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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-03-2015 CLR, AshbaughCOUNCIL MEETING: ITEM NO.:_ CLN' r CITY OF co a �►��,• SHID. LUIS OBISPO Council o° City of San Luis Obispo, Office of the City Council DATE: October 28, 2015 TO: City Council, and others as warranted FROM: John B. Ashbaugh, Vice Mayor REC1"rvFO OCT 2 8 2015 Liaison Report COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT — CREATIVE ECONOMY FORUM 2.0 This all -day event took place Monday, October 26 at the PAC. It was sponsored by Arts Obispo, the designated Countywide organization that partners with the State Arts Council to promote the visual, performing, and literary arts in San Luis Obispo. It was well- attended by representatives of most (if not all) of the various non - profit organizations in this area involved in the arts in this County. A similar event was held at about this time of year in 2014; this "Version 2.0" was even more stimulating than the first, providing a key networking opportunity for these organizations and their representatives. I have two primary "take - aways" that I learned from this conference: 1. The "creative economy" is a far larger slice of the state's economic output than is commonly believed: According to an analysis by the Otis College of Art and Design, the arts provide about 10% of the State's economy, estimated at $294 billion in direct, indirect and induced spending. One of every ten jobs in California depends on the arts, a total of 1,477,100 jobs statewide. 2. Recent State legislation (Assembly Bill 189) provides for the State Arts Council to designate "cultural districts," which are defined as "a geographical area certified pursuant to [the bill] with a concentration of cultural facilities, creative enterprises, or arts venues." Such districts are intended to be nominated by local communities (e.g., the City of San Luis Obispo!) and will be certified by the Arts Council beginning in mid -2016, after a set of rules and an application process have been defined — a process which will begin soon. The Director of the California Arts Council, Craig Watson, was present throughout the day for the forum. Mr. Watson explained that the idea of this legislation is to focus attention and to bring "heat" to a defined, walkable neighborhood that "attracts artists, creative entrepreneurs, and cultural enterprises; encourages economic development and supports entrepreneurship in the creative community; encourages the preservation and reuse of historic buildings and other artistic and culturally significant structures; fosters local cultural development; provides a focal point for celebrating and strengthening the unique cultural identity of the community; and promotes opportunity without generating displacement or expanding inequality." At an afternoon "Meet -Up" workshop attended by about 20 people, the idea of a San Luis Obispo Cultural District was discussed at some length. I suggested that this City's Mission Plaza — together with its proposed expansion through the Broad Street /Monterey Street intersection — represents a great opportunity for a potential Cultural District, for the following reasons: 1. This two -block area already contains several historic buildings as well as four sites specifically devoted to "artistic and culturally significant structures," i.e. Old Mission and Council Liaison Report - Arts Forum 10 -26 -15 Council Memorandum October 28, 2015 Page 2 its Museum and Gift Shop; SLO Museum of Art (proposed for expansion); the History Center of SLO County (also considering a possible expansion); and the Children's Museum (recently expanded). 2. Within this area, the City is also proposing a new parking structure with about 400 spaces, but the Monterey Street frontage is reserved for a theater site; SLO Little Theater is considering the possibility of relocating their theater from the current site next to City Hall to this location, further reinforcing this corridor as a defined, accessible Cultural District. 3. A Cultural District would reinforce fund - raising efforts by each of the organizations planning to build or expand their arts /cultural facilities in close proximity to Mission Plaza, which already serves as "a focal point for celebrating and strengthening the unique cultural identity of the community." As these ideas were generated during the afternoon workshop — complete with a crudely -drawn map of this section of the downtown by yours truly — other participants in the workshop suggested that a designated Cultural District should also be extended north of Chorro Street at least as far as the new Chinatown project, which will offer many new and renovated retail spaces as well as residential units in the upper floors. Some of these spaces and units might be able to attract artists and/or galleries. In fact, the Blackstone Hotel at the northwest corner of Chorro and Monterey has just been leased by the developers (Copeland Properties) to Cal Poly for live -work spaces to be occupied by their "Hot House" students. As the discussion progressed, it became clear that one of the points to emphasize within the boundaries of any Cultural District for downtown San Luis Obispo is the opportunity to offer affordable apartments for working artists. There are very few people who reside within these downtown blocks at present; however, the City has been working with developers throughout the "CD" zone to provide additional housing in the downtown. It is not clear whether a "Cultural District" could facilitate production of additional housing but it is evident that any plans for such a district would need to consider the need for affordable housing targeted to working artists, musicians, actors, writers, and others involved in the creative economy. Further conversation among the afternoon workshop people suggested that a downtown Cultural District should include the two movie theaters that have artistic/historic significance: Jim Dee's Palm Theater, the only remaining "art house" theater in the City; and of course the Fremont Theater between Osos and Monterey. This would imply that a Cultural District might be envisioned to span an area as large as five blocks along Monterey Street and Mission Plaza. In order to "flesh out" these ideas surrounding a possible State - certified "Cultural District," the City of San Luis Obispo should consider how to engage with the many "stakeholders" in this area. In fact, we have already initiated such an effort with our proposed update to the Downtown Concept Plan. Additionally, we are already involving the main arts organizations fronting on Mission Plaza and lower Monterey Street in the planning for our Mission Plaza extension (the Mission, SLOMA, History Center, Little Theater, and Children's Museum). Many possibilities are available; all of them suggest that we should respond to and promote the State's new initiative to designate "cultural districts" in communities such as San Luis Obispo.