HomeMy WebLinkAboutJul14SLOWhatHistory would be a much easier challenge if everything was reduced to
relating major events and people during a given year in time. It also would
be unbearably tedious. While daily lives are just that – minute by minute,
hour by hour – it would be a rare individual, indeed, who had the time and
fortitude to read about the drone of day-to-day life. Readers want someone
to summarize so the story moves along. The attempt here then will be to look at the multiple
early laws our civic ancestors found important enough to memorialize in Ordinance Books,
let alone the even more copious Resolution Ledgers.
“Series 1” began in February 1858. These first nine laws were primarily concerned with the
legality of holding meetings and passing ordinances along with addressing dogs, disorderly
conduct and a poll tax. “Series II” (the first designated as NS or New Series) lasted barely
three weeks, reiterated some of Series I and added firearms, the marshal’s fees (one of the
few better paying opportunities locally) and cleaning the streets. While none of the texts of
these early ordinances survive, the latter would have been the street owners’ responsibility
as property lines met in the center of any “street” that were dirt.
In mid-1859, New Series III began, repealed most of the older laws, reinstated most of those
repealed, and continued until 1872 for a total of 34 ordinances. While every official action is a
window to the community’s civic pass, only eight extant ordinances have survived to enlighten
the present. The first preserved ordinance in the City Clerk’s Archives is from this series and
addressed the Naming of Streets.
The ordinance is not really about street naming but the envisioned layout of the municipal
avenues. Measuring most streets (15 feet wide) often started at a “fence” near somebody’s
lot and went to another geographic location such
as the “creek.” The only street named “Mission”
was changed to “Monterey.” Ordinance 14
“Granting Lands to John Wilson” would require an
extensive background briefing as Wilson was one
of the wealthiest (if not THE wealthiest) men in our
early history. He wanted to be assured he owned
certain land and had enough influence to have the
civic leaders agree with him. Animal regulations
(Ordinance 29) warned of roaming animals without
proper licenses (yes, dogs were required to have
tags and female dogs cost more than males. The
Pound Master was an early civic appointment. Street cleaning and trash collection (1869)
required owners to pile or rake trash in the middle of the street for pick-up (often by the men
in jail at the time).
By the end of 1872, yet another new series of ordinances (NS 4) was required for a short while
until cityhood was conferred by the state legislature in 1876. The image is the first ordinance
in NS 5.
Contact: jacarotenuti@gmail.com
History of San Luis Obispo By: Joseph A. Carotenuti
City Historian/Archivist, Volunteer
1st Ordinance, City of San Luis Obispo