HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-10-2016 PC Correspondence - Item 2 (Rowley)Meeting: -1-C " - 1 0 - l
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RECEIVED
CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
AUG 0 9 2016
Residents for Quality Neighborhoods COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
P.O. Box 12604 . San Luis Obispo, CA 93406
August 10, 2016
SUBJECT: Item 2, Review Scope of Work for 2016 Zoning Regulations Update
Dear Commissioners,
The following comments are made from two perspectives, as a member of the LUCE Task Force
and as a representative of the members of Residents for Quality Neighborhoods (RQN). If you
are not aware, membership in RQN is by household and requires that members' permanent
residence be in the city. Our members live in various neighborhoods throughout the city and,
thus, have different neighborhood issues.
From both perspectives, dealing with the product that consultants produced for the LUE and CE
updates was problematic. Chapters we reviewed were provided out of the normal order and, in
some cases, paragraphs were provided out of order. It was somewhat confusing for several
task force members and very difficult for residents who wanted to provide input on items that
directly affected them and the quality of life in their particular neighborhoods.
The use of legislative drafts for all proposed changes was extremely helpful to task force
members. On one occasion we were given the opportunity to use a "clean" draft in lieu of the
legislative draft; not one task force member chose to use the clean copy.
Since the Zoning Regulations is such an important document and covers everything from
property development, maintenance and performance standards to home occupations and
floodplain management, it is important that legislative drafts be used throughout the process
to show all changes - format, organization and those in the body of the document. However,
although a new document template or an update of the existing document will be prepared
during Task 2.2, it does not appear that a legislative draft will be prepared until almost the end
of the process, i.e., Task 2.10.
Equally important is that the update be done systematically by chapter with minimal, if any,
skipping around so that it is clear which chapters are being updated and which chapters will be
next. Additionally, it would be helpful if this 286 -page document could be reviewed and
updated in segments. For instance, if the document were divided into seven (7) segments of
sequential chapters there would only be about 40 pages to review at one time. This would
allow for maximum review and understanding of the changes by members the public.
Although we are pleased to see that four (4) public workshops are planned as well as other
outreach techniques, there is so much information to digest that we hope there can be more
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workshops scheduled to correspond with what we hope will be updates of portions (or
segments) of the document. Additionally, having learned from the LUCE process, we strongly
recommend that none of the workshops follow the "drop-in" format where a certain time
period is specified, but individuals may arrive and leave whenever they wish.
Lastly, we propose, and would like you to consider, making a recommendation to hire either a
San Luis Obispo consulting firm or a (qualified) temporary employee to do the work. The
benefits of this are that the consultant would be accessible, would have access to whatever
documents were needed, and could be part of this friendly, small-town community.
In summary, RQN requests that you provide the following guidance for the scope of work for
the Zoning Regulations update:
1. Legislative drafts will be used for all stages of the Task 2 process, for all Planning Commission
and City Council hearings, and any optional tasks assigned that require an update or revision to
a current document;
2. The update will be done systematically by chapter;
3. The update will be done in about seven (7) segments so that changes are easy to follow,
public input can be obtained and the public is informed at all stages;
4. Workshops will be held to review completed segment updates and provide input for the
update of the next segment to be updated;
5. Workshops will use a seminar -type format, not a "drop-in" format;
6. A consultant to work and live in SLO.
Thank you for your time and your consideration of these ideas and requests.
Sandra Rowley
Chairperson, RQN
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