be presented to Council early in the 1999-00 fiscal year. The water conservation program is currently funded at about$225,000 per year. ■ The Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) for the water reuse and Salinas reservoir expansion projects have been certified by Council. The EIR for the Nacimiento pipeline project is anticipated to be certified by the County Board of Supervisors in the year 2000. The EIR process for these projects is very complex and their certification represents completion of a significant milestone toward the accomplishment of this major city goal. ■ A discussion of the status of the City's water supply resources and a review of new supply alternatives is provided annually to the Council in the Water Resources Status report. ■ The Utilities Department manages a public information program for the purpose of disseminating information to the community regarding water supply projects, water conservation programs,water rates, solid waste/recycling, and Utilities operating programs. This public information program is funded annually at about$80,000. ■ Staff will continue to pursue developing the three primary water supply projects—water reuse, Salinas reservoir expansion, and the Nacimiento pipeline projects—in such combination as to meet the water supply needs of the General Plan and reliability reserve. -11- COUNCIL GOALS: 19k. _ 41 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS-LONG TERM WATER SUPPLY Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal Developing new water supply projects as envisioned with this goal face numerous challenges. No-growth advocates will generally oppose water supply development from a number of fronts. Water supply projects are generally not without some environmental consequences that must either be fully mitigated or require that a statement of overriding considerations be made. Further. these water supply projects will require approvals and permits from a number of regulatory agencies which can result in a long and costly process of analysis and reporting. Finally, water supply projects are costly, and in the case of the Nacimiento pipeline project, rely on the participation of a number of other water purveyors for the project to remain technically and economically feasible. Specific challenges for each of our major water supply project alternatives are detailed below. ■ Nacimiento Pipeline Project The most likely significant challenge facing this project is continuing the participation of a number of other agencies required to keep this project financially feasible. Not all participants have an immediate need for the water, nor have they positioned themselves financially to absorb the high costs of the Nacimiento project without significant rate increases. Additionally, the project is still in the EIR phase, and as we have seen with our other supply projects, completion of this phase can be a significant challenge. Pipeline routing, construction impacts to the environment, and effects of the project on lake levels and recreation are but a few of the major issues being addressed in the revised draft EIR for the project. ■ Water Reuse Project The water reuse project is currently in the final stages of completing the environmental review and compliance phase. Due to the potential impacts to the southern steelhead trout, a local species that has been federally listed as "threatened," a Section 7 consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is currently being completed and should be in hand prior to the end of the 1998-99 fiscal year. Following completion of the Section 7 consultation, staff will present to the Council a final mitigation and monitoring plan, and seek approval to file the Notice of Completion for the project EIR with the County. After this, any legal challenges of the EIR must be made within 30 days. In addition, staff will pursue dismissal of the protests filed with the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) on the City's permit to allow a "change in place and purpose of use" of the treated wastewater. Should all go well with these processes, we will be in a position to give the previously selected project design firm—Brown and Caldwell Engineers—the green light to prepare the project plans and specifications for construction of the reclaimed water distribution system. As plans and specifications are being prepared, staff will complete the process for obtaining approval of the low interest State Revolving Fund(SRF)loan to be used to finance this project. ■ Salinas Reservoir Expansion Project The goal as proposed by Council for this project was to ensure the "preservation of the Salinas reservoir water rights." A significant challenge facing achievement of this goal is the approval of the City's request for an extension of time on our water rights permit. The requested time extension has been deferred pending completion of the EIR for the expansion project. Now that the EIR has been completed and certified by Council, staff has requested a hearing before the SWRCB to approve our requested time extension. At this time, it is uncertain that the Board will grant the City's request. Should the request be granted, then it will be critical that the City move aggressively and judiciously toward completion of the project or seriously risk losing our rights to the expanded capacity of the reservoir. Significant challenges facing the completion of the project include: -12- COUNCIL GOALS: 199v-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—LONG TERM WATER SUPPLY • Transfer of the dam and surrounding property from the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOS) to a local agency. • National Environmental Policy Act(NEPA)compliance for the property transfer. • Development of the detailed mitigation and mitigation monitoring plan. • Agreements with private property owners adjacent to the project to allow mitigation work on their properties. • Regulatory permitting, design and approval by the State Division of Safety of Dams (DSOD). • Financing and construction. Finally, the Council should expect a challenge of the project from North County water interests and the environmental community. That said, staff still considers the Salinas reservoir expansion a good and very feasible project that is largely within the control of the City. ACTION PLAN Task Date Water Conservation • Prepare and approve operating program budget to maintain water conservation programs. 7/99 • Hold Council study session on the City's water conservation program and new technologies. 9/99 Water Shortage Contingency Plan • Council approves revised water shortage contingency plan. 1/00 Water Reuse • Complete Section 7 ESA consultation with the NMFS. 7/99 • Obtain"Change in Place and Purpose of Use"permit. 1/00 • Complete design. 8/00 • Obtain approval of SRF loan financing from the SWRCB. 8/00 • Advertise project for bids. 10/00 • Award contract for construction. 3/01 Nacimiento Pipeline Project • Council considers project EIR. 3/00 • Council considers final reservation agreement for project design and construction. 7/00 Salinas Reservoir Expansion • Obtain permit time extension from SWRCB. 9/99 • Approve agreement amendment for consultant services with URS Greiner Woodward Clyde and 9/99 proposed action plan for proceeding with the project relative to NEPA compliance,property transfer,mitigation plan development,and design. • Approve ownership transfer agreements between City and County of San Luis Obispo. 1/00 • Complete development of detailed mitigation and mitigation monitoring plans. 1/01 • Initiate legislative transfer of ownership with local federal representative. 1/01 Increased Public Awareness • Council approves public information program in Utilities Administration 1999-01 budget. 7/99 -13- COUNCIL GOALS: 19;._ 41 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—LONG TERM WATER SUPPLY RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT Utilities with assistance as required from Administration and City Attorney. FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL The financial and staff resources needed to complete this ongoing goal have been and will be included in the Utilities Department operating and capital improvement plan (CIP) budgets. The information provided in this section are order of magnitude representations for the specific program or project being discussed. Detailed analysis of the cost of these projects and their relationship to rates and fees is included in the Department's annual water fund rate analysis. The most recent fund analysis showed that the water reuse project could be completed and funded within the existing structure of rates and fees, and that the Nacimiento pipeline project, which is assumed at this time to be our most costly option, could be funded with only modest(less than 5%)rate increases over a two to three year time period. For the most part, the City is very well financially positioned to accomplish this critical Major City Goal with a minimum impact to our rate payers. ■ Water Conservation. Current staff resources are adequate to maintain an aggressive and effective water conservation program. Adequate financial resources will be ensured with the approval of the 1999-01 Financial Plan. Current operating program expenditures for the City's water conservation programs are approximately $225,000 per year including staffing costs. During the development and adoption of the Urban Water Management Plan, an extensive analysis of the cost feasibility of attaining a higher level of conservation in lieu of developing additional supplies was presented to Council. At that time a decision was made to implement all cost effective water conservation measures that would provide reliable water savings during the planning period, to the year 2025. Additionally, it was determined that it is not cost feasible to attain and ensure higher levels of ongoing conservation beyond the adopted water conservation measures; as such, no additional resources are recommended for program expansion at this time. A full evaluation of new technology trends in water conservation will be presented to the Council in September of 1999. We do not anticipate that additional funds will be required to implement any potential new programs. ■ Water Reuse. Funding for the water reuse project was approved in the 1995-97 Financial Plan and revised in the 1997-99 Financial Plan. The funding and timelines for the project will again be revised based on current information and will be resubmitted in the 1999-01 Financial Plan. The revised estimates indicated a 1999-01 C1P request of$8.9 million in 2000-01 for construction of the reclaimed water distribution system and facilities improvements as a single phase. Total project costs, including expenditures to date and anticipated mitigation, are estimated at$10,585,000. Annual debt service costs for the water reuse project are estimated at approximately$830,000. This project will be funded through SRF low interest loan financing at an interest rate that is typically half of conventional loan financing. The cost per acre foot of yield developed with the water reuse project is estimated at $775 per acre foot for the initial 20 year financing period. ■ Nacimiento Pipeline Project. As currently envisioned, design and construction costs for the Nacimiento pipeline project will be initially funded through a County bond issue and the debt service will be recovered through the sales of the water to the project participants. The participation agreements -14- COUNCIL GOALS: 19yy-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—LONG TERM WATER SUPPLY are expected to be worded such that the participants in the project will pay for at least the capital component of the project in proportion to their requested allocation, whether or not they actually use the water. The City will therefore incur the cost of Nacimiento water as an operating program cost starting at approximately the time of the completion of construction. These costs are projected to be funded through a combination of water service rates and development impact fees. The current cost estimates for Nacimiento water delivered untreated to the City range upwards from $800 per acre foot. At the current 3,380 acre foot per year allocation request, the annual operating cost is estimated at $2.7 million. As the project proceeds through completion of the EIR, design, and execution of the final reservation agreements, the actual costs to participants will continue to be refined and funding options further evaluated. Utilities staff are currently managing the City's participation in the Nacimiento pipeline project, and no additional staff resources are projected to be required for continued development of this project during this financial planning period. ■ Salinas Reservoir Expansion Project. The Salinas reservoir expansion project is currently being managed in-house by the City's Water Division Manager. Consultant services have been used in developing the EIR and related preliminary studies, and are projected to be used to assist the City with the remaining work on the project associated with the transfer of ownership, NEPA compliance, CEQA mitigation plan development, project engineering and design, and permitting. To date, the costs associated with the EIR and preliminary studies have been funded through the Utilities Department's operating and CIP budgets on a pay-as-you-go basis. Staff anticipates continuing to develop the project on this basis until such time as the project is ready to proceed to the construction phase, when bond financing would be secured to complete the project. The most recent cost estimate for completing all phases of work remaining for the Salinas reservoir expansion project totals nearly $21.5 million. This assumes a very conservative (high) estimate for CEQA compliance and mitigation planning and implementation of nearly $11 million, or greater than 50% of the entire project budget. This value could vary substantially depending on the degree of mitigation finally required, precise mitigation strategies selected and cooperation of private property owners. Costs to be proposed as a part of this two year financial planning period required to complete the action plan outlined above will total about $1.3 million, and will be included in the Utilities Department's 1999-01 Financial Plan requests. With a total safe annual yield addition of 1,650 acre feet per year, the cost per acre foot for water developed from the project could range from $800 to $1200 per acre foot depending on the extent of mitigation costs encountered. This assumes a range of$5 million to $11 million for the cost of mitigation. GENERAL.FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL A dependable, reliable long term water supply is an essential pre-requisite for attaining the adopted goals of the General Plan and furthering the City's economic development efforts, such as the airport area annexation, which will be fiscally beneficial for the City. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT Achieving this goal will result in assured, dependable long term water supplies that will meet General Plan goals and reliability reserve requirements. Completion of the identified action steps for this next two year financial planning period will provide considerable progress toward the ultimate attainment of this goal. If we are successful we will have: -15- COUNCIL GOALS: 195_ -01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—LONG TERM WATER SUPPLY ■ Initiated construction of our first new source of supply project,water reuse. ■ Secured our water rights for the expanded capacity of Salinas Reservoir and completed actions necessary to allow completion of this critical supply project and ultimately the perfection of our water rights. ■ Completed the steps necessary to evaluate the feasibility and timing of the only regional water supply project opportunity,the Nacimiento pipeline project. ■ Presented information to Council, and received direction on pursuing other water supply alternatives as appropriate. -16- COUNCIL GOALS: 19yzt-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—STREETS AND SIDEWALKS OBJECTIVE Complete an inventory of current sidewalk conditions, create a Sidewalk Management Plan, and continue ongoing maintenance of City streets and sidewalks. DISCUSSION Background During the last two-year budget the City adopted the goal of updating the Pavement Management Plan. That goal was met with the adoption of the 1998 Pavement Management Plan (PMP) in the spring of 1998. The goal also included creating an inventory of sidewalk conditions. Last year the City began implementing the newly adopted PMP by increasing the budget available for pavement maintenance and hiring a pavement management engineer. The PMP has been implemented as planned in Areas 1 and 2 of the City and the "grind and pave" program implemented in the downtown. The current sidewalk maintenance program consists of: ■ City staff responding to individual isolated sidewalk problems (including curb and gutters) by grinding, modifying or replacing the damaged facilities. ■ An annual contract sidewalk replacement project in areas of high pedestrian use. ■ 1997-99 CIP project to install $150,000 worth of new sidewalks in selected areas. Historically, the City implemented the placement of new sidewalks via a provision of the 1911 Act of the Streets and Highways Code whereby if certain conditions were met, the City could force new sidewalk construction to take place with the financial responsibility placed on the property owner affected. With the passage of Proposition 218 the City can no longer use the 1911 Act to obtain new sidewalk installation in existing developed areas where no sidewalk exists. The City used its own funds and sponsored a major project to install new sidewalks in 1998. Proposed Sidewalk Management Plan. A Sidewalk Management Plan will be prepared to address and place into one document all relevant issues about sidewalks. The plan will set policies for: installation and removal; where and when the Americans with Disabilities Act will apply; standard versus mission style sidewalks; tripping hazards; and recommendations on financing. Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Objective Sidewalks. In previous years when the 1911 Act was being used to obtain new sidewalk construction in existing areas, a substantial number of new sidewalks were built. Areas not covered during those years were usually the harder locations (e.g. requiring retaining walls, etc.). Thus any Plan that includes the construction of new sidewalk in existing areas will need to address those remaining, more difficult, and thus expensive, areas. The entire City network of sidewalks has been mapped but has not been converted to GIS data. Conversion will allow inputting of previous maintenance work and analysis on problem areas as well as better locational data to City crews responding to maintenance requests. -17- COUNCIL GOALS: 195_ J1 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—STREETS AND SIDEWALKS Streets. Funding for ongoing pavement maintenance is critical if the PMP is to succeed. As mentioned above, Areas 1 and 2 have received the benefit of the initial funding as shown in the PMP. The PMP lays out an eight year rotation for the entire City at which time the benefits of a well planned program will be evident. Maintaining funding and maintaining adherence to the plan will be key issues. ACTION PLAN Task .. • Budget for and continue to evaluate new procedures for installing new sidewalks. 7/99 • Budget for and continue to evaluate new procedures for causing property owners to be 7/99 responsible for the maintenance of their sidewalks. • Budget for and continue implementing the 1998 Pavement Management Plan. 7/99 • Complete inventory of street and sidewalk conditions; begin entering into GIS. 2/99 • Prepare and present a Sidewalk Management Plan. 9/00 RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT Public Works FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL Streets. City general funds will continue to be programmed each budget year to support pavement management activities. For pavement overlay and reconstruction, this will cost about $1,566,000 annually in 1999-2001 compared with $620,000 annually allocated for this purpose in 1995-97. Additionally, the budget for seal- coating has been increased from $170,000 to $458,000 annually (an increase of$280,000 per year) in order to achieve pavement management goals of resealing all streets not overlaid or reconstructed in an 8 year period. Also, the current budget includes added funding in the amount of$210,000 annually for downtown street repair ($150,000) and pothole, crack sealing, grinding/paving and curb repair(60,000). In summary, including a new engineering position, the current street maintenance and repair budget was increased by about $1,150,000 annually as a result of the PMP. This results in direct operating and CIP costs (including engineering and street maintenance staffing) of about $3.2 million annually for street and sidewalk maintenance. Sidewalks. The 1997-99 Financial Plan included $75,000 annually for initiating a 1911 Act sidewalk construction program. With the enactment of Proposition 218, the City has not been able to assess property owners for the cost of constructing new sidewalks. This program proposes that the City continue to fund the construction of new sidewalks at the same level based upon design and priority established in an adopted Sidewalk Management Program. The 1997-99 Financial Plan also included $30,000 for contract maintenance of existing sidewalks. The City has traditionally paid for repair of damaged sidewalks in the downtown and damage caused by trees. The adjacent property owner has paid for other damage. This sidewalk program would continue funding the current maintenance program at the same level. Upon completion of the Sidewalk Management Plan, the level of funding for maintenance and new sidewalk construction will be reviewed and the Council will be asked to consider new design standards, set priorities, and establish funding levels for both maintenance and new construction. -18- COUNCIL GOALS: 19 -01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS-STREETS AND SIDEWALKS GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL None. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT Achieving this goal will result in safe, convenient and attractive access throughout the community by effectively and efficiently maintaining City streets and pedestrian facilities. -19- COUNCIL GOALS: 19L_ 91 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—PARKING AND DOWNTOWN ACCESS PLAN OBJECTIVE Adopt and begin implementing the Parking and Downtown Access Plan (PDAP) addressing a balance between parking supply,management and demand reduction. DISCUSSION Background In the Spring of 1999, the Council is scheduled to consider the Parking and Downtown Access Plan (PDAP). This plan establishes a balanced program for providing additional parking, better managing existing parking, and reducing the demand for parking by downtown employees. Consistent with the plan's implementation program, during the next two years the actions presented below will be undertaken. Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal Each part of the program will be challenging: ■ Reducing the demand for parking by downtown employees will require the visible support of the City and downtown business organizations. Lack of a commitment to parking demand reduction (PDR) programs will not achieve desired results; and the City must be patient in gauging the success of this new program and commit sufficient time and effort to make it work. ■ Changing the fare structure of downtown parking may be met with resistance. Motorists who are used to receiving 90 minute free parking may object to its reduction to 60 minutes and not understand the fiscal benefits of doing so. ■ Implementing planning and land acquisition for the Palm II parking structure may be controversial. Measuring and judging the "trigger" mechanisms to allow Palm II to go to construction will also be controversial. ACTION PLAN Task Date Parking Expansion • Acquire properties for Palm II construction. 7/00 • Complete conceptual design studies for Palm 11 configuration. 7/01 • Complete the Marsh Street garage expansion. 7/01 • Initiate cordon count and parking utilization monitoring program. 9/01 Parking Management • Reduce free parking from 90 to 60 minutes;increase the number of 10-hour meters at the periphery of 12/99 the SLODA area; increase fees for long-term parking in garages. • Consider establishing residential parking management programs in peripheral residential areas after 9/01 the Marsh Street garage expansion is complete. -20- COUNCIL GOALS: 19ba-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—PARKING AND DOWNTOWN ACCESS PLAN Task Date Demand Reduction(PDR) • Develop PDR work program;establish relationship with Ride-On Transportation to market PDR 1/00 program and provide services;contact County concerning implementation of Trip Reduction Incentive Program(TRIP);launch PDR marketing campaign;lower van pool fares. • Enhance preferential parking program for carpools and van pools; establish pick-up and drop-off 3/00 zones;reduce monthly parking pass for carpools and van pools. • Undertake planning for additional bikeways to provide access to the downtown; implement high 4/00 priority projects. RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT The Public Works Department Transportation Division will be responsible for implementing these programs. FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL The estimated cost of the Marsh Street Garage is $5.3 million; property acquisition for Palm II is estimated at $1.7 million; and design studies for Palm II are estimated at $100,000. Funding for the Marsh Street garage expansion, and $1.5 million for land acquisition, has already been approved in the 1997-99 Financial Plan. Cordon counts to measure program success and demand for Palm II construction will take additional contract services—most likely in the form of student intems but possibly a consulting service. Key staff resources needed to achieve this goal include the Transportation Division's Parking Manager, Transportation Planner, and Transportation Assistants and interns. Funding for additional technical staff/interns will be needed to conduct the requisite program monitoring activities. Staff estimates these costs at$10,000. GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL The primary fiscal impacts of this program will be on the parking fund. While grant funding of PDR programs is the first priority for their financing, it is likely that some parking funds will be used. At the same time, revenue enhancements to the parking fund should be realized through the restructuring of long-term parking rates in garages and the reduction in the amount of free parking from 90 to 60 minutes. However, by improving access to the downtown, this program should positively affect economic activity in the downtown, which is the City's highest sales tax producing area. While the amount of this impact can not easily be quantified, we believe improved access to the downtown is essential in retaining and enhancing the economic vitality of downtown. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT Achieving this goal will result in the following final work products: ■ A completed expansion of the Marsh street parking structure. ■ An operational PDR program. ■ Better use of existing downtown parking through improved management. -21- COUNCIL GOALS: 195_ -J1 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—PARKING AND DOWNTOWN ACCESS PLAN ■ Monitoring program to establish changes in demand for parking and the performance of PDR and parking management activities. ■ Completed conceptual plan and land acquisition for the Palm II parking structure. _22_ COUNCIL GOALS: 190-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS-PARKS AND RECREATION ELEMENT IMPLEMENTATION OBJECTIVE Continue implementing the Parks and Recreation Element,with a special emphasis on: ■ Athletic Fields. Complete property acquisition for athletic fields, prepare environmental studies and construction documents, and start construction;negotiate with other agencies for joint use of their fields. ■ Community Center and Therapy Pool. Conduct a needs, location, and funding study for a new community center(senior and multi-use); and evaluate options for a multi-use therapy pool. DISCUSSION Background On May 16, 1995, the City Council adopted the current version of the Parks and Recreation Element. That document identified the major facility needs as: ■ Youth Athletic Fields ■ Gymnasiums ■ Neighborhood Parks Program needs targeted the following age groups: ■ At-Risk Youth ■ Children and Teens ■ Senior Citizens The implementation of the Element during the 1995-97 and 1997-99 Financial Plans focused primarily on improving existing, and adding new, recreation facilities. The 1995-97 Financial Plan included funding to improve existing youth athletic fields, convert 5 elementary school multi-purpose rooms to gymnasiums, refurbish Taylor Gym, and make neighborhood park improvements at 3 sites, including Emerson Park. The 1997-99 Financial Plan funded additional neighborhood park improvements and completion of the Sinsheimer Park Master Plan. The major capital improvement plan (CIP) project in the 1997-99 Financial Plan was the allocation of $300,000 annually to fund the development of a major sports field complex. That project has progressed to the point that a site purchase is eminent. While funding has been modestly increased for recreation programs that address the under-served age groups, it has not been to the extent that has been allocated to facility improvements. However, through a variety of methods, including the following,programs have been increased: ■ Reallocation of funds from unsuccessful activities to new programs. The major expansion of middle school programs resulted from this action. ■ Use of Community Development Block Grant(CDBG) funds to start the S.T.A.R. program (this program is now funded by the General Fund). ■ Cooperative ventures with private business such as starting the skateboard program. -23- COUNCIL GOALS: 195_-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—PARKS AND RECREATION ELEMENT IMPLEMENTATION ■ Cooperative ventures with other organizations such as the skate park development. ■ Conversion of programs from paid staff to volunteers such as youth basketball. This program was merged with the YMCA basketball program to further increase its quality. ■ Better use of existing resources, such as the youth and teen golf programs. ■ A Council-approved scholarship program to be more inclusive in program enrollment. ■ Community-based collaborative projects, such as the Mayor's Youth Task Force. ■ Cooperative programs with other City departments, such as Junior Giants Baseball with the Police Department. Workscope As discussed below, this work program focuses on developing athletic fields, and studying community/senior center and therapy pool needs. However, there are a number of operating programs and CIP projects related to implementation of the Parks&Recreation Element, including: ■ Continued improvements to the Jack House. ■ Park upgrades,including play equipment modernization and ADA compliance. ■ Neighborhood gymnasium payments per our cooperative use agreement with the school district. ■ Skate park expansion ■ Laguna Lake Park master plan implementation ■ Sinsheimer Park master plan implementation Athletic Fields This project can be completed during this budget period,provided the necessary permitting can be obtained from the appropriate regulatory agencies. Working with field user groups, staff will develop joint-use agreements with other agencies for use of their fields. Other agreements to develop fields in the City, such as proposed by AYSO soccer, are also possible. Community/Senior Center and Therapy Pool Study With consultant assistance,we will prepare a needs, location, and funding a new community center(senior/multi- use) and therapy pool. Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal The significant challenge to the implementation of the Parks and Recreation Element is the City's ability to allocate financial resources to the various projects. Another serious challenge will be obtaining the necessary regulatory agency permitting for several of the CIP projects. ■ Master Plan Implementation. Many of the previously-approved CIP projects are phased in such a manner that they can be funded at a level that resources permit. This is particularly true for the Sinsheimer Park and Laguna Lake Park improvements. There are some minor permitting issues associated with Sinsheimer Park, because a creek crosses the property; and initial plans for Laguna Lake -24- COUNCIL GOALS: 1950-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—PARKS AND RECREATION ELEMENT IMPLEMENTATION Park can be implemented without requiring regulatory approval. Under our agreement with the school district, the City is obligated to pay its share of the costs of upgrading two of the neighborhood gymnasiums during this fiscal period (at$75,000 each). Other issues can be best addressed through cooperative efforts. For example, funding for the Mayor's Youth Task Force will produce a significant number of new programs for teens in the community; and the Council has previously funded half of the latest improvements to the skate park. It is likely that grant funding will be secured this spring for the remaining portion. ■ Athletic Fields. Since this project has approved funding, the major challenge will be obtaining regulatory approval to begin construction. The proposed field location is bisected by Acacia Creek. In addition to the Army Corps of Engineers,Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Fish and Game approval, it is likely that some creek enhancements will be required. Staff proposes to begin the environmental work as soon as the property is acquired. Local field users will need to take an active role in the joint use of other agency fields. The County, for example, is willing to rent fields at a modest cost, provided field users do ongoing maintenance. AYSO Soccer is attempting to construct fields at the Elks' property and Nativity Church. They have requested assistance with materials and some ongoing operating costs. An effort to improve existing school district fields will require matching services from the users. The major constraint in using Cal Poly fields will be the available space. Community field users will not have a priority over university programs. ■ Community Center/Therapy Pool Study. This study will be completed with consultant assistance in completing the needs assessment. Extensive citizen input will be needed for the study. Since the Parks and Recreation Element is due to be updated in 2000, it makes sense to do it simultaneously with the needs assessment. A Cal Poly Research Methodology class has been enlisted to conduct a community survey in conjunction with this project. The Parks and Recreation Commission will take an active role in this study. Ultimately,the challenge to construct these facilities will be the development of funding sources. ACTION PLAN Athletic Field Development • Complete property Yacquisition 7/99 • Design environmental mitigation 12/99 • Complete permitting process 6/00 • Design construction project 12/00 • Begin construction 4/01 -25- COUNCIL GOALS: 1916_ a1 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—PARKS AND RECREATION ELEMENT IMPLEMENTATION Joint Use of Athletic Fields Task Date • . - • Enter into joint use agreement with County 7/99 • Enter into joint use agreement with Cal Poly When fields are completed • Field user improvements to SLCUSD fields Ongoing • Assistance for field users developing new fields Ongoing Community Center/Therapy Pool Study Task Date • . - • Determine the scope of the project 9/99 • Select a consultant 12/99 • Receive input from user groups 3/00 • Prepare demographic statistics 6/00 • Identify and evaluate possible sites 6/00 • Visit facilities in other communities 6/00 • Conduct community survey 6/00 • Complete draft Parks&Recreation Element update 10/00 • Identify possible funding sources 2/01 • Report results to Council 4/01 RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT The overall responsibility for completing this goal lies with the Parks and Recreation Department. Since many of the implementation projects are capital in nature, the Engineering Division of the Public Works Department will also be heavily involved in completing this goal. ■ Engineering will be the lead on athletic field construction. ■ Parks and Recreation staff will be responsible for athletic field project coordination,joint-use agreements and the community center/therapy pool study. FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL Capital Improvement Plan Projects 1999-00 2000-01 Field improvements(AYSO in 99-00) 20,000 10,000 Community Center/'Therapy Pool Study 20,000 TOTAL $40,000 $10,000 O'Note: Funding for the athletic fields projects was approved in the 1997-99 Financial Plan; no additional resources are required at this time.. Operating Programs 1999-00 2000-01 Use of County fields 3,500 3,500 Assistance to AYSO for Elks' &Nativity Fields 6,000 9,000 TOTAL $9,500 $12,500 -26- COUNCIL GOALS: 19"- 1 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS-PARKS AND RECREATION ELEMENT IMPLEMENTATION GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL Many of the facilities have the potential to generate revenue, but at a best case, it would offset expenses. The Athletic Fields have a significant revenue potential. In January of 1997, the UCSB Economic Forecast Project studied the Athletic Field Project for its revenue potential. They determined that the fields have the potential to generate $170,000 of revenue to the City annually. This revenue is based on having local sports organizations host tournaments on the fields that attract out-of-town teams. Such revenue can only be considered a projection at this time and would likely take several years to reach this amount. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT Achieving this goal will result in increased availability of athletic fields and better information on community center/therapy pool needs. _27_ COUNCIL GOALS: 19t_-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS FOR CULTURAL RESOURCES OBJECTIVE Promote the City's Community Partnership Policy by assisting local groups in identifying needs and outside funding opportimities in supporting the development and expansion of our cultural resources such as: County Historical Museum, San Luis Obispo Art Center, adobe restorations, natural history museum, railroad museum, archaeological museum, Children's Museum, San Luis Obispo Little Theatre and demonstration farm/agricultural history/petting zoo. DISCUSSION Background ■ In October of 1998, the Council adopted a Community Partnership and Foundation Policy which provides the basis for establishing formal partnerships with non-profit organizations to promote interests of mutual benefit to both parties. It also sets the criteria for the Council to formally endorse certain community foundations. ■ The City currently has partnerships with several cultural organizations. For example,the City: ■ contracts with Friends of Las Casas de Adobe(FOCA)to restore three historic City-owned adobes. ■ allows the San Luis Obispo Little Theatre and the San Luis Obispo Children's Museum to lease City property on a short-tern basis at$1.00 per year. ■ provides the old Carnegie Library as a location for the County Historical Museum. ■ leases property to the San Luis Obispo Art Center. ■ The City is in the process of developing a long-term lease with the Children's Museum to allow it to expand on its existing City-owned site. ■ The City currently contracts with an archaeologist who is cataloguing artifacts recovered during the construction of the Palm Street parking structure. Through a partnership with Cal Poly we have established a laboratory on campus where volunteers assist with the sorting. ■ A non-profit organization called the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum has recently been established with a goal to develop a railroad museum in the old freight building owned by the City, with engine displays on nearby tracks. ■ Through the Promotional Coordinating Committee (PCC), the City grants more than $85,000 to local cultural organizations, including FOCA, Little Theatre, the Children's Museum, the County Historical Museum and the Art Center. ■ The City is in a three-way partnership with Cal Poly and the Foundation for the Performing Arts Center (FPAC) for the operation of the Performing Arts Center. -28- COUNCIL GOALS: 199 -=01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS-COMIVIUNITY PARTNERSHIPS FOR CULTURAL RESOURCES Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal ■ Current City staff does not have the available time to become an efficient grant writing resource for outside non-profit organizations at this time. To develop a successful grants assistance program would require additional staff,preferably with specific grant writing skills. ■ Land for physical expansion of the Art Center and the County Historical Museum is not currently available. Significant issues relating to the relocation of surface parking need to be resolved before such space could be made possible. ■ The San Luis Obispo Little Theatre is currently in the beginning stages of a capital campaign for a new theater, and has not yet found an appropriate site for the new building. Additional City assistance in finding a location may be premature until the capital campaign is pursued more aggressively. ■ A more appropriate alternative to City-owned property may be available for a demonstration farm/agricultural history museum/petting zoo. ■ The City currently has no funding for purchasing property for or constructing new museums. Community support must be present both for construction and operation of such facilities. ■ While the Performing Arts Center has achieved success during its initial three seasons, significant financial challenges remain to be resolved by the Commission and partnership. AMON PLAN Task .. - • Increase the total of PCC grants to cultural organizations from$84,900 to$100,000. 7/99 • Explore establishing a formal partnership with the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum 10/99 • Complete a new lease agreement with the Children's Museum to allow its long-term use of the 10/99 property at 1010 Nipomo Street. • Continue working through the Commission for the Performing Arts Center and the three partners to 12/99 develop the funding necessary for the acoustic clouds,needed equipment,reserves for equipment repair and replacement and replacement of carpets and seats at the PAC. • Hire a consultant to perform a needs assessment/feasibility study relating to a natural history 6/00 museum and archaeological museum • Complete rehabilitation of the County Historical Museum building(Old Carnegie Library). 9/00 • Identify potential partners to lead the effort to establish a natural history museum or archaeological 1/01 museum- Work useumWork with Cal Poly to explore a partnership to develop a demonstration fami/agricultural history 3/01 exhibit/petting zoo and agricultural history museum at the University. • Work with the San Luis Obispo Art Center and Downtown Association to establish revolving art 4/01 exhibits in City-owned buildings. • Explore establishing a public arts advocacy group with local non-profit arts organizations(such as 6/01 the San Luis Obispo Art Center and the San Luis Obispo County Arts Council). • Continue to monitor the capital fundraising efforts of the Little Theatre and provide assistance,as Ongoing appropriate,with their site selection efforts. • Continue to provide appropriate staff and in-kind support to FOCA. Ongoing -29- COUNCIL GOALS: 195_ -J1 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS-COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS FOR CULTURAL RESOURCES RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT ■ Administration. Implementation of all items in this goal except Carnegie Library rehabilitation. ■ Public Works. Completion of Old Carnegie Library rehabilitation. FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL ■ Old Carnegie Library. Approximately $1.04 million in CDBG funding is currently available for restoration of the Old Carnegie Library. Staff will be asking the Council to approve additional funding of about$340,000 in CDBG funding for 1999-00. ■ Needs Assessment. Hiring a consultant to perform a needs assessment/feasibility study relating to a natural history museum and archaeological museum will cost$15,000. ■ Cultural Activity Grants. Increased funding in the amount of $15,100 for 1999-00 and $18,100 is recommended for cultural activity grants,bringing total funding for this to about$100,000 annually. ■ Performing Arts Center. Operating Costs: Continuing to fund the City's share of operating subsidies will cost $67,500 annually. Capital Costs: Paying for the City's share (one-sixth) of studying acoustical clouds ($30,000), purchasing and installing the acoustical clouds ($150,000) and establishing an equipment replacement program($50,000)will cost $230,000 in 1999-00. GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL Recent state and national tourism surveys indicate that historical and cultural tourism is the fastest growing type among families. By improving and expanding the number of such facilities in the community the City has the potential to increase the amount of transient occupancy and sales tax we receive through the tourism industry. Additionally, a recently prepared study by UCSB on the Performing Arts Center's first year of operations shows a very favorable economic and fiscal impact. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT By completing all the steps of this work program, the City will have helped many of its current partners such as the Children's Museum, County Historical Museum, FOCA, Little Theatre and the Art Center to strengthen or expand their programs. It will also establish mutually beneficial new partnerships with the San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum and possibly Cal Poly for a demonstration farm/petting zoo and agricultural history museum. The City will determine the need for and feasibility of establishing a natural history museum and possibly an archaeological museum, as well. Finally, the City and its partners will have resolved outstanding facility and financial issues at the Performing Arts Center. -30- COUNCIL GOALS: Mea-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—AIRPORT AREA ANNEXATION OBJECTIVE Complete the Airport Area Specific Plan, related facilities master plans, and the associated environmental impact report. After adopting the plans and completing the annexation of the Airport Area, initiate a program to fund and install the public improvements needed to serve the area. DISCUSSION Background In 1994, the City adopted an update to the Land Use Element of the General Plan which stated that the City would actively pursue annexation of the Airport Area by 1995. The General Plan stated that a specific plan for the area must be adopted before the area could be annexed. The City actively pursued this goal in 1995. However, the complexity created by the number of property owners (over 200) and agencies involved in producing the specific plan and completing the annexation made accomplishing the goal impossible. In December of 1995, the Council directed staff to take the lead in working with property owners and other agencies toward completing the plan. Staff also worked with property owners and key stakeholders to develop a funding program to pay for the costs of preparing the specific plan. In March of 1997, the Council approved a consultant contract for the services needed to complete the plan. The consultants started work in October 1997. The following tasks have been completed or are in progress: ■ Council approval of a process allowing limited annexations in the project area provided they meet specific planning criteria and contribute to the future costs of providing area-wide public facilities. ■ Background analysis and inventories. ■ Creation of models for calculating service demands. ■ Initial drafts of plans for providing infrastructure to the airport area. ■ Completion of draft urban design guidelines. ■ Initiation of the environmental impact report for the specific plan and infrastructure plans. ■ Numerous town hall meetings, focus group meetings,newsletters, and meetings with community groups. The following tasks have yet to be completed: ■ Consultant preparation of an infrastructure financing plan. ■ Compilation of the various plan components into the specific plan and infrastructure master plan components. ■ Completion and circulation of an environmental impact report. ■ Additional town hall meetings and newsletters. ■ Public hearings for adopting the completed plans. ■ Annexation of the airport area. -31- COUNCIL GOALS: 19t J1 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—AIRPORT AREA ANNEXATION Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal ■ Property owner support An ultimate implementation concern is that some property owners will not support annexation once the specific plan has been completed. Many property owners have expressed a desire to"wait and see"how much city services will cost before agreeing to annexation. This has always been a risk and has been well-discussed in many previous Council actions. The specific plan will provide detailed information on the design and costs of infrastructure necessary to service the airport area as well as strategies for funding the costs. This information will allow the City and property owners to make informed decisions regarding the effect of annexation. Preliminary fiscal analyses indicate that the annexation will be a net fiscal benefit to the City. A County study concluded that annexation to the City was the best fiscal alternative for the County as well. The specific plan information will allow property owners to assess the costs and benefits of annexation for their individual properties. General studies have shown that City services will allow for greater utilization of a property than would be possible with on-site and rural type services, and that the costs for a County agency to provide levels of services equivalent to those provided by the City would be significantly more. It is therefore expected that annexation will have a positive effect on most property owners,and that they will ultimately support it. ■ Possible election. Depending on the outcome of the property owner protest hearing, an election may be required. ■ Environmental issues. These are being analyzed as the plan is being prepared. Although an environmental impact report was prepared for the General Plan Land Use Element and Circulation Element updates that addressed the build-out of the Airport Area, the specific location and installation of future development and infrastructure will raise more specific issues. The contamination of soils on the UNOCAL property is also an issue. An environmental impact report for the specific plan will address these issues. ■ Long-term water supply. The City's adopted General Plan policy is that the City will secure adequate water supply for build-out of the area within the City's urban reserve boundary. The General Plan states that the City will allow annexation prior to having water supply on hand to serve ultimate build-out, but that adequate supply must exist before a development project is allowed to proceed. The City has several projects in progress that would provide supplemental sources of water to adequately serve all the City's needs at build-out. The City's water policy does not substantially lessen the development potential for properties annexed before new City water supplies are made available. Property developing under the County's jurisdiction in the airport area must rely on on-site water or small scale shared water supplies to serve the water needs of the project, including fire suppression. The City's policy allows annexed properties to continue to use on-site water resources to supplement available City water where on-site water is available or necessary. The City would supply water for fire suppression. -32- COUNCIL GOALS: 19bv-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—AIRPORT AREA ANNEXATION ACTION PLAN Task Date • . - • Continue public information program of meetings and newsletters. Ongoing • Hold ARC hearings on draft urban design guidelines. 5/99 • Complete administrative drafts of public facilities master plans. 5/99 • Complete administrative draft specific plan. 5/99 • Complete administrative draft infrastructure financing plan. 7/99 • Complete administrative draft environmental impact report(EIR). 7/99 • Begin public review of draft specific plan and draft EIR. 8/99 • Hold town hall workshop on draft specific plan and EIR. 8/99 • Respond to EIR comments. 10/99 • Hold Planning Commission hearings on the specific plan. 11/99 • Hold Council hearings,adopt infrastructure plans and specific plan,and certify the EIR. 2/00 • Begin annexation process. 3/00 RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT ■ Community Development. Provides overall project management and consultant supervision; prepares land use and development standards; directs consultant preparation of urban design guideline component of specific plan. ■ Administration. Provides overall project oversight and coordination; Natural Resources Manager: contributes to preparing the open space and resource protection standards, open space in-lieu fee program, and reviews specific plan drafts; Economic Development Manager: serves as property owner liaison, provides recommendations regarding needed land uses and appropriate development standards, and reviews plan drafts. ■ Public Works. Supervises sub-consultant preparation of the area-wide storm drainage plan and the circulation component of the specific plan;reviews specific plan drafts. ■ Utilities. Supervises sub-consultant preparation of water and wastewater master plans; reviews specific plan drafts. ■ Finance. Supervises sub-consultant preparation of the public facilities financing plan; reviews specific plan drafts. ■ Police. Reviews specific plan drafts, provides recommendations regarding additional services needed to serve the Airport Area. ■ Fire. Reviews specific plan drafts and hazardous materials issues; provides recommendations regarding additional services needed to serve the Airport Area. -33- COUNCIL GOALS: 196_-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—AIRPORT AREA ANNEXATION FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL The City's consultant services for completing the planning will cost $627,300. The funding program for these costs has already been approved by the Council, summarized below: Airport Area Citywide Consultant Services Funding Source Components Components TOTAL General Fund 67,100 67,100 Water Fund 115,500 30,000 145,500 Sewer Fund 62,700 30,000 92,700 CDBG Funding-City close-out funds 21,000 21,000 CDBG Funding- City 96-97 Allocation 92,600 92,600 CDBG Funding- County Share 53,400 53,400 Property Owner Funding 1 155,000 155,000 Total 1 $5679300 $609000 $627,300 Additional finding will be required to complete the annexation process. In 1993, the City submitted an annexation application to LAFCO for the entire airport and Margarita areas. This application expired after one year. The fees paid for this application were forfeited when the application expired. However, LAFCO staff have indicated that they will credit a subsequent area-wide annexation application with the fee amount previously paid. This would not be the case for subsequent incremental annexations. Additional Annexation Funding Needed Cost County planning fee 800 State Board of Equalization fee 2,500 Engineering consultant services to prepare official maps and legal description 4,500 LAFCO fee (previously paid) Public information/outreach 300 TOTAL $8,100 +' Note: These costs exclude possible election costs, which are estimated at$75,000. As noted above, we will not know if an election is needed until after the protest hearing. While significant staff resources are being committed to this work effort, these are being absorbed as part of the work program for the various departments involved. GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL The fiscal impact analysis for the airport area annexation concludes that annexing this area will have a substantial beneficial impact on City revenues, primarily due to the sales tax that will accrue to the City upon annexation. Immediately upon annexation, the projected net fiscal benefit (operating revenues over operating costs)is about$450,000; this grows to about$750,000 by build-out. Revenue from the non-residential development in the airport area helps to pay the long-term service costs of additional residential development in the City, which is needed to maintain and improve the City's jobs housing balance. With regard to the City's economic development goals, the airport area will provide a majority of the -34- COUNCIL GOALS: 19aa-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS-AIRPORT AREA ANNEXATION inventory for expansion or recruitment of targeted industries. The improved job opportunities that are expected to result should also contribute to the health of the City's economy. OUTCOM) --FINAL WORK PRODUCT Achieving this goal will result in the following long term plans: ■ Specific Plan for the airport area(including the urban design plan for the area) ■ Citywide water distribution master plan ■ Citywide wastewater master plan ■ Master circulation plan for the airport area ■ Master storm drainage plan for the Margarita and airport areas ■ Public facilities financing plan for the infrastructure plans ■ An environmental impact report for the specific plans and infrastructure plans The final result will be completion of the planning pre-requisite to annexing the airport area to the City. -35- COUNCIL GOALS: 195. J1 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—DOWNTOWN PLAN OBJECTIVE Develop a program to advance the objectives of the Conceptual Physical Plan for the City's Center in order to enhance retail opportunities,rationalize parking and circulation, and strengthen its downtown cultural core. DISCUSSION Background ■ The downtown is the "heart and soul" of San Luis Obispo. Consequently, the Council has established a number of General Plan policies to protect and enhance the downtown. ■ In the late 1980's, the Council determined that a strong, more current physical vision for the downtown was "missing" from our downtown planning efforts. The Council concluded that this physical vision could best be recommended by local professionals and other downtown stakeholders. ■ In November of 1990, the Council appointed a downtown physical plan "design team" consisting of five design professionals. The work of the team was overseen by a much larger "review committee," consisting of a cross-section of the community The resulting Conceptual Physical Plan for the City's Center was adopted by the Council in May of 1993. ■ Since adoption of the plan, several of the conceptual proposals have become realities through both public and private construction projects in the downtown. Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal ■ Many of the concepts within the Plan are well beyond the City's ability to fund in the near term. ■ Staff resources are limited, and even if a large amount of capital funding were available, there are only so many projects that can be managed at one time. Therefore, if the aggressive program set forth in this program is to be pursued, some delay in other projects or ongoing infrastructure maintenance programs may be experienced. ■ Per City policy, construction in the downtown needs to be spread out and carefully coordinated to avoid excessive business disruption. ■ Some of the concepts require the purchase of privately owned property which may not be willingly sold, and as such, could require condemnation action on the part of the City. ACTION PLAN Task Date EnhancingRetail Opportunities • Proceed with the Mid-Higuera Plan * Adopt plan 7/99 * Begin implementation 1999-00 • Establish a strategic retail recruitment partnership between the Downtown Association,the City, 1999-00 local real estate brokers and property owners to increase the downtown's attractiveness as a retail destination;prepare strategic plan. -36- COUNCIL GOALS: 1999-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—DOWNTOWN PLAN Task Date EnhancingRetail Opportunities(Continued) • Seek opportunities for increasing the inventory of downtown retail space. * Convert some existing surface parking lots to retail uses as replacement parking becomes 1999-01 available. • Plan for retail and mixed use in the Pahn 11 parking structure. • Cooperate with the County in its effort to maintain justice services and administrative offices in the 1999-00 downtown core,and discuss the possibilities of the Monterey Street Plaza with County officials • Investigate possibilities for an added hotel/motel site in or near the downtown,e.g.,a relocated auto 2000-01 dealership site. • Work with the Downtown Association to find an appropriate location and type of facility for the 2/00 addition of two more downtown public restrooms and install restrooms. • Develop an RFP to prepare a specific plan for future public and commercial use of the areas 5/00 between the three poles of City Hall,Court Street and Mission Plaza(both sides of Palm,Chorro, Monterey and Osos),including design concepts for future commercial and public use of the Court Street parking lot("Northwest Area Plan"). • Receive completed strategic plan for the downtown from consultant. 5/00 • Complete sidewalk and bulb-outs on Higuem Street as part of the Higuera Street bridge project; 10/00 authorize use as appropriate for outdoor dining. Rationalizing Parldng and Circulation • Implement the Parking and Downtown Access Plan strategies to improve parking supply,better 9/99 manage existing resources and reduce parking demand. • Palm 11 parking structure:—` * Commence planning. 11/99 * Acquire land. 11/00 • Re-examine the possibilities for an off-street regional transit transfer center. 2/00 • Construct the Garden Street make-over in accordance with the Conceptual Physical Plan for the 10/00 City's Center. • Complete the Marsh Street parking structure expansion. 7/01 Strengthening the Cultural Core • Complete the Creek Walk and related public art. 9/99 • Assist the Children's Museum with its expansion project. 10/99 • Negotiate with the property owner for the purchase of 978 Broad Street(immediately west of the 11/99 Historical Museum). • Coordinate with the San Luis Obispo Little Theatre on its site search. 1/00 • Review and update the Civic Center design analysis(City Hall expansion). 1/00 • Complete a study for the potential closure of the Broad Street"dog leg." 4/00 • Assist with a cultural facilities need assessment as outlined in the Community Partnership for 6/00 Cultural Resources goal. • Enhance the existing Public Art Program,including designating locations for the placement of 7/00 public art in the downtown core. • Complete the rehabilitation of the Carnegie Library(County Historical Museum). 9/00 • Work with the San Luis Obispo Art Center and Downtown Association to establish revolving art 4/01 exhibits in City-owned buildings. Other • Retain a landscape architect to design a new entry feature at the Marsh and Higuera Street 2/01 intersection. • Begin negotiations to acquire the property at 1095 Marsh Street(Marsh and Santa Rosa)for a future 6/00 park/creek walk. -37- COUNCIL GOALS: 1999-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—DOWNTOWN PLAN RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT ■ Administration. Overall oversight of the goal's completion. Directly responsible for action steps of: establishing a retail recruitment partnership; encouraging the County to maintain a presence downtown and discussing with them the Monterey Street Plaza possibility; assisting the Children's Museum and Little Theatre; assisting the San Luis Obispo Art Center and Downtown Association with a revolving art program; enhancing the Public Art Program; assisting with a cultural facilities needs assessment; and negotiating the purchase of property at 1095 Marsh Street. ■ Community Development. Direct responsibility for completing the Mid-Higuera Area Plan, assisting with the investigation of a downtown hotel/motel site; developing an RFP for the "Northwest Area Plan" and managing the consultant contract. ■ Public Works. Direct responsibility for all steps relating to parking and circulation, as well as the bulb- outs on Higuera Street, the two new downtown restrooms (along with the six others in connection with the downtown transit transfer center and the Marsh Street parking garage expansion), the Carnegie Library rehabilitation, the Creek Walk project completion, the civic center design analysis, the study of the Broad Street"dog leg,"property negotiations for 978 Broad Street, the design and construction of the Garden Street makeover, and the design of the entry feature at Marsh and Higuera Streets. ■ Finance. Responsible for implementing necessary project financing. FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL GENERAL FUND: • • Action Fanding to Date 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 • Mid-Higuerawidening** 1,293,000 177,300 180,100 764,700 484,900 • Downtown strategic plan 25,000 • Sidewalk bulb-outs 134,000 • RFP for"Downtown 40,000 Northwest Area Plan" • Two additional downtown 70,000 public restrooms • Garden Street makeover 40,000 250,000 • Civic center expansion * Study 50,000 * Plans and specifications 1,000,000 • Broad Street"dog leg" 20,000 closure study • Design for entry feature at 30,000 Marsh and Higuera Total 1 $1,293,000 $556,300 $430,100 $794,700 $1,484,900 ** Most of the costs for this project will be funded through grant sources see "Transportation Grants"below. -38- COUNCIL GOALS: 19!4.01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—DOWNTOWN PLAN GENERAL FUND: DEBT FINANCING Action Funding to Date 1 2002-03 • Property purchase at 1095 400,000 Marsh Street • Property purchase at 978 350,000 Broad Street Total $400,000 $350,000 TRANSPORTATION Action Funding to Date 1 1999-00 1 2000-01 1 2001-02 1 -03 • Mid-Higuera widening 1 1 $142,700 1 $144,900 1 $615,300 1 $390,100 Sources: State RHSA and Federal TEA-21 grants PARKING FUND Action Funding to Date 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 • Marsh Street parking 5,000,000 structure expansion • Palm II structure + Land acquisition 1,500,000 200,000 + Design studies 100,000 + Plans and specifications 1,300,000 Total $6,500,000 $200,000 $100,000 1 $1,300,000 TRANSIT FUND Action Funding to Date 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 • Transit transfer center site 50,000 location study • Appraisal and schematic 60,000 design Total $50,000 $60,000 CDBGFUNDS Funding to Date 1 1999-00 1 2000.01 1 2001-02 1 2002-03 • Rehabilitation of old Carnegie library $1,035,000 $346,000 The bulk of the above workload will be borne by the Public Works Department. Given current and projected workloads, significant time by staff will be spent administering consultant contracts in order to achieve the above listed goals. The schedule shown is highly and optimistically aggressive and, as such, achieving the above goals will result in delays of other ongoing needed City infrastructure maintenance projects. The years 2001-02 and 2002-03 are beyond the two year horizon of this budget period. For projects shown in those years to come to fruition, the goal setting process for the 2001-03 period would need to continue the priority funding for these projects. -39- COUNCIL.GOALS: 1%4-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—DOWNTOWN PLAN GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL By completing the action steps in this goal, the City will significantly increase its attractiveness both as a retail center and a tourist destination, thus leading to increases in two of our major sources of revenue: sales and transient occupancy taxes. The amount of added revenue is impossible to estimate with any reliability. However,it could be assumed that it will take many years to offset the initial General Fund cost. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT While not fully implementing the Conceptual Physical Plan for the City's Center by any means, completion of this goal will provide many key steps toward doing so. In particular, if negotiations are successful, it would mean that the City would acquire several important pieces of property necessary for implementing the plan. It will also provide studies or plans for completing several significant aspects of the Conceptual Plan such as: the Palm 11 parking structure, an entry feature at the intersection of Marsh and Higuera Streets, the Court Street development, closure of the Broad Street "dog leg" and the Civic Center(City Hall expansion). Additionally, it will actually provide construction of projects such as: Mid-Higuera street widening, the Marsh Street parking structure expansion, the Garden Street make-over and the next phase of the Creek Walk. Finally, it will result in strengthening the City as a retail and tourist center. -ao- COUNCIL GOALS: M,.,-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—OPEN SPACE PRESERVATION OBJECTIVE Continue preserving open space within and around the City. DISCUSSION Background ■ Beginning in 1995, the City Council formally established the City of San Luis Obispo Greenbelt Program to pursue the permanent protection of open space lands in areas around the City. In February 1996 the position of Natural Resources Manager was filled, and the contacting of landowners regarding conservation transactions was begun. The program involves purchase of fee or easement interest in land, dedication of fee or easement interest in land as part of the development approval process, and the donation of fee or easement interest in land by landowners with conservation motivations. ■ During the period from July 1,1995 to June 30, 1999, the Council authorized the expenditure of $1,750,000 for three major land transactions under the Greenbelt Program (Maino property, John Guidetti Ranch easement, and Bunnell property). In addition, the City received $495,000 in outside funding support for the Bunnell property transaction. The City also received commitment for the dedication of approximately 540 acres of land in the Irish Hills in connection with approvals for two residential development projects there. City staff are currently working on several other key transactions and on various open space planning efforts (e.g. Airport Area, Margarita,and Orcutt Specific Plans). ■ For the 1997-99 fiscal years, the Council allocated $400,000 in General Fund monies to the Greenbelt Program ($200,000 per year, with %z of that contingent upon obtaining matching grant funds). These funds, together with State monies and private contributions, were utilized in the Bunnell property transaction. The City has aggressively pursued grant funding, and over the past three years has applied for over $2.5 million in such funding. The City has been successful in obtaining commitments for $1.3 million in grants at this time. ■ The Council has indicated its willingness to allocate additional General Fund monies to open space projects, especially where City funding support is leveraging grants and other outside funding support. There are several pending projects that would meet those criteria. Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal ■ City fimding is limited, and competition for grant funds at both the State and Federal levels continues to intensify. Therefore, in addition to efforts in land purchase, it will be necessary to continue to consider innovative development projects that offer open space benefits to the community, and to continue to seek out conservation-minded individuals or families for donations of land or easements. ■ Acquisition negotiations are often difficult and time-consuming. -41- COUNCIL GOALS: 195 A FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—OPEN SPACE PRESERVATION ■ As the City acquires additional open space lands, there will be a corresponding increase in maintenance and patrol responsibilities which will require increases in the open space ranger program from time to time. ■ The difficulties inherent in the pursuit of this program may result in significant delays, or in the failure or abandonment of certain projects. ACTION PLAN Task Date • . - • Renew service contract with Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County. 7/99 • Purse grant programs and negotiate with willing landowners. ongoing • Participate in major planning efforts involving significant open space commitments, such ongoing as the Airport Area,Margarita Area,Mid-Higuera, and Orcutt Area. • Offer staff as an information resource to the community for any effort to place a measure ongoing on the ballot to establish a dedicated source of open space funding. • Continue a strong educational program to promote the benefits of open space and resource ongoing protection to the community. • Continue developing open space and natural resource data bases on City's GIS. ongoing RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT ■ Administration—Natural Resources. Managing overall program activities, including open space protection and trail planning and development. ■ Parks and Recreation. Assisting in site selection, trail planning and evaluation of long-term management and patrol needs. In consultation with the Natural Resources Manager, the ranger service will implement maintenance,patrol activities,and environmental education programs. ■ Community Development/Public Works/Finance. Community Development Department staff has the lead on the major planning efforts; Public Works will provide GIS support; Finance Department staff will assist in program financing. FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL Continuing the General Fund's commitment to open space acquisition will cost $200,000 annually. Of this amount, $100,000 annually should be allocated for grant or matching programs that achieve at least a one-to-one leveraging of non-General Fund resources. General Fund support beyond this annual base level can be considered on a case-by-case basis in connection with special grant opportunities, should they arise. However, given the pressures on the General Fund, any ongoing increase in the $200,000 base level will require new revenue sources; under Proposition 218,this will require voter approval. Staff resources will continue to be dedicated by the Natural Resources Manager—supported as necessary by other City staff—and by staff at the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County. -42- COUNCIL GOALS: 1W 1 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS-OPEN SPACE PRESERVATION GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL There is no direct revenue potential to the General Fund. The program does, however, provide a mechanism to leverage City funds with additional outside grant funds for open space acquisition projects. In addition, a successful open space program will, over the long term, preserve the ambiance that brings tourists and targeted industries to our area,thus indirectly benefiting the local economy. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT The final work product will be the successful continuation of the Greenbelt Program,evidenced by a satisfactory level of fee and easement acquisitions, dedications,and/or donations. -43- COUNCIL GOALS: 1%- J1 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS-NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION AND ENHANCEMENT OBJECTIVE Work proactively to maintain and enhance the traditional qualities of San Luis Obispo neighborhoods by: improving street and walk-way lighting for better pedestrian safety, and enhancing code enforcement to reduce neighborhood nuisances. DISCUSSION Background ■ The Office of Neighborhood Services assumes the lead role in addressing issues surrounding neighborhoods and their relationship to City government. The Neighborhood Services Manager is responsible for three major activities: public education, outreach, and code enforcement involving plarming,zoning,building, and housing related issues. ■ The public education efforts include administration of the television commercial and print ad components of the WIN (Working to Improve Neighborhoods) program, the Student Orientation Program, Neighborhood Cooperation Week, Good Neighbor Day, and the Neighborhood News newspaper. ■ The outreach component of Neighborhood Services includes the "Walk & Talk" program, which places City Staff and Council members directly in the neighborhoods, and the Paint Your Heart Out SLO,which attracts attention to the "blight reduction" effort and Spruce Up SLO, which focuses on front yard landscaping. ■ Code enforcement activity has grown to over 700 cases annually, involving a wide range of planning, zoning, and life safety matters in the neighborhoods. Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal ■ The largest single obstacle facing neighborhood improvement efforts is the increasing number of code enforcement cases being submitted by individuals and neighborhood groups. From a low of 142 cases per year in 1989 to 732 in 1997, and 696 in 1998,the dual role of the Neighborhood Services Manager as the Investigations Coordinator, responsible for education/prevention and caseload has simply overtaxed the position. Prevention programs have been curtailed or delayed to the caseload priority. ■ The current number of rental units (52% of housing stock) is expected to increase as local college and university campuses increase enrollment, thereby generating additional code enforcement activity in residential areas. ■ Neighborhoods continue to grow, as represented by approximately 300 permits issued for dwelling units within the City during 1997-98 (75% of those permits were for single family residences). ■ Code enforcement activity will increase as additional area is annexed to the City due to new development and absorption of existing buildings. -44- COUNCIL GOALS: 1%.v-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION AND ENHANCEMENT ■ Evaluation of street and walkway lighting will require balancing the needs of those seeking additional lighting with residents who consider more lighting as invasive and a reduction of night time tranquillity. Neighborhoods may be affected by the$2,000 cost of each additional street light. ACTION PLAN Task Date • . - • Advertise, interview and hire an Investigations Coordinator to assist with code 10/99 enforcement case management. • Continue"Walk&Talk"program adding a lighting review component. 7/99 • Begin distributing new"Neighborhood Newspaper"to selected audience. 8/99 • Expand public education&prevention component of WIN Program. 1/00 RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT The Community Development Department will be responsible for implementing and monitoring the activities associated with accomplishing this goal. An important component is coordinating and facilitating other City resources necessary for resolving individual enforcement situations. The additional street lighting component of "Walk and Talk"will be administered by the Public Works Department in a manner similar to the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program: neighborhoods seeking additional lighting should discuss this with others in their area, and after reaching a consensus,ask the Council for increased street lighting. FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL Hiring an Investigations Coordinator will cost approximately $57,900 annually in salary and benefits (based on three months to initiate and hire this position, fust year staffing costs will be about $43,400). An additional computer work station for the new position will cost $2,500. Education/prevention functions of the Office of Neighborhood Services can be accomplished at the funding levels authorized in the 1997-99 Financial Plan. GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL There is no significant General Fund revenue potential expected as a result of this goal. Additional increase in the annual number of code enforcement cases may lead to a small increase in permit revenue due to issuance of permits to correct code violations. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT Enhanced code enforcement efforts, coupled with an aggressive public education and prevention strategy, will improve the quality of life and safety within the community. While continued encouragement of neighborhood groups to promote self help strategies may not reduce overall calls for service, it is a necessary part of the program given limited staff resources. -45- COUNCIL GOALS: 19:_ -01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—CAL POLY RELATIONSHIPS OBJECTIVE Strengthen relationships with Cal Poly by obtaining increased understanding and cooperation in solving problems and exploring opportunities generated by the adjacency of the University campus with the City, especially expanding on-campus housing. DISCUSSION Background ■ In many ways, the development and nature of our City has been determined by the presence of Cal Poly. For the most part, the presence of the University has been extremely positive, helping San Luis Obispo become one of the most dynamic, sophisticated, and desirable "small towns" in the country. In addition to shaping the character of the community,the University is also very important to our economy. ■ Over the years, the City and the University have established a number of impressive partnerships that offer substantial mutual benefit. These partnerships relate to water supply, treatment and distribution, wastewater collection and reclamation, fire protection, transit, high tech research and development, and the Performing Arts Center. The City and University students also work to enhance communication and solve problems through the Student-Community Liaison Committee (SCLC). ■ Although the University benefits the community in many ways, it also poses challenges. These challenges have intensified with enrollment increases in recent years, and with changing housing preferences among the students and their parents. These challenges have created significant problems in some neighborhoods relating to increasing rental properties, dense living conditions, noise, parking, and maintenance issues. The City's General Plan recommends a linkage between enrollment growth and expansion of campus housing programs (Policy H 10.2.4— Digest), and for many years the City has advocated for the development of significantly more on-campus student housing. Recently, the University announced plans for the development of another student housing complex on the campus to accommodate another 800 students. Still,more on-campus housing is needed. ■ The California State University(CSU) system projects continued enrollment growth in the coming years. Therefore, it is essential that the University take steps to anticipate and prepare for even greater community impacts, and that the City and the University strengthen its collaborative relationships on many fronts. The shared goal should be to preserve and enhance the mission and benefits of the University, while reducing the unacceptable negative impacts on the community. The major vehicle for pursuing this goal is through the Cal Poly Master Plan process, which will cover many areas of the University-City relationship. Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal ■ The Master Plan will take at least three years to complete, and implementation of some of the resulting goals are likely to take far longer. ■ Final decisions on policy issues and plans at Cal Poly are made by trustees who are physically located outside of San Luis Obispo and have state-wide responsibilities. -46- COUNCIL GOALS: 19"-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—CAL POLY RELATIONSHIPS ■ Many students today tend to prefer off-campus, single-family housing living arrangements. Often, their parents like to invest in such housing and rent to additional students to cover their child's living expenses. On-campus housing will need to be developed in a way that entices students "back" to on- campus living. ■ Funding of either University or City initiatives can be expected to be a major challenge (resources are seldom, if ever, equal to defined needs). ■ There are many difficulties'that arise out of the contrast in lifestyles between students and the more mature population found in City neighborhoods — some of which will always be present, regardless of actions by the University and the City. ■ With regard to potential annexation of the campus to the City, there are revenue transfer issues involving County government that must be resolved if annexation is to take place. ACTION PLAN Task Date • Continue to work cooperatively with the University in the delivery of existing ongoing collaborative services: * Water supply(Whale Rock Reservoir Commission) * Water treatment and distribution * Wastewater collection and reclamation * Fire protection * Transit(continue to encourage free service to faculty, staff, and students) * Performing Arts Center • Directly and continuously participate in the Cal Poly Master Plan process to address 1999-02 several major long-term issues, such as: * Addressing student and faculty housing needs * Interconnecting the University's and City's bicycle paths * Retaining current significant University resources (agricultural, environmental) * Improving neighborhood relations(parking, traffic,noise,housing,and enforcement) * Exploring the possibility of a University contribution to City police services * Continuing free transit service for students, faculty and staff • Strengthen the Student Housing Advisory Committee (SHAG)by creating a more direct relationship between the University and the City * Restructure committee 9/99 * Continue ongoing committee involvement in identified issues ongoing • Complete the Cal Poly annexation cost/revenue study 10/99 • Work with Cal Poly and the Foundation for the Performing Arts Center(FPAC)to resolve 7/99 long-term Performing Arts Center financial support issues(see the Cultural Services work 6/00 program) • Support Cal Poly in their funding requests before the State Legislature when appropriate ongoing -47- COUNCIL GOALS: 19L_ 31 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—CAL POLY RELATIONSHIPS RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT ■ Administration. General oversight of the goal. Directly responsible for working with the Finance Department to complete the Cal Poly annexation cost/revenue study; with the Community Development Department on input to the Cal Poly Master Plan; and with FPAC and Cal Poly to resolve long term Performing Arts Center financial support issues. ■ Community Development. Directly responsible for working to strengthen the Student Housing Advisory Committee and for working with Administration on input to the Cal Poly Master Plan. i Public Works. Directly responsible for the bus contract with Cal Poly. ■ Finance. Directly responsible for working with Administration to complete the Cal Poly cost/revenue study. FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL Other than a significant commitment of senior staff resources to this effort, no additional funding is required for this work program: the Cal Poly annexation cost/revenue study has already been funded in the amount of $30,000; and the Cal Poly Master Plan is being funded by the University. GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL There are perhaps some new General Fund revenue possibilities from this goal, depending on agreements reached with Cal Poly. For example, the current collaboration with Cal Poly for fire service brings revenue to the City's General Fund. Similar service arrangements could also provide added revenue. Also, some revenue could result from the annexation of Cal Poly, depending upon any tax transfer agreement. Increased use of the PAC also brings in more sales and transient occupancy tax revenue to the City. On the other hand, solutions to various neighborhood concerns are likely to require financial support from the City. It is not likely that City costs will be offset by added revenue. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT By working closely with Cal Poly through our existing collaborative agreements, the Student Housing Advisory Committee, the Cal Poly Master Plan development process and the annexation cost/revenue study, the City has opportunities to explore additional mutually beneficial and cost effective ways of providing services and to address neighborhood concerns. By encouraging Cal Poly to continue to provide free bus service to its faculty, staff and students, the City will assist in reducing air pollution, traffic and parking difficulties, both on campus and in the community. By resolving funding issues, the City will assure that the Performing Arts Center continues to have a positive impact on the community,both financially and culturally. -48- COUNCIL GOALS: 191av-01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—LONG TERM FISCAL HEALTH OBJECTIVE Protect the City's long-term fiscal health by maintaining a balanced budget, an adequate capital improvement plan and an adequate unreserved fund balance. DISCUSSION Background Results of the Five Year Fiscal Forecast As part of the Council goal-setting process for 1999-00, a detailed five year forecast for the General Fund was prepared in order to assess the City's fiscal environment, and gain some initial insights on the "order of magnitude" difficulty we would likely experience in balancing the budget for 1999-01. In developing this forecast, staff prepared a preliminary "forecast capital improvement plan" based on draft budget submittals. This resulted in a General Fund capital improvement plan (CIP) of about $4.6 million annually. Of this amount, about 52% ($2.4 million) was for maintaining existing infrastructure and facilities, and about 48% ($2.2 million) was for expanding, building or acquiring new infrastructure, facilities and equipment. Three different scenarios based on varying capital improvement plan (CIP) assumptions were prepared in this forecast (all other assumptions for revenues, operating expenditures and debt service were the same under each scenario): ■ Scenario A—Modest CIP. Funds the CIP at $3.6 million annually based on meeting 100% of draft "maintenance" projects and 50% of"new" projects. This is consistent with current CIP funding levels, which were about$3.3 million annually—excluding debt fnanced projects—for the last two years. ■ Scenario B—Reduced CIP. Funds the CIP at the annual average level of General Fund support— Forecast Summary excluding debt financed projects—for the last five years, or about$2.7 million annually. M. 1,400.000 n, t7 ;: ■ Scenario C—Very Reduced CIP. Funds the CIP 9 900,000 at 70% of our current General Fund CIP (again m' excluding debt financed projects), or about $2.3 400.000 million annually. d 0 d X100.000) Depending on the CIP assumptions, the annual 210 80 000 N N N N revenue/expenditure gap ranged from $1.4 million pScenarioA ■Scenario 8 0Scenario C annually under the modest CIP to an essentially balanced budget under the very reduced CIP scenario. Conclusions About Our Fiscal Situation. In reviewing the status of the current 1997-99 Financial Plan and the recently prepared five year General Fund fiscal forecast,two things are clear: ■ The tough budget decisions made over the past years—especially during 1993-95—were essential in preserving the City's fiscal health. -49- COUNCIL GOALS: 191t._ 41 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—LONG TERM FISCAL HEALTH ■ While our fiscal condition has improved, significant challenges continue to face us in funding the delivery of essential services and achieving our adopted CIP goals. This simply underscores the fact that fiscal health is not something we will ever achieve "once and for all;" like personal health, this requires an ongoing commitment to this goal. Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal Our short-term strategy for balancing the 1999-01 budget consists of the following four components: ■ Limiting operating cost increases and reviewing service levels for expenditure reduction opportunities. ■ Developing a capital improvement plan (CIP) that adequately maintains our existing infrastructure and facilities. ■ Considering new revenue opportunities as allowed under Proposition 218. ■ Making strategic use of fund balance that may be available above minimum policy levels. Each of these components will be evaluated as we prepare the Preliminary Financial Plan. However, this short- term strategy will not be adequate in the longer term if we want to maintain current service levels, achieve our already-adopted infrastructure and facility improvement goals, and respond to new initiatives resulting from Council goal- While the"Modest CIP"scenario setting. projects a $1.4 million annual gap,this increases to$2.4 million under the As noted above, funding the CIP at a"modest" level results in a "Forecast CIP,"excluding any new $1.4 million annual revenue/expenditure gap, assuming no initiatives from Council goal-setting. enhancements in current service levels or new CIP needs; this gap only grows larger if we consider the forecast CIP and new initiatives from Council goal-setting. As such, we need to identify and implement other strategies for preserving service levels, achieving CIP goals,and maintaining our fiscal health. ACTION PLAN Workscope ■ Prepare Long Term Financial Plan. The five year forecast is a useful tool in providing us with an "order of magnitude" outlook on the City's fiscal position as we begin the two year budget process. However, it is not intended to assess our long term ability to deliver day-to-day services and achieve adopted CIP goals. In 1989, we prepared a comprehensive financial management plan covering a ten year period. In order to gain a better understanding of our long term fiscal needs—especially in light of the long term effects of Proposition 218 and Council goal-setting—we propose preparing a similar plan. In addition to taking a 10 year versus a 5 year look at our finances, this plan will take a more detailed look at CIP needs than the five year forecast. ■ Prepare for a November 2000 Revenue Ballot Measure. As the Council considers the Preliminary Financial Plan, there may be program and CIP project enhancements that the Council wants to pursue that cannot be funded from current resources. Unless there is an emergency, the soonest that any increased or new tax revenues could be approved by the voters is November of 2000. Implementing any -50- COUNCIL GOALS: 19 1 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—LONG TERM FISCAL HEALTH new or increased tax sources will require significant community support—in evidence on election day. A number of communities have been successful in gaining voter support for new revenues. However, this has only occurred when there have been serious fiscal problems of crisis proportions, or a compelling vision for the use of the new revenues coupled with hard work by an active community-based group. Although they were driven by very different factors—hopes versus fears—all of these successful efforts share one thing in common: they were the result of extensive community-based efforts, which included a combination of outreach tools and professional assistance to use them effectively. If the need is compelling, and City voters see the need, this effort is likely to be successful. However, it will require: commitment, resources, time, and most importantly, a strong community-based advocacy group that will aggressively raise funds and campaign for the issue once it is on the ballot. This last issue can not be stressed enough. Under State law, cities have broad discretion in using their funds for professional assistance in researching issues, conducting surveys and developing voter support strategies. However, once an issue becomes a formal ballot measure, cities can not use their funds or staff resources for advocacy. In short, unless there is a strong community-based group who is willing to aggressively raise funds and campaign for the measure, it is not likely to pass. In considering this work program,there are three fundamental questions we need to ask ourselves: ■ Should we go forward with a November 2000 revenue ballot measure? ■ If so,what should we focus on: • Operating programs, like public safety or street maintenance? • Or capital improvements, like a community center, athletic fields, civic center improvements, flood protection, downtown enhancements,open space protection or Laguna Lake preservation? ■ What do we need to do to best assure voter approval? We believe starting early and contracting for professional assistance are the best answers to this last question. Related City Efforts While not directly part of this work program,other efforts related to the City's long-term fiscal heath include: ■ Economic Development While the primary focus of our economic development efforts is on increasing the number of higher paying jobs in the community by retaining and expanding existing businesses, and in recruiting targeted industries, there can also be favorable long term fiscal benefits from this effort. For example, the recently updated fiscal impact analysis for the airport area shows that net General Fund resources (operating revenues less operating costs) will improve by about $450,000 annually immediately following annexation, and that this will grow to about $750,000 annually by build-out. Additionally, the fiscal impact analysis for the San Luis Marketplace shows a favorable net General Fund impact of about $425,000 (net of contributions to the Prado Road interchange) annually from this project. ■ Legislative Advocacy. As a result of State take-aways from 1991-92 through 1993-94, we have about $1.5 million less annually in our General Fund. These budget grabs included property tax administration -51- COUNCIL GOALS: 196_ J1 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS—LONG TERM FISCAL HEALTH fees,jail booking fees, and transfers to the Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund(ERAF). Of these, ERAF is by the largest State take-away, accounting for about $1.0 million annually in reduced property tax revenues. While past efforts to restore these budget grabs have not been successful, we plan to work closely with the League of California Cities and our State legislators in getting back what has been unfairly been taken away from us. However, given how past support for this that has faded when it came time to actually adopt the State budget, we should not be overly optimistic about the likelihood of any significant successes in this area. In summary, while we will be strong advocates for restoring past State budget grabs from cities,we can not rely upon this as either a short or long term fiscal health strategy. ■ Organizational Productivity. Staffing costs are the largest part of the City's budget, accounting for 75% of operating costs in the General Fund. Continuing our Organizational Vitality program, which identifies and supports methods of improving organizational effectiveness and customer service on an ongoing basis, is a key component of our long-term fiscal health strategy. ■ Cost of Services Study Update. A key factor in preserving the City's long-term fiscal health is assuring that general purpose revenues do not inappropriately subsidize services that should be paid by users. In short, any user fee subsidy directly reduces General Fund support for other programs or CIP projects that do not have cost recovery opportunities. For this reason, the City has adopted comprehensive user fee cost recovery policies and goals. In implementing them, it is the City's policy to comprehensively evaluate our service costs every five years, and to make cost of living adjustments in the interim based on changes in the consumer price index. We performed our last comprehensive review of service costs and related revenues in 1994-95; as such, it is timely to update this study in 1999-00. ■ Development Impact Fee Update. Ensuring that new development pays for its fair share of the facilities needed to serve it is another key strategy in preserving our long-term fiscal health, and the City's General Plan and Budget and Fiscal Policies reflect this principle. Development impact fees are one of the main tools available to us in implementing this policy. Consistent with our approach for service fees, it is the City's policy to comprehensively evaluate our development impact fees every five years, and to make cost of living adjustments in the interim based on changes in the consumer price index. The City has adopted development impact fees in four basic areas: water, wastewater, transportation and park in- lieu fees. All of these fees are due for a comprehensive update. Water and wastewater impact fees are being comprehensively evaluated as part of the airport area specific plan. However, we also need to update transportation impact fees (last reviewed by the Council on a comprehensive basis in June of 1995) and park in-lieu fees (last reviewed by the Council on a comprehensive basis in February of 1995) during 1999-00. ■ Review and Monitor the City's Fiscal Condition. Effective reporting and monitoring of the City's fiscal condition on an ongoing basis is an essential, fundamental component of managing our finances and assuring our long-term fiscal health. Tasks and Schedule Prepare Long Term Financial Plan Task Date • Begin preparing long term financial plan and developing ten year CIP 7/99 • Present results to the Council 11/99 -52- COUNCIL GOALS: 19x=01 FINANCIAL PLAN MAJOR CITY GOALS-LONG TERM FISCAL HEALTH Prepare for November 2000 Revenue Ballot Measure Task Date • . - • Identify goals;request proposals from qualified consultants. 9/99 • Select consultant; begin developing work program. 12/99 • Complete work program;present findings to Council. 3/00 • If the decision is to place a measure on the November 2000 ballot,begin taking 3/00 recommended actions. • Place measure on the ballot. 7/00 • Hold ballot measure election. 11/00 RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENTS Administration and Finance will be especially involved in achieving this goal; however, all departments play a critically important role in ensuring the City's long-tern fiscal health through their management and use of City resources. FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL ■ Prepare Long Term Financial Plan. We plan to prepare this with in-house staff, so no additional resources will be required. However, this will be a major work effort involving senior staff throughout the organization. ■ Prepare for a November 2000 Revenue Measure. As discussed above, successful revenue measures in California have one thing in common: professional assistance in developing outreach and research tools in order to: • Assess the overall feasibility of a ballot measure. • Identify programs and projects most likely to generate broad-based community support. • Recommend a majority or two-thirds voter approval measure. • Advise on the best increased or new revenue sources,and the amount they should raise. • Evaluate community-group resource requirements, and the likelihood that such group will be formed. These needed skills to do this successfully are beyond those of City staff. Accordingly, if the Council is seriously interested in pursuing a November 2000 ballot revenue measure, we recommend $35,000 for consultant services in preparing for it. Additionally, $5,000 will be needed for supplemental election costs. GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL Each of these action plans is designed to enhance General Fund resources. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT Achieving this goal will result in strategies, programs and systems for assuring our long-term fiscal health in order to accomplish important community goals. -53- COUNCIL GOALS: 195_ 41 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES—CIRCULATION ELEMENT IMPLEMENTATION OBJECTIVE Continue implementing the Circulation Element to relieve congestion and slow traffic along neighborhood thoroughfares to improve pedestrian safety. DISCUSSION Background The City has an ongoing program of implementing its Circulation Element, consistent with the Element's implementation policies. Prior to 1998 a number of neighborhood traffic management (NTM) activities were undertaken with varying degrees of success and failure. To improve the effectiveness of its NTM program, in June, 1998, the City Council adopted, after a year of preparation, a complete set of NTM Guidelines. The guidelines are to be implemented for 18 months and reviewed by this Council at the end of that period to determine if program changes are warranted. Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal Challenges to this program include: ■ Constructing projects that relieve congestion can involve a variety of impacts depending on their scale. Large-scale projects, such as widening a street, can be costly, impact adjoining land uses, and require a sustained multi-year staff effort. Small-scale congestion relief projects, such as updating and synchronizing traffic signals, can have minimal impacts. However, in a "built out" City such as San Luis Obispo, any changes to the width or use of existing roads is likely to have some level of effect. ■ The number of requests is increasing for the Public Works staff to address "small scale" neighborhood traffic management issues. Examples include requests for stop signs and multiple requests for traffic signals at intersections. The existing backlog will only grow; it is already several months long. The public and the Council will need to be patient as the current traffic operations staff address each of these issues or give staff clear guidelines for prioritization of requests. ■ Slowing traffic along neighborhood thoroughfares will not be easy. Thoroughfares are a lay person's terminology associated with streets designated in the City's Circulation Element as Arterials. In 1996 the City installed traffic calming devices to slow traffic speeds on an Arterial street - Chorro Street. The reaction by the community was not positive and as a result Staff was directed to remove those devices and spend a year developing a comprehensive set of Neighborhood Traffic Management Guidelines that worked in other communities and could be expected to work in our community. One of the basic tenants of that document is that Arterial streets are made to move traffic and goods in an effective and efficient manner. Once traffic leaves the arterial street it should be slowed down and controlled to make neighborhoods a safer and more pleasant environment. The Council will need to provide very concise guidance as to what it means by"slowing traffic on neighborhood thoroughfares". -54- COUNCIL GOALS: M,.,-01 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES-CIRCULATION ELEMENT IMPLEMENTATION ACTION PLAN Task Date Congestion Management Activities • Widen Mid-Higuera Street to include four traffic lanes,a center turn lane(and landscaped medians 1/04 where possible),and bicycle lanes and sidewalks on both sides of the street. • Continue upgrading internal traffic signal mechanisms and other intersection equipment, reserve 5/02 funding for the installation of one new traffic signal,install actuation loops at two fixed-time intersections and make minor modifications to key intersections to improve traffic flow • Continue installing underground conduits that link all traffic signals operated by the City 1/00 • Install traffic signal actuators that allow emergency vehicles to trigger the green light cycle;provide 11/02 a battery in each signal to provide a backup power source. Neighborhood Traffic Management • Review and revise NTM Guidelines as necessary to improve the process. 1/00 • Continue to respond to public request to undertake both large-and small-scale NTM activities. ongoing RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT Implementation of capital projects will be the responsibility of the Public Works Department, Engineering Division and consultants under their direction The Department's Transportation Division will be responsible for the NTM program,with design assistance from the Engineering Division as needed. FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL Mid-Higaera Street Widening Project Costs by Phase Project Costs To-Date 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 Total Study 20,000 20,000 Environmental review 300,000 300,000 Land&rights-of-way acquisition 1,293,000 325,000 1,380,000 2,998,000 Construction 1 875,000 875,000 Total 1,293,000 3209000 325,000 1,380,000 875,000 4,193,000 Project Costs by Funding Source To-Date 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 Total General Fund 177,300 180,100 764,700 484,900 1,607,000 State RHSA Grant 55,200 56,000 237,900 150,900 500,000 State UHSA Grant 13,000 13,200 56,200 35,600 118,000 Federal TEA-21 Grant 74,500 1 75,700 321,200 1 203,600 1 675,000 Total - 320,000 325,000 1,380,000 875,000 2,900,000 -55- COUNCIL GOALS: 19t_ J1 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES-CIRCULATION ELEMENT IMPLEMENTATION Traffic Signal Improvements and Related Projects Project Costs To-Date 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 Total Equipment acquisition/installation 200,000 125,000 170,000 50,000 545,000 Total - 200,000 125,000 170,000 50,000 545,000 Funding Source: Urban State Highway Account (USHA) dollars programmed by SLOCOG specifically for these projects. Neighborhood Traffic Management Project Costs To-Date 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-031 Total Construction 25,000 1 25,000 1 25,000 1 25,000 1 100,000 Total - 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000 100,000 Funding Source: General Fund Current staff resources should be sufficient to manage capital projects with assistance from consultants as needed except in areas of property acquisition where significant consultant help will be required. The NTM program will be managed by current staff assuming that the performance guidelines objectives (completing small-scale projects within 5 months and large-scale projects within 2 years) can be adhered to and the rate at which service requests are being generated does not increase. GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL None. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT Achieving this goal will result in improved traffic flow,reduced speeds and increased safety in neighborhoods. -56- COUNCIL GOALS: 19b.7-01 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES—BIKEWAY AND PEDESTRIAN B PROVENIENTS OBJECTIVE Complete Phase II of the Railroad Recreational Trail (RRT); pursue and implement Phase III (from the AMTRAK passenger terminal to Marsh Street); revise the Bicycle Transportation Plan to improve linkage between the railroad area and the downtown; begin implementing the first phase of the Bob Jones City to Sea Bike Trail extending from Prado Road, through the Water Reclamation Facility, to Los Osos Valley Road; and prepare route plans for subsequent phases of this trail. DISCUSSION ■ Background. Each of the four components of this goal are at various stages of planning and implementation. Phase II of the RRT is the farthest along with property acquisition nearing completion and a consultant about to be hired to produce construction documents. Phase III of the RRT and improving a downtown linkage between the railroad area and the downtown have been discussed by the City's Bicycle Committee, but specific planning has not been done. The first phase of the Bob Jones City to Sea Trail is a new project and little planning has been completed to date. ■ Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal. Challenges to this program include: developing a plan for Phase III of the RRT that is acceptable to the Union Pacific Railroad; selecting a route that connects the railroad area with the downtown (e.g. Morro Street) and providing a safe way of crossing Santa Barbara Street; securing the necessary access routes to connect the Bob Jones Bike Trail to Prado Road and constructing the requisite bridge structure over intervening creeks at the trail's south end. ACTION PLAN Task Date • Complete Phase II of the railroad recreational trail. 12/99 • Identify a bikeway linkage between the railroad area and the downtown,process requisite 4/00 amendment to the Bike Plan; prepare plans& specifications for improvements to this linkage to make it operational; complete the construction of improvements. • Complete requisite route plan,constraints analysis, and environmental documents for the 6/00 Bob Jones City to Sea Bike Trail. This will include route plans for segments of San Luis Obispo Creek from Madonna Road to Los Osos Valley Road; and segments of Prefumo Creek from Madonna Road to Calle Joaquin. • Hire a consultant,complete an engineering study of Phase III of the railroad recreational 7/00 trail and negotiate an acceptable design with Union Pacific Railroad. • Acquire access rights as needed for the Bob Jones City to Sea Bike Trail; begin final 6/01 design(Phase 1). • Based on results of the engineering study,prepare a project budget(and phasing strategy 6/02 as necessary),prepare plans& specifications and complete Phase III of the railroad recreational trail. • Complete plans& specifications and begin constructing first phase of the Bob Jones City 7/02 to Sea Bike Trail. -57- COUNCIL GOALS: 195_ J1 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES-BIKEWAY AND PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT The Public Works Department, Engineering Division will be responsible for the management of the capital projects. The Transportation Division will manage the Phase III study and assist with planning and study components of the other projects up to consultant selection for plans and specifications development. FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL Phase II of the Railroad Recreational Trail. Funding previously approved. Bob Jones City-To-Sea Bicycle Path Project Costs To-Date 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 Total Constraints analysis/route plan• 50,000 50,000 Environmental studies 30,000 30,000 Land&rights-of-way acquisition 60,000 60,000 Design 50,000 50,000 Construction 470,000 470,000 Total - 80,000 110,000 1 470,000 660,000 w- The route plan will also address segments of San Luis Obispo Creek from Madonna Road to Los Osos valley Road;and segments of Prefumo Creek from Madonna Road to Calle Joaquin. Funding Source: General Fund Bicycle Linkage to Downtown Project Costs To-Date 1999-0o 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 Total Environmental review 6,500 6,500 Design 15,000 16.000 31,000 Construction 1 120,000 60,000 60,000 176,000 416,000 Total 1 - 135,000 1 60,000 82,500 176,000 453,500 Funding Source: Urban State Highway Account(USHA) revenues programmed by SLOCOG specifically for this project. Phase III of the Railroad Recreational Trail Project Costs To-Date 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 Total Preliminary Engineering Study 70,000 70,000 Total - 70,000 - - - 70,000 Funding Source: Urban State Highway Account (USHA) revenues programmed by SLOCOG specifically for this project. -58- COUNCIL GOALS: 1%y..-01 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES-BIKEWAY AND PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS The management of these projects would be handled by current staff with consultant assistance. GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL None. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT Achieving this goal will result in significant improvements to the City's circulation system by completing four major bikeway/pedestrian projects and completing route plans for future segments of the Bob Jones City to Sea Bike Trail. -59- COUNCIL GOALS: 19t_ J1 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES-FLOOD PROTECTION OBJECTIVE Adopt and begin implementing flood management plans for creeks, open channels and storm drainage systems and begin work necessary for implementation of upcoming federal National Pollution Discharge Elimination System(NPDES)requirements for storm water discharge. DISCUSSION Background In 1983, the City adopted, by Resolution 5138, its Flood Management Policy (also known as the Pink Book) which included policies, standards and action plans or projects for the City's creek system. A majority of specified action plans have been completed over the last 16 years. The remaining projects either did not receive Council support at the time of proposed implementation or can no longer be achieved due to changed "permitting"process that has evolved over those 16 years. In 1997, recognizing that a new look at flood control issues was necessary, the Council adopted a goal of achieving a document that looked at both the creeks and the more traditional storm drain"pipe"systems each requiring its own document. During the past two years the City has: ■ Prepared the first phase of a two phase program called Stream Corridor Management Plan for San Luis Obispo Creek. The first phase was adopted by the Council in May of 1997. ■ Received permits for and constructed improvements to creek banks that were damaged in floods in 1995. ■ Begun a systematic global positioning system (GPS) and geographic information system (GIS) mapping of all creeks and drainage structures in the City. ■ Received 10 year permits for debris removal annually at Marsh Street bridge and every three years from the Prefumo Arm of Laguna Lake. ■ Replaced existing storm drains at select locations to reduce localized flooding. ■ Developed a working relationship with County Zone 9 staff and Army Corps of Engineers to facilitate the project. Creek Systems. For the City's creek system, the final document will provide design parameters, resource inventories, identification and prioritization of problems, opportunities, and management needs. The creeks will be modeled utilizing Corps and FEMA guidelines to provide updated information regarding flood potential. Design standards for calculations of flow, repair of erosion and maintenance procedures will all be included. Finally the plan will propose financing programs. Completing this work will replace the City's flood management policy(the "Pink Book"). While the 1983 flood management policy (and its proposed replacement) addresses the needs of the City's major creek systems, it does not address the remaining underground storm drainage system (such as catch basins and piped systems). We propose addressing this need by preparing a second document entitled the Storm Drainage MasterPlan. This plan will map, analyze and identify replacement, funding, and maintenance strategies for the City's existing storm drainage facilities. Since the 1995 floods, many older facilities built in the early 1950's have failed and require emergency attention, causing unplanned use of City funds. The adoption of a Storm Drainage Master Plan will allow for an orderly and planned use of City financial resources. -60- COUNCIL GOALS: 19yv-01 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER F%IPORTANT OBJECTIVES-FLOOD PROTECTION Storm Drainage Systems. Through the NPDES program, the federal government has been considering regulations over storm water discharge that will affect all communities of less than 100,000 in population. (Larger cities have been regulated for about the last ten years.) Briefly, the NPDES program will be managed by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board for EPA. The program will require the City to develop and implement an acceptable program that identifies the existing drainage system, researches existing levels of pollution coming from the system, evaluates the source of the pollution, develops a program to reduce the level of pollution, and monitors the results. The final regulations were scheduled to be published in March of 1999 but have recently been postponed to October 1999. However, much of the regulations are already known and very little change is expected between now and October. Basically, the regulations will require an extensive program be developed and adopted within a three year period. The program must be fully operational within five years after adoption Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal ■ Zone 9 funding concerns. Completing all studies and projects identified in the Flood Management Manual to achieve this goal will be very expensive. Zone 9, our local flood control district, does not have unlimited funding. Traditionally, 80% of Zone 9's cash flow was used for the City's annual creek cleaning program. Unused funds gradually accumulated in the reserves. Nearly all of the reserves will be used to complete the Flood Management Manual in order to meet the requirements of the City, County and the Arany Corps of Engineers. Funding by Zone 9 of construction projects will therefore be unlikely. In addition, the Zone 9 advisory committee has indicated that they are more willing to fund creek maintenance and enhancement projects than construction projects. ■ Storm drainage master plan. Besides creeks covered by the flood management policy, most of the City's properties are served/protected by various piped systems that are nearing or at the end of their useful life. Some have recently failed and needed emergency funding for replacement; however, the majority will eventually require repair or replacement, and this will be a major expense. Unless other means of funding can be identified, the General Fund will be responsible for the entire cost of this program. ■ NPDES program and plan. Staff fully anticipates that it will take the full three years available to develop and achieve adoption of our own NPDES program and plan. Significant public input will be a necessary component of this project as a key element will be public acceptance and support. Early work will involve numerous "town hall" meetings. Later work will involve funding mechanisms and finally putting program elements in place. Each of these elements could take a year a piece to complete. This is a big program which will involve multiple departments within the City as well as other agencies such as the County and the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. -61- COUNCIL GOALS: 19t_ J1 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IlVIPORTANT OBJECTIVES—FLOOD PROTECTION ACTION PLAN Task Date • . - • Begin construction of the Santa Rosa street bridge. 8/99 • Begin construction of Higuera street bridge. 7/00 • Begin writing flood management manual. 9/99 • Complete flood management manual. 12/00 • Begin preparing storm drainage master plan. 7/99 • Complete storm drainage master plan. 6/00 • Begin NPDES public input process. 10/99 • Begin NPDES fimding options process. 10/00 RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT Public Works will have the primary responsibility for this project; the natural resources protection program in Administration will be actively involved in preparing the flood management manual. FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL The work needed to accomplish the proposed action plan will be done by a combination of agency staff(City, County/Zone 9), Cal Poly interns, and consultants as needed. Cost estimates of the various activities follow: ■ 80% of the cost of the Santa Rosa Street Bridge (about $750,000) will be paid for by a federal grant; the City's $150,000 share was funded in the 1995-97 Financial Plan. ■ Federal grants will also pay for 80% of the construction cost of the "low cost alternative" (estimated at $4,100,000) for the Higuera street bridge project. Costs that exceed the low-cost option will be the City's responsibility. At time, we estimate the City's share of construction costs to be about $1.0 million. ■ Cost of the studies required by the Corps of Engineers that will deliver a new flood management manual are estimated at $600,000 with funding coming from the Zone 9 Flood Control and Water Conservation District. ■ Preparing a feasibility study of forming a storm water enterprise fund as a way of financing creek, storm drainage and NPDES operating and capital costs may cost up to $50,000 depending on the scope of the analysis. Note: These only represent the cost of updating the Flood Management Manual and developing a funding program, which will enable the City to idents multiple projects, costs,priorities and alternative funding methods. Actual construction of projects will be a multi-million dollar program. -62- COUNCIL GOALS: 19bv-01 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER WPORTANT OBJECTIVES-FLOOD PROTECTION GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL None. OUTCOMY—FINAL WORK PRODUCT By preparing and adopting a Flood Management Manual and Storm Drainage Master Plan, the City will be able to begin flood containment projects that will provide higher levels of flood protection, lower insurance costs to property owners, and reduced community disruption. By putting significant effort toward the NPDES program the City will be well along the path to adoption of a program as required in 2002. -63- COUNCIL GOALS: 1916_ 4)1 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES-TRANSIT SERVICE OBJECTIVE Continue current transit service levels and look for ways to expand them; and maintain low cost or zero fares for Cal Poly students, faculty,and staff. DISCUSSION Background ■ Recent federal legislation dramatically boosted revenue expected from Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grants over the next five years. Latest estimates based on tables downloaded from the FTA web site show that there should be about$1.5 million of additional revenue available over the five year period starting in 1999-00 and ending in 2003-04. ■ Over the same five year period there should also be about $300,000 more available than was previously expected from state Transportation Development Act(TDA) grants. ■ The Mass Transportation Committee (MTC) has recommended that this additional revenue be used for bus acquisition and service expansion. ■ Working with a transit planner from the City's transit operations contractor, Public Works and the MTC have been examining various options for bus acquisition and service expansion, with careful consideration for the existing policy found in the adopted Short Range Transit Plan and the ongoing need for balance between capital improvement and service expansion. ■ Tentative plans call for replacing six buses over the next five years and effective in September of 1999, expanding bus service hours (not including trolley service) from about 29,000 to about 38,000 per year — a 31 percent increase. Such expansion would allow year-round 30-minute service for all routes on weekdays and year-round 60-minute service for all routes in the evening and on weekends. (Currently Routes 1 and 3 have 60-minute service on weekdays, and only two routes operate in the evening and on weekends.) ■ Cal Poly representatives recently notified the City that Cal Poly would be selling student transit passes in September of 1999, effectively eliminating free rides on SLO Transit for students, faculty, and staff members. Since 1985 Cal Poly students, faculty, and staff members have ridden SLO Transit at no cost. By simply flashing their Cal Poly ID cards to the bus driver they have boarded the buses without paying a fare. To make this possible, each year Cal Poly has paid an amount to the City calculated to compensate the City for the loss of fare revenue. ■ For the past three years, the revenue source Cal Poly uses to pay its annual contribution has fallen short of the amount needed. Each year, though, some campus group like ASI or the Cal Poly Foundation has provided the money needed to close the gap and allow continuation of the free rides. Because there appears to be no bailout this year, Cal Poly made the announcement to sell the transit passes in order to close the $57,000 gap between the money available and its contract obligation to the City. ■ The MTC and Public Works believe that eliminating free rides will reduce ridership by 150% — reversing the increase seen in 1985 when free rides were first offered. Public Works estimates that 226,000 more automobile trips to Cal Poly will occur each year. -64- COUNCIL GOALS: 19"-01 FINANCIAL PLAN , OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES—TRANSIT SERVICE Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal ■ The principal challenge to service expansion will be simply accomplishing various mundane tasks like amending the Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP), getting schedules designed and printed, and modifying bus stops before September of 1999. Public Works has worked out a schedule for these tasks which is reiterated in the action plan below. ■ Maintaining free rides for Cal Poly riders will be more complicated because Cal Poly is adamant about proceeding with pass sales. There are two possible ways to avert that action. First, Cal Poly could receive a grant (such as a local MOVER grant from the Air Pollution Control District) to cover the shortfall. Second, the City could re-negotiate the contract with Cal Poly to reduce the annual amount required. The problem with reducing the amount received from Cal Poly is that this money is considered fare revenue, and TDA regulations require that the level of fare revenue be at least 20 percent of total operating cost. Projections for the next five years show fare revenue right at the 20 percent level. Any reduction of revenue from Cal Poly would put SLO Transit out of compliance with TDA regulations,and the City would have to make up the shortfall with General Fund money; no other source would be acceptable. Most likely, the best the City can do to influence their decision to sell transit passes is to help locate agencies or groups willing to fill in the funding gap. ACTION PLAN Task Date • . - • Analyze the cost of various service expansion options and the need and cost for future 01/99 capital improvement,particularly bus replacement. • Present the staff analysis to the MTC for review and comment on a preliminary five-year 01/99 plan for service expansion and capital improvement. • Incorporate the MTC recommendations for service expansion and capital improvement 02/99 into a revised overall five-year plan. • Present the revised five-year plan to the MTC for review and approval. 02/99 • Draft a revised FTIP section for SLO Transit which reflects the revised five-year plan. 02/99 • Deliver the draft HIP section to the SLOCOG staff. 03/99 • Submit 1999-00 budget requests for service expansion and capital improvements. 03/99 • Receive SLOCOG approval for HIP revisions. 04/99 • Receive City Council approval of 1999-00 budget requests. 06/99 • Print new schedules, install needed bus stop improvements, and advertise route and 09/99 schedule changes. • Implement service expansions when the fall quarter at Cal Poly begins. 09/99 RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT ■ Public Works. Implementing service expansion, initially encouraging Cal Poly to find grant resources for closing its financing gap. ■ Administration. Coordinating possible discussions at the executive level between Cal Poly and the City. -65- COUNCIL GOALS: 196, 41 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER EAPORTANT OBJECTIVES-TRANSIT SERVICE FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL As mentioned, the financial resources needed for the service expansion (about $300,000 annually) will be available through FTA formula grants which are available only to the City. Additional service will be provided by the City's existing transit service contractor. No additional staff resources will be required. GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL There is no apparent General Fund revenue potential associated with this goal. Under the City's enterprise fund and TDA revenue allocation policies, any new or increased revenues are restricted for transit purposes. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT Achieving this goal will result in: ■ Higher quality public transportation for transit dependent people. ■ More convenient public transportation for all residents and visitors. ■ A more attractive alternative to driving which can reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. ■ Continued higher use of the system by Cal Poly students, faculty and staff. -66- COUNCIL GOALS: 19ty-01 FINANCIAL PLAN - OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES—TRANSIT TRANSFER CENTER OBJECTIVE Reinitiate studies to develop an off-street transit transfer center; adopt a plan; identify funding sources; and pursue acquisition of property. DISCUSSION Background Since 1982 the City has been trying to develop a transit transfer center in the downtown which could accommodate future needs for local and regional transit connections, including connections to trolleys, inter-city carriers, and taxis. Ideally, such a terminal would be located close to the downtown core. A 1991 study by Nelson\Nygaard examined eight possible downtown sites and recommended a location in the block bounded by Santa Rosa,Monterey,Toro, and Higuera Street. The Conceptual Physical Plan for the City's Center echoed this recommendation. After looking at four additional downtown sites, a 1993 study by Wilbur Smith Associates recommended four possible locations: 1. The existing Osos Street location next to City Hall 2. Palm Street between Osos and Santa Rosa 3. A former auto dealership at Toro and Higuera Streets 4. A former auto dealership on Monterey Street between Santa Rosa and Toro All other downtown sites were too small, too expensive, or unsuitable for good transit access. The County is strongly opposed to Option 2, and efforts to acquire properties under Options 3 and 4 were unsuccessful: the County of San Luis Obispo bought the Monterey Street site for County offices, and is not interested in selling it; and the Toro/Higuera site has severely contaminated soil, and the grants available for development will not pay for cleanup. As discussed below, while an off-street site is clearly the best long term solution, the inability to move forward on these three sites (Options 2, 3 and 4) ultimately led to the decision to improve the downtown transfer center on Osos Street(Option 1)as an intermediate term solution. Before arriving at this intermediate solution,the search for a longer-term solution led to consideration of locating the transfer center near the Amtrak Station as part of a multi-modal transportation center. That location had the following advantages not available at other sites closer to downtown: ■ Easy access to transit for Amtrak passengers. ■ Direct links to major bike paths. ■ Potential to accommodate an inter-city bus terminal in the future. ■ Potential for public/private partnership development. ■ Space to accommodate layover regional transit buses. ■ Space for restrooms. A 1997 study by NelsonWygaard recommended against moving the transfer center to the Amtrak site because it would not allow continuation of SLO Transit's "pulse" schedule. Under this arrangement buses on all routes converge on a single point every half hour for fast and easy transfers. For this reason, and because transit is an -67- COUNCIL GOALS: 196_-01 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES—TRANSIT TRANSFER CENTER important element in reducing downtown traffic,the Council decided to renovate the existing site on Osos Street as an interim solution to make it safer and more attractive to existing and potential transit riders. Design on this project is currently underway. In summary,retaining the downtown transfer center on Osos Street is an intermediate term solution: an off-street site is clearly the best long term solution. However, we have not made progress on this due to the lack of available sites. Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal ■ Existing state and federal formula grant money (which is automatically apportioned to the City each year) will not be available for a new off-street project. As discussed in the Transit Service work program, at this point all anticipated transit revenue for the next five years is planned for bus replacement and service expansion. In short, allocating funding for this project will reduce the funding available for direct service improvements, assuming that FTA would even allow us to use formula funding in this manner. ■ State and federal discretionary grants might become available, but the City would face heavy competition from other jurisdictions for this money. General Fund money would have to be used for any matching portion because under proposed service improvement plans, there is no available transit funding. ■ Over the past several years, we have comprehensively reviewed candidate long-term sites. It is uncertain whether another such effort will identify additional viable sites. If it does, developing an off-street project may require acquiring commercial property through eminent domain and then demolishing existing usable buildings. Such a process could generate ill will and entail significant relocation expenses; and assuming grant funding, sites with contaminated soil would not be candidate sites even under an eminent domain scenario. ACTION PLAN Task Date • . - • Ask the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments for help in finding discretionary grant 8/99 sources to pay for the project. • Hire a consultant to 1) identify all possible sites for developing an off-street project 2) 1/00 analyze the feasibility of acquiring and developing each site 3)recommend the best site for acquisition and 4)create a conceptual plan for development. • Hire an appraiser to determine an offering price on the recommended site. 9/00 • Hire an architect to prepare schematic plans and cost estimates. 9/00 • Prepare applications for discretionary grants to pay for land acquisition, design, and 5/01 construction. • Execute grant agreements 5/02 • Begin negotiations with the property owner. 7/02 -68- COUNCIL GOALS: 19 '=01 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES—TRANSIT TRANSFER CENTER RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT Public Works FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL Task • 002000-01 Planning services 50,000 Appraisal services 10,000 Architectural services 50,000 Total $50,000 $607000 GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL Because developing an off-street transfer center would probably entail converting existing commercial property to public use, there would be a reduction in property tax revenue and a possible reduction in sales tax revenue. Grant funding and negotiations with a chosen property owner are not shown until near the end of the two year financial planning period. There is no assurance that grant funding can or will be secured. In short, this will be a very expensive project,regardless of the funding source(general fund or transit related grants). OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT Achieving this goal will result in: ■ Fewer on-street auto and pedestrian conflicts. ■ Easier links to regional transit buses, inter-city buses, and taxis. ■ Better transit passenger amenities. -69- COUNCIL GOALS: 196„-01 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES-LAGUNA LAKE MASTER PLAN OBJECTIVE Continue implementing the Laguna Lake Master Plan: complete necessary studies, obtain approvals and prepare construction documents for Laguna Lake dredging. DISCUSSION Background The dredging of the lake was,in the last two-year budget as a project to be carried out as resources permit. The idea of dredging the lake was explored and adopted in the Laguna Lake Management Program in 1982. The adopted lake program identified four goals for the lake: ■ Wildlife Preservation ■ Recreation Enhancement ■ Shoreline Protection ■ Agricultural Preservation The lake program identified four activities to achieve these goals: ■ Reduce or eliminated existing aquatic weeds and provide ongoing weed control. This improves the open water wildlife habitat and reduces nuisance odors. Actions taken • Public Works completed weed harvesting for several years. • The lake is now chemically treated to kill the weeds on an as needed basis. ■ Prevent sediment from reaching the lake. This slows the rate at which the lake fills by providing a place for the majority of sediment to drop out before reaching the lake. Actions taken • The Prefiuno Arm was dredged in 1983, 1990, 1995. • In 1998, Public Works obtained a 10 year permit to dredge the arm once every 3 years. Dredging is planned for the summer of 1999, and is estimated to cost$90,000. ■ Preserve lake characteristics important to wildlife,recreation and flood protection. Actions taken: • Council adopted the Laguna Lake Park Master Plan in 1993. -70- COUNCIL GOALS: 196 1 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES—LAGUNA LAKE MASTER PLAN ■ Maintain 3 to 4 feet of lake depth at seasonal low water level. This increases the recreational value of the lake and reduces the weed growth. Actions taken: • Weir plates are adjusted twice a year to minimize the lake level in the winter and maximize it in the summer. Originally the Council direction was to complete mechanical weed harvesting, remove sediment from Prefurno Arm (and delta) and install a log barrier at Madonna road to adjust the lake level. In 1991, the Council directed staff to pursue the removal of the delta at the mouth of Prefumo Arm and begin the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for dredging 1.5 meters of material from the entire water area of the lake. Since that time Community Development has completed geo-technical,biological and botanical studies needed to prepare an environmental document on the dredging project. In March of 1999,the Council held a study session to discuss the many issues affecting Laguna Lake. As a result of their review, the Council provided direction to continue to pursuing the dredging project; to evaluate using adjacent farmland for disposition of dredging spoils; and to investigate and pursue the ability to fully dredge the lake bottom should another drought make that a possibility. Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal Two significant issues—environmental concerns and cost—present themselves with this project. ■ Environmental Concerns. When originally conceived in 1991, the dredging project was to be a low cost project making use of some existing equipment, purchasing a small dredge, using the back areas of the lake for drying and deposition of spoil and part time-temporary staff. However, based on environmental damage to sensitive areas found in the initial studies, this option is no longer possible. Instead, the Council directed at the March 1999 study session that only a small area (2-5 acres) be designated for dredging spoils. The Council further emphasized their desire to locate the majority(if not all) of the spoils on adjacent farm land. Given that direction, new environmental studies will be necessary to cover both contingencies. ■ Cost Due to the costs associated with dredging the lake in a short time frame (as anticipated in 1991), and no nearby large dredge spoils area (also not anticipated in 1991), in March of 1999 the Council conceptually approved an ongoing dredging program that will take about 17 years to complete at an estimated annual cost of$200,000. This approach should allow the dredging project to proceed using only the 2-5 acre site actually available. However, should the adjacent farm land be available for dredge spoils, we would be able to remove spoils at a much faster rate. This could significantly increase project costs initially depending on how much faster we dredge and remove spoils; however, total costs would probably be lower. -71- COUNCIL GOALS: 196, 41 FINANCIAL PLAN - OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES—LAGUNA LAKE MASTER PLAN ACTION PLAN Task Date • . - • Hire contract engineering/environmental consultant. 10/99 • Begin preparing plans to implement dredging. 12/99 • Begin prepare environmental documents. 10/00 • Complete plans and environmental documents; apply for and receive permits. 5/01 • Begin dredging lake. 7/01 Related Work ■ Dredging the Prefutno Arm. Flood control—rather than lake preservation—is the primary reason for of dredging the Prefumo Arm. However,this is an integral part of the lake management plan, and does help mitigate siltation. As noted above, our goal is dredge the Prefumo Arm about every three years, and an estimated cost each time of$90,000. ■ Park Improvements. For the next two years, any park improvements will be designed to avoid environmentally sensitive areas and to avoid possible conflicts with dredging operations. RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT Public Works FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL The following cost estimates assume dredging a 32 hectare lake area 1.5 meters deeper than its current depth over a 17 year timeframe. Project Costs To-Date 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 Total Environmental review and design 40,000 123,000 163,000 Equipment acquisition 120,000 120,000 Construction 1 200,000 200,000 400,000 Total 1 40,000 123,000 - 320,000 1 200,000 683,000 Funding Source: General Fund GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL None. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT The lake bottom will be deeper allowing a greater amount of recreation activity. There may be some reduction in the amount of algae bloom and fewer years when the lake bottom is exposed due to drought. Finally the lake will last many more years before it is either again dredged or it becomes a meadow due to siltation. -72- COUNCIL GOALS: 199*-01 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES—SOCIAL SERVICES OBJECTIVE Continue (and increase as available) funding for existing social service programs including: the homeless shelter, Prado Day Center, Housing Authority, affordable housing needs and HRC grants; and support a community health needs assessment. DISCUSSION Background ■ The City and the County of San Luis Obispo have been partners in building and providing ongoing operational funding for a homeless shelter located on Orcutt Road since 1990. The shelter is operated by the Economic Opportunity Commission (EOC). ■ The City and County of San Luis Obispo, along with a partnership between the Interfaith Coalition for the Homeless, the Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Association and contributions from the community,built the Prado Day Center which opened in October of 1997. The City and County continue to provide funding for the Center's operation, with in-kind assistance and additional fundraising coming from the Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Association. ■ The City works with private developers, the Housing Authority and other non-profit housing providers to help provide affordable housing for our citizens. In addition to annual federal Community Development Block Grant(CDBG) funds, the City has also secured federal Section 108 loan funds in the amount of$1 million to enable the Housing Authority build affordable senior housing. ■ The Council recently passed an Inclusionary Housing Ordinance which requires new development projects to help the City meet its affordable housing objectives by providing affordable units on- or off- site,by dedicating land or by paying an in-lieu fee. ■ Through our Human Relations Commission (HRC), the City annually grants about $100,000 to local non-profit social services organizations. Findings at the HRC Public Workshop on October 28, 1998, indicate that social service agencies must look for additional opportunities to secure funding in order to have sufficient amounts to use as leverage, matching or seed funding to secure grants or begin new social service programs. ■ Two members of the HRC sit on a committee, spearheaded by the United Way, which is developing the SLO Community Health Assessment Project. The HRC members are assisting in designing survey questions and results tabulation to ensure that the results will be of value to the City. ■ The Mayor's Youth Task Force has been established as a community collaboration of organizations and individuals committed to helping provide opportunities for young people to enrich their lives, build positive life skill, connect with the community and support healthy life choices. -73- COUNCIL GOALS: 196_ 4)1 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES—SOCIAL SERVICES Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal ■ Much of the City's previous support for social services has come from CDBG funds. HUD limits the amount of funds spent on social services, also called "public services," to 15% of the total "Urban County" CDBG funding. In the past, the City has been able to exceed this limitation to support operations at the homeless shelter and the Prado Day Center because other cities in the "Urban County" were not using their full 15% allocation. It has become clear that the City cannot rely on having a county-wide surplus of public service funds each year and, consequently, must look to other funding sources if it is to fully fund operations for both the shelter and the Prado Day Center. ■ The Housing Element sets an annual production target of 40 affordable housing units to help meet our regional housing needs. Since the Housing Element's adoption in 1994, a total of 59 affordable dwelling have been produced. High land costs and development impact fees are often cited as significant obstacles to the production of affordable housing in San Luis Obispo. Without additional financial incentives, it is unlikely that the City will meet its affordable housing objectives. ■ In committing $1 million of the $1.65 million Section 108 loan to the Housing Authority, the City must use an average of $324,000 of its annual CDBG grant for loan repayment over the next six years, limiting the amount of CDBG fiords available for other affordable housing programs. ■ The County has indicated that it may need to reconsider its level of funding for the shelter and the Prado Day Center in the future. ACTION PLAN Task .. - • Continue to provide$120,000 in annual CDBG funds to the homeless shelter. Ongoing • Increase funding for the Prado Day Center to from$40,000 to$50,000 annually. Ongoing • Continue funding HRC grants at the current level plus inflation. Ongoing • Support the collaborative multi-agency work of the Mayor's Youth Task force in providing positive Ongoing alternatives to alcohol and drug use • Provide$15,000 to support the Mayor's Youth task Force 7/99 • Provide$15,000 to support the community health needs assessment. 7/99 RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT ■ Administration. Responsible for general oversight of the goal. Directly responsible for liaison with the Prado Day Center. ■ Parks and Recreation. Responsible for liaison with the homeless shelter and for staffing the Human Relations Commission(HRC). ■ Community Development. Responsible for implementing the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance and liaison with the Housing Authority. ■ Finance. Responsible for implementing necessary funding. -74- COUNCIL GOALS: 19ty- l FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER M20RTANT OBJECTIVES—SOCIAL SERVICES FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL Task Grant Funding General Fund Homeless shelter annual funding 120,000 Prado Day Center annual funding *50,000 Mayor's Youth Task Force collaborative programming 15,000 Community Health Needs Assessment 15,000 TOTAL $170,000 $30,000 * It should be noted that this amount of funding from CDBG for the Prado Day Center may not be available for the 2000-01 budget. Available CDBG funding will depend upon the number of cities in the "Urban County"that do not use their full CDBG public services allotment of 15%. The City of San Luis Obispo should be able to count on about $16,000 based on its own public services cap. Any additional CDBG funding will depend on what remains available to the Urban County after other cities have made their public services allocations. GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL There is no General Fund revenue potential expected as a result of this goal. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT The City will continue, and in some cases slightly increase, the level of support it provides for existing social services programs. We will also provide the necessary financial assistance to support the Mayor's Youth Task Force and a community health needs assessment. -75- COUNCIL GOALS: 1% -J1 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES—MARGARITA AREA SPECIFIC PLAN OBJECTIVE Complete and adopt the Margarita Area Specific Plan and annex the Margarita area to the City. DISCUSSION Background Since the late 1970's the City's General Plan has envisioned urban development in the Margarita area. The General Plan has called for a specific plan to refine that vision. When the Land Use Element of the General Plan was updated in 1994, it contained detailed guidance for how a specific plan should guide development in the Margarita area. The General Plan also requires that a specific plan for the area be adopted before urban development is allowed to proceed. A specific plan for the area was started by property owners using consultant services. That effort stopped in the early 90's, but produced a conceptual land use plan. The Council directed Community Development Department staff to complete the specific plan. On May 19, 1998 staff presented the Council with a draft of the specific plan with enough detail to serve as a project description for an environmental impact report. The consultant team preparing the infrastructure plans related to the Airport Area Specific Plan and annexation will complete the infrastructure planning for the Margarita Area Specific Plan and will combine the environmental review for both specific plans. In this way the City can leverage the consultant services being used for the Airport Area Specific Plan to meet the planning needs for the Margarita area. The following tasks have been completed or are in progress: ■ Council approval of a draft specific plan for use as the project description for the plan's environmental impact report. The following tasks have yet to be completed: ■ Completing a draft specific plan by incorporating the area's infrastructure needs into the plan. ■ Consultant preparation of an infrastructure financing plan. ■ Completion and circulation of an environmental impact report. ■ Additional town hall meetings. ■ Public hearings for adopting the completed plan. ■ Annexation of the Margarita area. Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal. ■ Long-term water supply. The City's adopted General Plan policy is that the City will secure adequate water supply for build-out of the area within the City's urban reserve boundary. The General Plan states that the City will allow annexation prior to having water supply on hand to serve ultimate build-out, but that adequate supply must exist before a development project is allowed to proceed. The City has several projects in progress that would provide supplemental sources of water to adequately serve all the City's needs at build-out. The City's water policy does not create a restriction on development for newly annexed property based on water supply availability. The City's policy allows annexed properties to use on-site water resources to supplement available city water where necessary and available, and the City supplies water for fire suppression. -76- COUNCIL GOALS: 19bv-01 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES—MARGARITA AREA SPECIFIC PLAN ■ Environmental issues. These are being analyzed as the plan is being prepared. Although an environmental impact report was prepared for the General Plan Land Use Element and Circulation Element updates that addressed the build-out of the Margarita area in general terms, the specific location and installation of future development and infrastructure will raise more specific issues. An environmental impact report for the specific plan will address these issues. ACTION PLAN Task Date • . - • Complete administrative drafts of public facilities master plans. 5/99 • Complete administrative draft specific plan. 5/99 • Complete administrative draft infrastructure financing plan. 7/99 • Complete administrative draft environmental impact report(EIR). 7/99 • Begin public review of draft specific plan and draft EIR. 8/99 • Hold town hall workshop on draft specific plan and EIR. 8/99 • Respond to EIR comments. 10/99 • Hold Planning Commission hearings on specific plan. 11/99 • Hold Council hearings, adopt specific plan and certify EIR. 1/00 • Begin annexation process. 3/00 RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT ■ Community Development. Using consultant prepared infrastructure planning information, completes the draft specific plan, and prepares and presents workshop materials and staff reports leading to adoption of the specific plan; prepares the application materials leading to annexation; prepares land use and development standards; and directs consultant preparation of urban design guideline component of specific plan. ■ Public Works. Supervises sub-consultant preparation of the area-wide storm drainage plan and the circulation component of the specific plan;review specific plan drafts. ■ Utilities. Supervises sub-consultant preparation of water and wastewater master plans; review specific plan drafts. ■ Finance. Supervises sub-consultant preparation of the public facilities financing plan; reviews specific plan drafts. ■ Administration. Natural Resources Manager: contributes to preparing the open space and resource protection standards and review specific plan drafts. ■ Police. Reviews specific plan drafts, provides recommendations regarding additional services needed to serve the Margarita Area. ■ Fire. Reviews specific plan drafts and hazardous materials issues; provide recommendations regarding additional services needed to serve the area. _77_ COUNCIL GOALS: 195_ 41 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES—MARGARITA AREA SPECIFIC PLAN FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL The work necessary to provide the infrastructure planning and environmental review for the Margarita area is being done by the airport area consultants, and the cost for this work has previously been funded. Staff is responsible for all other aspects of preparing the plan. The Margarita area will pay their proportional share of the cost of the consultant work,most likely by paying development impact fees at the time of obtaining permits. The public facilities financing plan will address the topic of cost distribution in detail and provide recommendations for recovering City costs. The Council previous allocated 900 hours of staff time to completing the Margarita Area Specific Plan. Because of this Council direction, the Margarita area property owners were not charged a fee for 25% cost recovery for the staff work to review and present the plan to the Council for approval. Staff estimates that the 900 hours originally allocated by the Council has been used to bring the plan to this stage of completion. Most of the staff work that will go into the plan has been completed. The staff work remaining to complete the specific plan will be relatively minor in comparison to the work that has already been done, consisting of reviewing and commenting on draft plans. While significant, this work falls into the routine work programs of the departments involved. Supplemental Costs. As noted above, the planning costs for this annexation have already been funded. However, there will be minor costs in 1999-00 for application and recording fees to complete the annexation process of about $5,700 as summarized below. At this time, we expect that the pending three annexation requests of individual property owners in the area will be approved. The additional costs described below are for the remainder of the Margarita area. If the City annexes the sports field area before the rest of the Margarita area,the costs are not expected to change significantly. LAFCO and State Fees for Annexation Cost County planning fee 500 State Board of Equalization fee 2,000 LAFCO fee 3,200 TOTAL $5,700 GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL The fiscal impact analysis for the Margarita Area annexation concluded that the long-term fiscal impact on the City will be negative. This is typical for residential development in California, where operation and maintenance costs generally exceed revenues. In short, there are no likely favorable General Fund impacts from this or any other residential development. However, revenue from the non-residential development in the Airport area will help offset the long-term service costs of additional residential development in the City. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT Achieving this goal will result in the planning necessary to implement the City's General Plan for the Margarita Area. -78_ COUNCIL GOALS: 199u-01 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER HVIPORTANT OBJECTIVES-AFFORDABLE HOUSING OBJECTIVE Encourage the production and availability of affordable housing by implementing the Housing Element's affordable housing policies and programs, including but not limited to monitoring and evaluating the jobs housing imbalance,pursuing affordable housing grants,and partnerships with non-profit groups. DISCUSSION Background The City's General Plan Housing Element contains numerous programs to promote creating and retaining affordable housing in the City. Other policies and programs are directed to avoid exacerbating the need for more affordable housing. The Long-Range Planning Division of the Community Development Department typically takes the lead on developing Housing Element programs. Housing Element programs have to compete with Council goals, other General Plan implementation programs, and ongoing responsibilities for that division's limited resources. As a result, only one or two of these implementation programs are accomplished in an annual work program. Staff implementation programs primarily involve developing regulatory requirements and incentive programs to encourage or require private sector development of affordable housing and through its preparation and administration of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) applications and programs. The City also implements its affordable housing goals through its support of the Housing Authority, which is active in building and providing affordable housing. Programs that are currently being implemented—such as the approval of specific plans for residential expansion areas with land set aside of additional housing and the inclusionary housing ordinance that requires a minimum contribution to affordable for new development—will soon begin to provide more affordable housing than the community has experienced in several years. These programs were prioritized because they offered the most significant results. In addition, the 1998 Community Development Block Grant (through a Section 108 loan) made about$1.0 million dollars of funding available to the Housing Authority to construct affordable housing. Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal ■ Limited staff resources. As noted in the description of the City's existing implementation methods above, existing staff resources are limited. Community Development Department (CDD) staff have the primary role in implementing affordable housing programs by creating the ordinances and procedures that accomplish the program goals. Once established, most of the regulatory and incentive programs are implemented on a case-by-case basis as a part of the development review and building permit process. Most housing programs will involve ongoing administration, such as the administration of the Affordable Housing Fund that is integral to the City's inclusionary housing program. In drafting implementation programs, staff must be diligent to avoid processes or procedures that will create significant new demands on limited staff resources. Any additional allocation of resources to implementing new housing programs or studies will involve redirecting the resources allocated to existing programs and activities. ■ Dependence on private development With the exception of funding the Housing Authority and their affiliates which actually construct affordable housing, the City's main method of securing more affordable housing is to encourage or require it as a component of new development. Thus, when development activity is slow, little is accomplished in the interest of affordable housing. The vitality of -79- COUNCIL GOALS: 19L.,_-01 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES—AFFORDABLE HOUSING the general economy and low interest rates for construction financing is the primary determinant of development activity, and the City has little influence on state or national economic vitality. ■ Dependence on funding. Grant funding is occasionally available on a competitive basis for uses that can reduce the cost of housing, including reducing land cost, paying for infrastructure, reduced interest rates or purchase subsidies. The competition for these grants is typically intense and receiving these grants uncertain. Obtaining significant grant funding requires consistent effort to stay abreast of grant opportunities and to apply for available grants. This requires a significant amount of staff resource. The City has participated in the CDBG program since 1993. In 1998, the CDBG program provided a $1.0 million loan to the Housing Authority to construct affordable housing. The loan will be paid though subsequent CDBG program grants. The CDBG program is an entitlement program rather than a competitive one. This means that as long as the federal government allocates money to the program, the expenditure of staff resources to participate in the program will result in some funding for the City. The Community Development Department currently uses about one third of a staff position to coordinate the City's CDBG program. The Finance Department also provides regular staff support for the CDBG program. As the City continues to participate in the CDBG program, the number of projects will increase, eventually increasing the staff resource necessary to administer it. ACTION PLAN The City has already adopted two important affordable housing programs: 1) affordable housing incentives; and 2) inclusionary housing requirements. Staff will continue to implement these programs as applicable on an ongoing basis. The Community Development Block Grant is an ongoing, annual program. In addition to this program, following two programs have been discussed as high priority for the next two fiscal years. ■ No net housing loss for the Downtown Area. Both the Land Use and Housing elements of the General Plan contain policies and programs identifying this goal. The conversion of housing in the City's Downtown Area to office uses has been a long-standing community concern. ■ Begin the process of updating the General Plan Housing Element. State Law prescribes when each city and county in the state should adopt an updated housing element. Existing State Law says the City shall update its Housing Element by June 30, 2002. The process of updating the Housing Element is a large task. The City's last Housing Element update exceeded 24 months in preparing and adopting the plan. Therefore, staff recommends initiating this process in the year 2000 in order to be able to adopt the update midway through the year 2002. Even so, the year and a half process shown in the table below may be ambitious. -80- COUNCIL GOALS: 199y-01 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER RV PORTANT OBJECTIVES—AFFORDABLE HOUSING Task Date Implement existing affordable housing incentive and inclusionary housing programs. Ongoing Coordinate preparation and administration of annual CDBG program. Annual cycle Prepare a program to maintain and encourage housing in the Downtown Area. • Draft program 9/99 • Hold Planning Commission workshop 1/00 • Complete environmental review 4/00 • Hold Planning Commission hearings 6/00 • Hold Council hearing and adopt program 8/00 • Establish program procedures 9/00 Update the General Plan Housing Element. • Prepare background analyses and documentation 12/00 • Identify issues 2/01 • Hold town hall meeting 2//01 • Draft policies and programs 4/01 • Hold town hall meeting 5/01 • Hold Planning Commission study session 7/01 • Hold Council study session 9/01 • Complete environmental review 12/01 • Hold Planning Commission public hearings 3/02 • Hold Council public hearings and adopt update 6/02 • Begin implementation 7/02 RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT ■ Community Development. Implements existing affordable housing programs, prepares the Downtown housing preservation program and the Housing Element update. ■ Administration. Reviews and provides direction regarding policy recommendations, and Council agenda materials. ■ Finance. Reviews draft program and element update for fiscal impacts and provides direction. FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL The work proposed in this Action Plan option would be prepared by staff, whose time and materials would be paid for by the City's General Fund. Approximately 600 hours of staff time (about 1/3 of a person year) are estimated as necessary to prepare the Downtown housing preservation program. About 1,600 staff hours (almost one person year)are estimated as needed to prepare and adopt the Housing Element update. -81- COUNCIL GOALS: 195..-01 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES—AFFORDABLE HOUSING GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL There is no likely General Fund revenue potential in achieving this goal. In fact, there are likely to be adverse fiscal impacts. While typical for residential development in general in California—where operation and maintenance costs generally exceed revenues—the cost/revenue impacts are likely to be even more adverse for affordable housing developments. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT Achieving this goal will result in: ■ Progress in implementing the City's adopted affordable housing programs ■ An updated Housing Element consistent with the schedule established in the State Government Code. -82- COUNCIL GOALS: 195=01 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES--CREEK HABITAT PROTECTION OBJECTIVE Explore amending the creek setback ordinance to include creek management for habitat protection and creek bank restoration. DISCUSSION Background ■ The City Council, after considerable study, adopted a creek setback ordinance in 1996. That ordinance codified what had been an "administrative policy" of requiring a twenty foot setback from the top of creek banks for any structures built along identified creeks within the City. Staff has now had several years' experience with the ordinance and found it to be generally a reasonable and workable law. ■ Grading within stream corridors is governed by the City's grading ordinance; however, the creek setback ordinance does not, nor was it intended to, address the actual management of riparian or stream-side vegetation. ■ The need for regulation governing the management of riparian or stream-side vegetation has been raised as an issue by some citizens, and several incidents involving cutting or other clearing of such vegetation by creek side landowners has raised the issue within several neighborhoods within the City. Although the State Fish and Game Code provides certain rules regulating the modification of stream-side vegetation, enforcement is haphazard and made difficult by the sheer size of the task and by widespread lack of awareness of such regulation. Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal ■ There is very little specific regulation of vegetation management by private individuals, companies, or private or public agencies within California. Most regulation that exists is embodied within adopted plans or programs that are more general, and which promise, for example,to keep disturbance of riparian areas or other sensitive areas to a minimum. As noted above, the California Department of Fish and Game has certain regulations covering such management, but enforcement is inconsistent and difficult. There is little to prevent an individual or group of individuals from cutting and removing stream-side vegetation. Therefore, the City will face significant challenges in seeking to balance reasonable environmental protection with the landowners' perceived right to modify vegetation on their property. ■ An alternative to formal regulation is a stronger, proactive educational effort. Not all property owners, however,can be expected to respond favorably to such efforts. ■ The multiplicity of owners and owner-initiated actions would seem to ensure that any formal regulatory program will be reactive rather than proactive. -83- COUNCIL GOALS: 1%. J1 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES—REEK HABITAT PROTECTION ACTION PLAN Task Date -; . - • Contact other agencies to determine the level of local regulation regarding stream 11/99 vegetation management. • Report to Council on findings; determine appropriate course of action. 1/00 • If appropriate,develop and adopt regulations,guidelines and/or informational program. 8/00 RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENTS ■ Administration—Natural Resources. Oversee research effort and prepare recommendations to the Council. ■ Administration/Community Development. If so directed, develop regulations, guidelines and/or informational program for adoption by Council; conduct environmental evaluation. FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL It is expected that the goal of researching the issue and reporting to the Council can be achieved within existing staff resources. The need for added resources following Council action will depend upon the nature and extent of any approved program. GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL None. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT The adoption of new regulations is possible. However, assuming that at least a program of guidelines is desirable, the outcome would include an outreach program to inform stream-side landowners of the guidelines and of the availability of professional expertise to assist in proper management of stream-side vegetation. -84- COUNCIL GOALS: 1901 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE Pursue economic development objectives to increase higher paying jobs, retain and expand existing businesses, and recruit targeted industries. DISCUSSION Background ■ The economic development program promotes retaining, expanding, and attracting quality businesses, consistent with the community's vision of San Luis Obispo. The program works with and supports all sectors of our local economy, including the retail, manufacturing, high-tech, and tourism industries. The overall goal is to sustain and strengthen the economic vitality of the community so that residents, businesses,and City government have the resources needed to achieve the desired goals. ■ Implementing "a more defined, proactive economic stability program" was established by the City Council as a Major City Goal for 1993-95 and primarily focused on retaining and expanding local businesses. ■ For the 1995-97 Financial Plan period, the Council expanded the program to include a proactive business recruitment strategy. To develop the strategy, the Targeted Industry Cluster Committee was formed. The Committee's recommendations were adopted by Council in September 1997 and included software/multimedia, light manufacturing,and medical technology as recruitment priorities. ■ The City's full-time economic development program has now been in existence approximately three (3) years and will continue to concentrate on the following areas: • Providing local business retention and expansion assistance • Providing in-fill sitelbuilding space location assistance • Improving the City's customer service and image, including the Quick Response Team • Networking locally with Association of Manufacturers and Distributors, Chamber of Commerce, Central Coast Marketing Team, commercial real estate brokers, Downtown Association, Small Business Development Center, Softec, and others • Contracting with the Economic Vitality Corporation (EVC) for marketing services and low-interest financing for qualified new or expanding businesses • Improving our economic development partnerships with Cal Poly, Cuesta College, and the California Central Coast Research Partnership(C3RP) • Participating in completing Airport Area Specific Plan (property owner liaison), a prerequisite to annexation and creating added inventory of land for our targeted industries • Distributing marketing materials that promote our greatest recruitment incentive: quality of life • Improving and maintaining the economic development Web site • Networking with site selection consultants and targeted industries • Continuing revitalization efforts with Madonna Plaza and Central Coast Mall • Assisting retailers(downtown, auto dealers) ■ Areas of new focus in the coming two years include: • Downtown retail recruitment partnerships • Proactive recruitment for airport area once annexed -85- COUNCIL GOALS: 195_ -J1 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES—ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT • Improved GIS data base • California Central Coast Research Partnership(C3RP) support Challenges We Will Face in Achieving This Goal ■ On the one hand, some in the community have high expectations for "instant" results. However, economic development requires a long-term commitment— and some patience. ■ On the other hand, some in the community view economic development as "growth inducing". In San Luis Obispo, the program is intended to influence growth already planned for in ways most compatible with community goals, as set forth by the Council. ■ Until the airport area is annexed, the City will have a limited inventory of industrial building sites. The City also has fairly limited building space availability. ■ There are also perceived job-specific labor shortages (primarily in the high tech industries), water supply and cost issues,and affordable housing concerns. ■ Retail challenges include: neighboring communities' more aggressive approach to retail growth; fractured ownership of the under-developed Madonna Plaza, limiting the comprehensive improvement of the property; physical constraints associated with the Central Coast Mall revitalization; a retail recruitment partnership with downtown stakeholders is something new and may be perceived as a threat by some. ■ The City's economic development program is relatively small-scale in comparison to many cities. ACTION PLAN Task Date • Establish a retail recruitment partnership between the Downtown Association,the City,local real mmmmongoing estate brokers and property owners to increase the downtown's attractiveness as a retail destination • Participate in 1-2 targeted industry trade shows annually in cooperation with the EVC,Central ongoing Coast Marketing Team,and the California Trade and Commerce Agency. • Work with downtown auto dealers to meet their expansion needs and assist in re-use of downtown ongoing sites. • Expand business visitation program to include one-on-one business retention and expansion surveys 08/99 through existing EVC contract. • Develop and implement strategic work program for business recruitment in collaboration with the 08/99 EVC and/or other appropriate parties. • Develop web-based GIS application to assist companies with identifying available commercial sites. 09/99 • Work with Geo-Data Services to develop a more comprehensive land use inventory to include fiber 10/99 optic lines. • Support completion of the Airport Area Specific Plan to create added inventory for targeted 11/99 industrial recruitment. • Implement more proactive recruitment program for airport area inventory upon annexation. 01/00 • Monitor economic development contracts and provide evaluation for future funding. 04/00 • Continue to enhance City's image by effective and timely permit processing, obtaining additional ongoing City permit processing testimonials,and encouraging positive press coverage. • Coordinate Quick Response Team meetings to identify project issues and necessary permitting ongoing requirements. -86- COUNCIL GOALS: 199*-01 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT ■ Administration—Economic Development. Overall oversight of the goal's completion, and direct responsibility for most of the tasks (the Assistant to the CAO staffs the Promotional Coordinating Committee,which promotes the City's tourism goals). ■ Community Development. Directly responsible for Airport Area Specific Plan and subsequent annexation process. Manages development review and major permit processes, provides reports and support for the relocation of downtown auto dealers. ■ Public Works. Manages the City's GIS program. ■ Quick Response Team. Chaired by Economic Development Manager, includes staff from Public Works,Utilities, Community Development,and Fire departments. FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL Existing staff is sufficient to carry out most of the goals of this program (lead by the Economic Development Manager,but involving other staff persons as well,as noted under the Responsible Department section). It is anticipated that the development of an economic development commercial site information system will cost $6,000 in fiscal year 1999-00. This program will expand the level of information available to businesses seeking commercial site and building space location assistance. To offset City costs and to ensure maintenance of the on- line commercial listings, the City is anticipating a one-time total contribution of $2,000 from the brokers (approx. $250 each). There will also be annual license renewal and technical support costs of$1,000 annually beginning in fiscal year 2000-01. To place the program on the web, there will be an initial, one-time hardware and software purchase of$11,000. It is anticipated that this equipment will be used by other City departments as current and future GIS applications, such as the Land Use Inventory, are developed and placed on the Web. With the equipment purchase and development of the system,the total net cost is$15,000. The California Central Coast Research Partnership (C3RP) has requested $10,000 toward the recruitment, selection, and compensation of a Program Director to carry out the activities of the research partnership. Furthermore, C3RP has requested $20,000 from the County of San Luis Obispo and has asked Cal Poly for a "substantial financial contribution" to fund the anticipated $250,000 needed to support the two-year start-up budget. Cuesta College has agreed to provide substantial in-kind support. The private sector will be asked to contribute the remaining funds. City staff has asked C3RP for a "business plan" that sets forth their long-term revenue and expenditure plan, including the longer tern expectation of the City. The City could defer action on this allocation until that plan is received. Finally, ongoing sponsorship of the EVC has been requested. Specifically, the EVC has requested $15,000 per year as supported by the City of Atascadero. This is $2,600 less than the anticipated request, based on a three- year "stair-step" approach to funding EVC endorsed by Council two years ago. The EVC had asked the City for an initial contribution of$25,000. The staff recommendation was that the City ultimately fund a "fair share" allocation based on population, topping out at $18,600 in 1999-00. Under this plan, reaching the "top"was to be achieved in thirds. As such, the City Council allocated$6,200 to EVC in 1997-98, $12,400 in 1998-99. -87- COUNCIL GOALS: 195_ J1 FINANCIAL PLAN OTHER IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES—ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL In the long term, additional revenues will be created through enhanced job opportunities and increased revenues such as business tax, sales tax, transient occupancy tax,property tax and other revenues. The amount is difficult to predict, and depends in part on the amount of added retail development initiated by the private sector and/or approved by Council. However, in the absence of an economic development program, the City could experience erosion in its revenue base, especially given the retail competition north and south of the City. Furthermore, national and statewide competition is ongoing relative to our targeted business recruitment efforts, especially in the high tech area. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT This ongoing effort will ultimately result in retaining and increasing the number of household supporting jobs and enhancing the fiscal position of the City through increased business tax, sales tax, transient occupancy tax, property tax, and other revenues. -88- COUNCIL GOALS: 199to-01 FINANCIAL PLAN ADDRESS AS RESOURCES PERMIT-CIRCULATION ELEMENT UPDATE OBJECTIVE Update the Circulation Element, including working with Caltrans on freeway off-ramp closures and the Santa Rosa/Highway 101 interchange. DISCUSSION Background Since the Land Use Element is not proposed for a major overhaul until 2004 or beyond, a major overhaul of the Circulation Element will be coordinated with that effort. However there are areas that warrant updating as "housekeeping"items: ■ Update the Trac Reduction section to reflect current status of state law and the City's Parking Demand Reduction(PDR)efforts in the downtown(Policy Section 1). ■ Update and streamline the Neighborhood Traffic Management (NTM) section to reflect the recently adopted NTM guidelines(Policy Section 6). ■ Incorporate the changes to the Street Network that are planned as part of the Airport Area Specific Plan, the Margarita Area Specific Plan, the Orcutt Area Specific Plan, or the Dalidio Area Development Plan (Policy Section 8). ■ Incorporate other individual policies and programs changes that have been directed by Council since the Circulation Element was adopted in 1994, such as changes to the maximum desired ADT standard for some local and collector streets such as Chorro,Pacific, and Prefumo; or those that are clearly obsolete. Caltrans has tentatively scheduled the preparation of an "operational analysis" for the Route 101-Santa Rosa Street interchange. The analysis should include evaluation of ramp systems at this interchange and other adjoining ramps such as at Osos and Broad Streets. Changes to freeway ramps can include the ramp closures identified in the City's Circulation Element(Figure 4,project CA). Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal ■ Finding staff time to pursue housekeeping changes. ■ Limiting the scope of the update process to housekeeping changes. ■ Convincing Caltrans to: • Actually pursue and fund their planned operational study. • Once the study is completed, that closing some Route 101 ramps is appropriate and that they should pay for these closures. -89- COUNCIL GOALS: 196..-01 FINANCIAL PLAN ADDRESS AS RESOURCES PERMIT—CIRCULATION ELEMENT UPDATE ACTION PLAN Task Completion D. • Process amendments to the Circulation Element needed to achieve Coordinated with consistency with specific plans and major development proposals. consideration of specific plans and development plans • Council establishes scope of housekeeping amendments. 9/99 • Coordinate with Caltrans efforts to begin an operational study of the Santa 7/00 Rosa Street-Route 101 interchange and its environs; pursue ramp closures. • Council adopts housekeeping amendments. 06/01 RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT ■ The Community Development Department would take the lead in processing changes to the Circulation Element needed to achieve consistency between the Element and Specific Plans and Major Development Proposals. Changes to the General Plan can occur four times per year and modifications to the Circulation Element would be scheduled to occur during one of these four times. ■ The Public Works Department, Transportation Division would be responsible for establishing the scope of, and processing other housekeeping updates to the Circulation Element and coordinating with Caltrans on the Santa Rosa Street-Route 101 operational study and subsequent ramp closure projects. FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL The cost of updating the Circulation Element as described above should be minimal and should be accomplished by existing staff except for the preparation of an Operational Study for the Route 101-Route 1 interchange and nearby ramp systems. At this time, we believe the cost for the study will be funded by Caltrans; however, we re not likely to know this until July of 2000. In the event that Caltrans does not decide to pursue this study, and the City wants to proceed anyway, the cost for consultant services will be about $150,000, funded by the General Fund. GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL None. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT Achieving this goal will result in an updated Circulation Element. -90- COUNCIL GOALS: 199y-01 FINANCIAL PLAN ADDRESS AS RESOURCES PERMIT—URBAN DESIGN QUALITY OBJECTIVE Improve the urban design quality and the visual image of the City. DISCUSSION Background ■ Architectural Review is the process that the City uses to guide and control the appearance of buildings, structures, and the land. Architectural review looks at all factors (project layout, design, relationship to the neighborhood,landscaping,parking,signs,and other features)of both private and public projects. ■ To handle the task of architectural review,the City created the Architectural Review Commission (ARC) in the early 1970's, which is comprised of a panel of seven citizens appointed by the Council. The ARC replaced the City's Design Review Board, whose primary mission was to review City projects. Subsequent to the formation of the ARC, and as provided for in the adopted Architectural Review Guidelines, the City established two lower level tiers of architectural review, which only require an "administrative level" of processing (versus review by the ARC): Aesthetically Insignificant or Minor or Incidental. ■ The ARC process has the basic goal of stimulating development of an attractive and desirable physical appearance to the City. In order to accomplish this goal, the ARC is mandated three functions by the Municipal Code: 1) Maintain architectural guidelines to be used by anyone planning a construction project, 2) Advise developers, designers and the City on how to apply the guidelines, and 3) Review development proposals to be sure the guidelines are followed. ■ The City has a currently approved set of Architectural Review Guidelines adopted in June of 1983. It has been a goal of the ARC and Community Development Department staff to update these guidelines to reflect current design principles, Council policy, and community desires. Work on a comprehensive update of these guidelines by staff and the ARC has been underway over the past several years, but a public review draft is still sometime away. ■ It has been suggested that the ARC hold quarterly meetings for the sole purpose of discussing general urban design goals. Urban design issues would include municipal signing standards, street tree standards, street furniture standards, new street designs, and other topics that will improve the overall image of the City. ■ There currently is no training program for City staff from other departments that are involved from time to time in the design and processing of capital improvement projects. Training or field trips to other quality conscious communities by Community Development, Public Works, and Parks and Recreation staff will help raise the sensitivity of quality design and provide assistance in the architectural review process. Depending on the type of training, outside funding may need to be obtained. -91- COUNCIL GOALS: 195..-01 FINANCIAL PLAN ADDRESS AS RESOURCES PERMIT-URBAN DESIGN QUALITY Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal ■ Despite efforts by the ARC and Community Development Department staff, updated ARC Guidelines remain far from complete. The update work effort has been accommodated by Community Development Department staff as a special project: work proceeded as permit load allowed. During years with lower permit application totals, work on the guidelines was able to occur. However, due to increased permit loads,no substantial work on this goal has occurred in the past two years. ■ Based on current staffing levels and project permit loads, it is anticipated that there will be no staff resources to work on the goal in-house for at least the duration of this two year budget (1999-01). Outside resources are needed in order to accomplish this goal in a more timely manner. ■ Holding quarterly urban design meetings could be difficult to schedule while the ARC agendas remain full with development permit requests. Currently, agendas are being cut-off when full, which requires projects to be bumped to the next agenda. Mandating a quarterly meeting solely for general urban design discussion will require scheduling special ARC meetings. There will still a need for staff resources to formulate discussion topics, develop the agenda, prepare staff reports as needed, and conduct the meeting. These frequency of these special meetings will therefore still be driven somewhat to the availability of staff resources or additional funding sources. ■ Unless special, supplemental workshops are held for this purpose, mandating a quarterly meeting solely for general urban design discussion could cause a significant slowing of permit application processing or agendas that the Commission would not realistically be able to get through in an evening. ACTION PLAN Task Date • . - • Prepare an RFP for updating the City's Architectural Review Guidelines. 9/99 • Select a qualified consultant for the guidelines update. 11/99 • Present draft Architectural Review Guidelines to the public and ARC. 4/00 • Council approves final Architectural Review Guidelines. 8/00 • Begin holding periodic urban design workshops with the ARC as resources and time 1/00 permit. • Hold a training session for operating department staff(such as Public Works, Utilities and 1/00 Parks&Recreation)on quality architectural design and the ARC process RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT ■ Community Development. Manage the consultant contract and hearing process for the guidelines update; following adoption of the revised guidelines, review private and public projects for guidelines conformance;prepare agendas and arrange for guest speakers for periodic Urban Design Workshops. ■ Public Works. Ensure that all public works projects are designed to City adopted standards. -92- COUNCIL GOALS: 199y-01 FINANCIAL PLAN ADDRESS AS RESOURCES PERMIT-URBAN DESIGN QUALITY FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL As stated above, the Community Development Department does not have sufficient in-house resources to accomplish this goal within a reasonable time period. Staff estimates that a contract for consultant services will cost approximately $30,000. This figure was based on the actual costs the County incurred in developing their recent County Wide Design Plan, as well as consultation with design professionals familiar with this type of work and our City. In addition to consultant services, Community Development Department staff time will be required to manage: ■ The urban design consultant contract and organize the review and hearing process., ■ Plan and organize periodic ARC design workshops. ■ Develop and implement operating staff design training programs. GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL By better defining quality design standards for private and public developments, the program could enhance the economic viability of the community, and reinforce our image as a desirable tourist destination. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT Achieving this goal will result in: ■ An adopted set of Architectural Review Guidelines for use by applicants, City departments, Commissions, and staff in designing,reviewing, and approving developments within the City. ■ Periodic workshops by the ARC on general urban design concepts. ■ Better trained operating staff on urban design concepts. -93- COUNCIL GOALS: 195.,-01 FINANCIAL PLAN ADDRESS AS RESOURCES PERMIT-AGRICULTURAL ZONING OBJECTIVE Evaluate creating an agricultural zone district and an urban growth boundary. DISCUSSION Background—Agricultural Zoning District ■ Requests have been made in the past for the City to create an agricultural zoning district, although the General Plan does not designate land within the urban reserve line for such uses. The interest was in having a zoning tool available for future use should the need arise. The 1993-95 Financial Plan included creating an agricultural zone as a major City goal. This was scheduled for Council consideration in the Spring of 1995 as part of the "second"batch of zoning ordinance"streamlining"amendments. However, completing these amendments was delayed by Council direction to concentrate on developing and adopting the neighborhood enhancement ordinance and leaf blower regulations. At the time, these two items had immediate applicability, extensive community interest, and consumed significant staff resources to complete. Creating an agricultural zone remains a component of the current batch of zoning ordinance revisions currently being worked on by the staff. ■ The City currently has only two areas within the City limits that could be considered in agricultural production. The first is the area adjacent to San Luis Creek southeast of the Los Osos Valley Road interchange, and the second in the triangular shaped property between Elks Lane, San Luis Creek, and Highway 101. Both of these areas are currently zoned "Conservation Open Space." The Conservation Open Space (C/OS) zoning district lists as its "purpose and application" to apply "to areas which are most suitable for open space uses because of topography, geology, vegetation, soils, wildlife habitat, scenic prominence, agricultural value or flood hazard." As such, Table 9 of the City's Zoning Regulations allows agricultural uses such as grazing, outdoor crops, greenhouse culture, and livestock feeding as allowed uses in the C/OS zoning district. ■ Achieving this goal would add an agricultural zoning district to the City's Zoning Regulations that would allow the Council to rezone existing agricultural operations within the City, or prezone agricultural land proposed for annexation into the City. Background—Urban Growth Boundary ■ The City currently has an Urban Reserve Line which is mandated by Policy 1.6.1 of the Land Use Element of the City's General Plan, and is shown on the adopted General Plan land use map. Policy 1.6.1 states that: "The City shall have an urban reserve line containing the area around the City where urban development might occur. Urban uses within this line should be developed according to City- approved plans, consistent with this element. Non-urban agriculture, open space, and wildlife corridor uses are also encouraged within the urban reserve, as interim or permanent uses shown on City-approved plans." ■ The Urban Reserve Line contains land area currently outside of the City limits that is designated for future growth or inclusion within the City. The line is established as part of the General Plan and may not be amended except by the Council, after public hearings and with the advice of the Planning -94- COUNCIL GOALS: 199v-01 FINANCIAL PLAN ADDRESS AS RESOURCES PERMIT-AGRICULTURAL ZONING Commission. Changes to this boundary rarely occur,having only been justified by concurrent significant public benefit such as open space acquisition. ■ Some interest has been expressed in creating an "Urban Growth Boundary" that would be established, and could only be changed by voter approval. Given the stated policy of the City's General Plan that "The City will not designate more land for urban uses than its resources can be expected to support,"and the desire to give the Council the ability to amend the boundary for the public benefit (such as an exchange for valuable open space or other greater public benefit), staff does not see the need to provide more rigid protection of the urban edge than is already provided for in the City's General Plan. ■ The need for flexibility in this area is even more pointed given the recent history of the County's approval of urban land use designations and development just outside our urban reserve line. Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal ■ Agricultural zone Work on developing an agricultural zone can be accomplished by Community Development Department staff. At this time, permit loads are high and offer little time for staff to work on special project assignments. Therefore, if the Council proceeds with this goal, it will take a few months to implement,as noted under the Action Plan(this is not expected to have any substantive impact on the properties such a zone would apply to). ■ Urban growth boundary. As pointed out in the background discussion on the Urban Growth Boundary, minimizing the ability of the Council to amend the boundary will not be productive without the strong cooperation of the County to restrict unincorporated urban development on our boundaries. In fact, creating such inflexibility might actually encourage sprawl by leaving the City unable to respond to actions by County Government on our urban edge (such as amending our boundaries to annex and control land, including open space dedications). A more productive approach might be to establish a "community limit line" at some reasonable distance from the expected limit of urban development, say our viewshed boundary. Our goal would be to control all uses (agriculture and open space as well as urban)within that area to ensure that community goals are achieved. We should also consider: ■ Whether property owners in the County will want to annex to the City only to go from agricultural zoning in the County to the same zoning in the City. ■ If these owners would then seek and gain approval for urban land uses from the County rather than seek annexation to the City. ■ What the longer term implications of this situation might be. -95- COUNCIL GOALS: 19t�,„-01 FINANCIAL PLAN ADDRESS AS RESOURCES PERMIT—AGRICULTURAL ZONING ACTION PLAN Task Date' Draft Agriculture Zoning District regulations and amend the City's Zoning Matrix to 7/99 include the new zoning category • Prepare the required CEQA analysis for the text amendment 8/99 • Hold a public hearing before the Planning Commission 9/99 • Council adopts proposed changes 10/99 RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT Community Development Department will be responsible for drafting and processing the Zoning Ordinance text amendments necessary to accomplish the desired changes. FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL The amendment as envisioned can be accomplished with existing staff resources. GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL None. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT Achieving this goal will result in an agricultural"zoning district added to the City's Zoning Regulations that can be used to zone existing agricultural operations within the City or areas proposed for annexation that are planned for agricultural land uses by the City's General Plan. -96- COUNCIL GOALS: lMvy l FINANCIAL PLAN ADDRESS AS RESOURCES PERMIT-SOUTH BROAD AREA PLAN OBJECTIVE Develop a concept plan for the South Broad Street Area(High to Orcutt streets). DISCUSSION Background South Broad Street is an active artery leading to and from the City's downtown, connecting it to residential neighborhoods in the City and areas beyond. The South Broad Street Area developed over a long period of time. There are many different architectural styles along the street, with varying design quality. The result is that the streetscape contributes little to the aesthetic quality of the City and adjacent neighborhoods, or their sense of place. There are few structures and little landscaping providing human scale spaces to make pedestrians feel comfortable along the street. The street itself exists as a wide expanse of asphalt with little landscaping, along which vehicles move at a high rate of speed compared to bicycles and pedestrians, exacerbating the unpleasant aspects of this corridor. Streets serve as more than circulation corridors for automobiles. They are also public spaces and components of neighborhoods. The view along streets is a major component of an area's appearance, a key component of the "sense of place." Streets also serve as bicycle and pedestrian routes. The buildings that front on them serve as residences and places of business. In recent times there has been a growing awareness that many streets serve only the function of circulation for cars, with little regard for their role as defining civic spaces and places for people. When the City updated its General Plan in 1994, several goals relating to these `other" functions of street corridors were adopted, including: ■ Maintain the town's character as a small, safe, comfortable place to live. ■ Develop buildings and facilities that will contribute to our sense of place and architectural heritage. ■ Provide a safe and pleasant place to walk and ride a bicycle, for recreation and other daily activities. The General Plan identifies the South Broad Street Area (between High and Orcutt streets) as a "special design area" (LU 8.3). This Land Use Element policy states that in this area renovation of streetscapes, landscaping, and building facades is to be encouraged. Furthermore, the policy states that the City should work with property owners to prepare a plan containing design guidelines and implementing programs. Programs may include implementation incentives, such as variations from development standards or loan funds. Challenges We Will Face Achieving this Goal ■ Inconvenience During Construction. Improvements in the right-of-way may cause short-term traffic disruptions or limited short-term disruption of driveway or street access. These improvements may also create short-term noise impacts. ■ Dependence on Private Development for Implementation. The plan would address fagade and landscaping improvements on private property adjacent to South Broad Street. Installing these improvements will require the cooperation of property owners. It is not likely that the City will have the financial resources to install or construct recommended building improvements. Most of the -97- COUNCIL GOALS: 195..-01 FINANCIAL PLAN ADDRESS AS RESOURCES PERMIT—SOUTH BROAD AREA PLAN improvements that will occur on private property must come as the result of work a property owner initiates. The plan can require that certain plan provisions be implemented as a condition of property development that requires City approval. Relying on permit conditions to implement certain plan provisions will probably result in achieving these provisions over the long-term rather than the short- term. Public improvements over which the City has direct control and the ability to fund in the near term will produce the most immediate results. The plan can explore alternatives for providing incentives that encourage property owners to implement the plan provisions that relate to their property. ■ Property Owner Support. A plan has a better probability of being implemented if it has the support of the stakeholders, the people and organizations or agencies affected by it. Adopting a plan that achieves the stated goals for the South Broad Street Area will rely on the participation and support of the community and the businesses and property owners in South Broad Street Area. ACTION PLAN Task Date— • Develop scope of work for consultant services. 12/99 • Receive Council approval to issue an RFP. 2/00 • Hire consultant. 4/00 • Complete background analyses, inventorying and analysis/issue identification. 7/00 • Hold community meeting to identify issues and draft recommendations. 8/00 • Analyze policy and program issues; develop standards. 10/00 • Hold community meeting to consider policies,review programs and draft 11/00 recommendations. • Prepare draft Plan. 1/01 • Complete environmental review. 3/01 • Hold Architectural Review Commission hearings. 4/01 • Hold Planning Commission Review hearings. 6/01 • Hold Council hearings and adopt plan. 9/01 RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT ■ Community Development. Primary staff responsible for overseeing the preparation of the plan. ■ Public Works. Responsible for traffic related analyses and issues as well as street tree issues. ■ Administration. General overview of developing policy recommendations. Economic Development Manager: Business liaison and economic development recommendations. Natural Resource Manager: Sustainability issues regarding street trees,creek issues,environmental impacts. ■ Finance. Advise on the creation of financial incentive programs or funding options for implementing the plan. -98- COUNCIL GOALS: 1999-01 FINANCIAL PLAN ADDRESS AS RESOURCES PERMIT-SOUTH BROAD AREA PLAN FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL Hiring a consultant to prepare this plan will cost$75,000. GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL Secondary General Fund revenue improvements may result from improved property tax revenues as property values rise or from increased sales tax revenues should businesses in the plan area become more prosperous. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT Achieving this goal will result in a plan for enhancing the appearance, building facades, landscaping, and functioning of the South Broad Street Area, including design guidelines and incentive programs to promote property owner participation. -99- COUNCIL GOALS: 199.41 FINANCIAL PLAN ADDRESS AS RESOURCES PERNIIT—CAL POLY ANNEXATION STUDY OBJECTIVE Continue the cost/revenue analysis of annexing Cal Poly. DISCUSSION Background As part of the Long Term Fiscal Health major City goal in the 1997-99 Financial Plan, the Council previously approved$30,000 to evaluate the fiscal impacts of annexing Cal Poly on the City, the County and Cal Poly. This study will also analyze the experience of other communities with a state university in their city limits as well as governance issues. At a high level, it will also address other potential benefits of annexation to the City, County and Cal Poly. We have already prepared a request for proposals (RFP) for this study, and presented it to the Council in November of 1997 for approval. However, the Council deferred action at that time based on Cal Poly's request for additional time to review the workscope. Since that time,we have reviewed the workscope with both Cal and the County, and we hope to proceed with issuing the RFP in May of 1999. It is important to note that no formal proposal has been made or is under consideration to annex Cal Poly to the City. This is simply a fact-fording effort. Based on the results of this study, we may want to consider this idea further. However, unless there are sufficient benefits for all of the agencies, it is unlikely that annexation will occur. Challenges We Will Face in Achieving this Goal We do not expect any significant challenges in performing this study. As noted above, this is simply a fact- finding effort. However, a number of challenges may lie ahead of us depending on the results of the study, and on how the City, Cal Poly and the County respond to them. Further, as noted above, unless there are sufficient benefits for all of the agencies, it is unlikely that annexation will occur. ACTION PLAN Task Date • . - • Finalize workscope with Cal Poly and the County; issue RFP. 5/99 • Evaluate proposals, select consultant and begin work. 8/99 • Complete administrative draft; coordinate with Cal and Cal Poly. 11/99 • Present results to Council. 1/00 RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT ■ Finance. Prepares the RFP, coordinates selecting the consultant, manages the consultant contract and oversees the technical work product. ■ Administration. Coordinates with Cal Poly;provides policy oversight as the project progresses. -100- COUNCIL GOALS: Mrs-01 FINANCIAL PLAN ADDRESS AS RESOURCES PERMIT-CAL POLY ANNEXATION STUDY FINANCIAL AND STAFF RESOURCES REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL The Council has previously approved funding for this study, and it is already included in the Finance and Administration work programs for 1997-99; as such,no additional resources are required to achieve this goal. GENERAL FUND REVENUE POTENTIAL The purpose of conducting this study is to determine what the net revenue impact would be in annexing Cal Poly. After we complete the study, we will be able to answer this question. OUTCOME—FINAL WORK PRODUCT Achieving this goal will result in reliable technical information on the fiscal impacts of annexing Cal Poly, experience of other communities with state universities in their city limits, an analysis of governance issues, and at a high level,a review of other potential benefits of annexation to the City, County and Cal Poly. -101-