HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-13-2015 BW1 Cooper 1COUNCIL MEETING:
ITEM NO.:i JAN 12 2015
Inderlied, Erica
From: allancoope@gmail.com on behalf of Allan Cooper <acooper@calpoly.edu>
Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2015 7:52 PM
To: Marx, Jan; Carpenter, Dan; Rivoire, Dan; Christianson, Carlyn; Ashbaugh, John; Johnson,
Derek; Davidson, Doug; Lichtig, Katie
Subject: Goal Setting Workshop - Setting Alcohol Outlet Density Limits For The Downtown Core
Honorable Mayor & Council Members -
The City currently identifies only one goal for the Downtown Core: that "of maintaining the downtown as the social and entertainment center for visitors and
residents alike". Why not address other goals related to the Downtown Core such as maintaining its status as a major employment center, shopping center and
an environment suitable for residential living? In a study of various California counties, a 10% increase in the number of bars correlated with an approximate
2% increase in crime rates. An increase in alcohol related assaults and vandalism and an increase in the number of alcohol outlets supplanting retail lease
space demonstrably erodes retail sales downtown and compromises the environmental quality needed for downtown residential living.
ABC states that alcohol outlets in the Downtown Core are "over concentrated" (63 outlets and the number increases every year) and statistics show the
number of alcohol related police reports Downtown have increased in all areas. Over the last four years, the Police Department has "conditionally protested"
on average 12 to 20 alcohol licenses per year, yet none of these licenses were actually revoked.
SLO's recent 2012 Alcohol Outlet Amendments using conditional use permits (CUP's) to permit restaurants that morph into bars do not specifically address
this question of overall concentration. Moreover these recently adopted conditional use permits only address anti -social behavior which takes place within the
alcohol outlet premises. It is virtually impossible to hold any one bar or bars (resulting from "bar hopping") accountable for acts of violence committed
immediately outside the bars or within the surrounding neighborhoods,
The importance of this problem is reconfirmed by the results of two recent polls. A 2011 Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates public opinion poll
found that 60% of residents consider "alcohol-related crimes and problems" "very serious" or "somewhat serious". In 2012, a utility bill survey found that
59% of the 2,200 respondents sought fewer (obviously not more) bars in Downtown SLO.
The Council needs to listen to the public's concerns and determine that there is a current and immediate threat to the public's health, safety and welfare. This
finding could easily be based on the following: "Neighborhood Scout", which provides enterprise -grade data for every neighborhood and city in the U.S.,
determined that 91 per cent of all cities in the U.S. are safer than San Luis Obispo. With a national median of 39.3 crimes per square mile per annum, San Luis
Obispo has 173 crimes per square mile per annum. These are admittedly not extremely violent crimes but primarily assaults and crimes against property.
Property crimes per 1,000 residents are at 44, nearly twice the California average.
Therefore, I urge the Council to direct staff to put in place an "Over Concentration" law which Friedner Wittman in his "PC] Policy Brief' recommended,
setting alcohol outlet density limits for the Downtown Core. Finally, I urge Council to commit an additional .5 FTE or more in its staffing allocation as this
would clearly be needed to undertake this effort.
Allan Cooper, AIA
Member of Save Our Downtown
San Luis Obispo