HomeMy WebLinkAbout6/1/2017 Item 1, Ashbaugh
Christian, Kevin
From:John Ashbaugh <jbashbaugh@charter.net>
Sent:Wednesday, May
To:E-mail Council Website
Cc:'Citizens Interested in a North Broad Neighborhood Park (list suppressed)'
Subject:Please do not take funding away from acquiring a park site for the North Broad
Neighborhood
Hon. Mayor Heidi Harmon and Councilmembers Rivoire, Christianson, Gomez and Pease
Dear Council:
I am writing today to urge you to retain the full $900,000 in the Parkland Development Fund for purposes of acquiring
land in the North Broad Street neighborhood for a park.
When the neighborhood first brought this proposal to the Council in 2014, I was skeptical. At that time, my initial
reasoning went somewhat along these lines:
1. “There is no need…” We already have two park sites that serve this neighborhood: Santa Rosa Park and Throop
Park at the site of Pacheco School (formerly Charles E. Teach Elementary). Moreover, there is a pocket park to
serve this neighborhood (Anholm Park).
2. “Better Uses for this Money…” There are many competing uses for this money, which at the time was proposed
for allocation from the "over-realized revenues" in the past Financial Plan.
3. “New Parks & Rec Element is Needed…” The greater need is for an updated Parks and Recreation Element of the
General Plan - in fact, I had advocated that this be one of our Major Council Goals for the 2015-17 Financial Plan,
earlier in that same year (2015).
4. “It cannot be done…” Finally - it was apparent that there are too few sites left in this neighborhood where
another park could be located, anyway.
Upon reflection, however, I was convinced – and the Council majority decided - to set aside the full $900,000 requested
in the Parkland Development Fund for purposes of acquiring a neighborhood park site in the North Broad Street area.
My new reasoning was based on a factual refutation of each of the four points noted above:
1. THERE IS A CLEAR AND ACKNOWLEDGED NEED FOR A NEW NEIGHBORHOOD PARK HERE: The two existing
parks that "serve" this neighborhood, Santa Rosa and Throop, are not located at a convenient distance to the
majority of the homes south of Foothill and west of Highway One/Santa Rosa Street. Moreover, both of these
parks require that residents cross busy arterial streets that define the North Broad Street neighborhood. This
defeats the entire purpose of a neighborhood park! The Anholm “pocket park” is clearly insufficient to serve the
neighborhood.
2. THE PURPOSE OF CREATING A NORTH BROAD STREET AREA PARK IS WORTHY AND HAS WIDESPREAD PUBLIC
SUPPORT: While there are many competing uses for every discretionary dollar that is spent by the City, the
need for a neighborhood park in this area has been amply demonstrated. This need has been identified and
documented in EACH OF OUR ADOPTED PARKS AND RECREATION ELEMENTS GOING BACK FOR ALMOST HALF A
CENTURY.
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3. WE SHOULD NOT WAIT FOR A NEW PARKS & RECREATION ELEMENT TO TELL US WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW: I
fully agree that a new Parks Element is vitally needed, but the fact is that for decades, we have failed to
implement the clear and specific proposals to meet the known needs of this neighborhood. To defer their needs
for another 2-3 years would be to procrastinate inexcusably. NOTHING IN OUR NEW PARKS AND RECREATION
ELEMENT WOULD CHANGE THE CONCLUSION OF ALL PREVIOUS PARKS PLANNING IN THIS CITY: The North Broad
Street area needs a neighborhood park.
1. SEARCH AND YOU WILL FIND. There are at least two feasible options for the site of this park, although their
availability and price is unknown. To assert that there are NO feasible sites is simply false. Given the chance to
implement the direction of the previous Council, City staff can certainly come up with one or more reasonable
and feasible options.
Finally, it's been suggested that $900,000 is not sufficient for land acquisition, let alone development, of a neighborhood
park. This is undoubtedly true. Nonetheless, it is a reasonable "down payment," and it will go a long way toward the
purpose for which the Council has earmarked it.
Please do not revoke the commitment to this neighborhood made so recently by the last Council. Do not assume that
our decision was made in haste, because I was there and I can attest to the thorough consideration and deliberation that
we gave to this matter.
It would be a mistake to believe that just because there is a new majority on the Council, you are wholly free to divert
this funding to your own priorities. There were many, many occasions when I voted as a Council member to continue
projects and programs that had been launched by past Councils, but where I had privately disagreed with or held
reservations about the original commitment. In the end, however, continuity and integrity of purpose is vital in this
community. We all stand on the shoulders of those in this community who have made it possible for us to enjoy the
quality of life for which this City is proud. You do not have a "tabula rasa" that permits you to arbitrarily re-shape and
revisit decisions that were made by previous Councils.
In summary, PROTECT THE FULL $900,000 ALLOCATION TO THE PARKLAND DEVELOPMENT FUND THAT IS RESERVED FOR
THE NORTH BROAD STREET NEIGHBORHOOD. Direct staff to proceed with implementing this project with all deliberate
speed.
Thank you for your service,
John B. Ashbaugh
SLO City Council, 2008-2016
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