HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/16/2019 Item 15, Spradlin
From:Wendy D. Spradlin <
To:E-mail Council Website; Peter Johnson; tips@calcoastnews.com
Subject:For Your Information
Attachments:Thank you for your judicious decision to withdraw the PBID initiative.pdf
Attached is a letter I sent to Bettina Swigger and the Downtown SLO Board of Directors today, thanking them
for withdrawing the PBID initiative. Those of us who opposed the plan want Downtown SLO, and you too, to
understand the motivation behind our opposition. As some may have perceived, our motivation did not
spring simply from our own self-interest but from a genuine concern for the economic welfare of downtown
San Luis Obispo. It's an important distinction; thank you for noting it.
Sincerely, Wendy Spradlin
1
July 10, 2019 --Sent via Email--
Dear Bettina and Board,
Thank you for your judicious decision to withdraw the PBID initiative. I'm in complete
agreement that the initiative was dividing, not uniting, us.
I know those of you proposing the assessment sincerely believed in its value. So all the more, I
feel the need to communicate how sincerely those of us opposed to the assessment viewed it
as a real threat to the economy of downtown.
Tuesday morning, as you were meeting to vote on whether or not to move forward with the
initiative, I was walking Higuera, handing out a personal letter from me to the proposed District
business owners, asking for their support at the July 16 City Council meeting. It took me three
hours to walk just one side of the street, from 599 to 995, handing out my letter and explaining
what it was about.
It is important to me to tell you the response I received. It was unanimous. Every single
storekeeper I spoke with was in agreement. Brick and mortar stores have a hard enough time
staying afloat in this Amazon-driven world. The last thing downtown businesses need is even
the slightest increase in rents. And it only stands to reason that some property owners might
need to factor the proposed assessment into the rent they charge.
Thank you for so carefully considering this issue.
Yours truly,
Wendy Spradlin