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Recommended City Goals
COMMUNITY GROUPS/OTHERS
Submit comments online at the City’s Open Government site: www.slocity.org/opencityhall If you are submitting comments on behalf of a community group, business or organization, please include your organization’s name within your response. Submit comments by mail: Alex Ferreira, Budget Manager 990 Palm Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Fax: (805) 781-7401 Email: Citygoals@slocity.org For more information on the goal-setting and budget process, contact the Finance Department at (805) 781-7521. For additional information on the City’s Financial Plan and Goal-Setting process visit: www.slocity.org. What are the most important priorities facing the City of San Luis Obispo? The City Council wants to hear from you about what is truly important for the community. Key Dates Contact Information 2019-21 Financial Plan 2019-21 Financial Plan Meetings Community Forum Wednesday, January 23, 2019 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. San Luis Obispo Veterans Memorial Building (SLO Vets Hall) Goal-Setting Workshop Monday, February 4, 2019 5:00 p.m. City Hall Mid-Year Budget Review Tuesday, February 5, 2019, 6:00 p.m. Strategic Budget Direction & Major City Goal Program Review Tuesday, April 16, 2019, 6:00 p.m. Preliminary Budget Review Tuesday, June 4, 2019, 6:00 p.m. 2019-21 Budget Adoption Tuesday, June 18, 2019, 6:00 p.m. Of all the things that can be done to make the City an even better place to live, work and play, which are the most important? Feedback from both the survey and Community Forum will be compiled for the City Council to review in advance of its goal-setting workshop on Monday, February 4, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. During this public workshop, the Council will deliberate to set the Major City Goals and Other Important Objectives for the next two years. The City of San Luis Obispo is committed to including disabled persons in all of our services, programs and activities. Telecommunications device for the deaf: (805) 781- 7410.
The City Wants Your Input Every two years the City establishes the top priorities to make San Luis Obispo an even better place to live, work, and play. The City Council then matches the resources necessary to achieve these priorities through adopting the budget in June. The adopted Financial Plan sets the City’s course of action for the next two years and helps the City to continue to provide high-quality services that maintain an excellent quality of life for the community. In 2018, the City implemented the Fiscal Health Response Plan to address significant financial challenges. Continuing this progress toward long-term fiscal health, the 2019-21 Financial Plan will focus on maintaining existing infrastructure, core services and advancing the Fiscal Health Response Plan objectives such as employee concessions, new ways of doing business and new revenues, and operating reductions. All of these factors are likely to lead to complex and competing budget decisions. Regardless of the specific fiscal circumstances, it is critical that we have an effective process for setting the most important, highest priority goals for the City to accomplish in the next two years. That’s where you can help! Major City Goals The City Council needs to know your thoughts on what the community’s priorities should be so that available resources can be best allocated to achieve them. Now it’s time for you to share your ideas for 2019-21 priorities. Major City Goals are identified as the most important, highest priority goals for the City to accomplish over the next two years. Housing Multi-Modal Transportation Climate Action Fiscal Sustainability & Responsibility Other Important Objective: • Downtown Vitality Share Your Thoughts on the City’s Priorities! You have the opportunity to tell the Council: Should the current Major City Goals and Other Important Objectives continue, or should the City Council consider other priorities during the next two years? Given the current fiscal constraints, new projects or services will require prioritization and potential trade-offs unless they can generate offsetting revenue. How might the City adjust current projects and services to accomplish any new priorities? Your Important Role in this Process The City needs the help of the community in two important ways: 1. Complete the Community Priorities Survey. Community members can help by completing a survey online at www.slocity.org/opencityhall, or by filling out the printed survey sent to utility customers in October and November. Printed surveys can be dropped off or mailed to City Hall, 990 Palm Street, 93401. All surveys received before January 16, 2019 will be summarized and presented to the City Council at the Community Forum. 2. Attend the Community Forum on January 23, 2019 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the SLO Vets Hall, 801 Grand Avenue. This forum is an opportunity to learn about major city goals, core services and feedback from the community priorities survey in a workshop setting with stations staffed by City employees. There will also be information stations about the Fiscal Health Response Plan, Local Revenue Measure, and Funding the Future of capital improvement projects. City staff will compile the community feedback for the Council to review in advance of its goal- setting workshop on Monday, February 4, 2019. During this public workshop, the Council will deliberate to set the Major City Goals and Other Important Council Objectives for the next two years. What are the Most Important Priorities for the City Over the Next Two Years? Current Major City Goals
January 15, 2019
City Council
City of San Luis Obispo
990 Palm St.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Subject: City Budget Goal Setting Process 2019-21
Dear Mayor Harmon and Council Members:
For your consideration, the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors respectfully submits
our recommendations for the City’s 2019-21 Major City Goals. Consistent with input that the Chamber has
provided in recent years, these key business community priorities were determined after extensive work,
discussion and evaluation by multiple Chamber committees and our Board, involving more than 80 member
volunteers.
Informed by the Chamber’s Economic Vision, Imagine San Luis Obispo, our top priorities focus on
investments that unlock our ability to build a more complete, safe and fiscally sustainable city that houses
more of its workforce.
With the impending Diablo Canyon Closure, it is more important than ever to actively create the future we
seek; our collective success depends on furthering sustainable solutions that support healthy economic
growth and ensure community resiliency.
Our recommendations for the City’s investment of time, money and resources during the 2019-21 budget
cycle include:
FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY & RESPONSIBILITY
• Continue the fiscal responsibility philosophy with a focus on economic development and
responsiveness, unfunded liabilities, and infrastructure financing
• Responsibly pay down the City’s unfunded liabilities and address escalating costs
• Explore opportunities to partner with other municipalities for shared delivery of governmental
services to efficiently address challenges such as housing, infrastructure, transportation, water,
energy and disaster preparedness
CLIMATE ACTION
Update the City’s Climate Action Plan with a focus on:
• Decrease commuting impacts by investing in infrastructure necessary to build new housing
and expand access to alternative transportation
• Address CO2 reductions through incentivizing energy efficiency upgrades and on-site energy
production for existing structures
HOUSING
• Invest in infrastructure that will unlock opportunities to build more homes such as Prado Road
overpass and Tank Farm Road improvements
• Establish and measure success in achieving long-term housing goals
• Facilitate increased production of all housing types by approving vertical mixed use, prioritizing
higher density housing, infill development, and increased building heights where appropriate to
minimize sprawl
• Proactively support Cal Poly’s Master Plan to build more on-campus housing
MULTI-MODAL TRANSPORTATION
• Invest in critical transportation infrastructure that facilitates safe multimodal movement in support
of expanded housing choice and business development
• Complete major transit infrastructure such as Prado Road overpass and widening of Tank Farm Road
to decrease commute time and traffic
• Greater focus on expanding transit capacity and routes
• Leverage existing and new funds to build new infrastructure
• Support policies that improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers
These Major City Goals are naturally intertwined, and we urge you to prioritize work programs that address
the areas of overlap to make the most efficient and economical progress.
Thank you for your consideration of these suggested Major City Goals and for inviting input from the
business community. The SLO Chamber’s recommendations reflect our continued focus on making long-
term investments and informed fiscal decisions that are intended to support a balanced and prosperous
community for generations to come.
We look forward to participating in the Community Forum on January 23rd and believe these priorities will
ensure a sustainable and prosperous economic future for those who live and work here.
Sincerely,
Clint Pearce
Clint Pearce
2019 Board Chair
San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce
1135 Chorro Street | San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 | Phone: (805) 541-0286 | Fax: (805) 781-2647
ReachUs@DowntownSLO.com | DowntownSLO.com
City Council January 15, 2018
City of San Luis Obispo
990 Palm St.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Re: City Budget Goal Setting Process 2019-21
Dear Mayor Harmon, City Council, and City Staff,
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Downtown SLO, I am pleased to submit the following recommendations for the
City of San Luis Obispo’s 2019-2021 Budget Goal Setting Process.
Thank you for including Downtown Vitality as another important goal in your prior two-year budget plan. We encourage
you to keep Downtown Vitality as a priority and to elevate it to a Major City Goal. Vitality itself cannot be easily
measured, but rather is something to continually strive for, and we as an organization are pleased to work in partnership
with the City toward goals that make Downtown a vibrant, varied, and welcoming place to do business, work, live, and
play. Today, Downtown SLO is an economic, cultural, and social center of a dynamic region. Downtown supports
plentiful retail and dining establishments and an array of cultural and entertainment options. With new hotel options
projected to open within the next year, it is imperative to make Downtown a safe, attractive and welcoming
environment, while supporting local access and use of the public and private spaces therein.
We advocate for fiscal responsibility through enhancing public/private partnerships such as the continuation of the
Contract for Services with Downtown SLO to provide services and facilitate events. Thanks in large part to the City’s
investment last budget cycle in Downtown SLO’s efforts to develop a plan for a new property improvement district, we
are poised to move forward with the vote to establish a Property Based Improvement District, which will provide clean
and safe programs, enhancing public safety. We invite the City to support and advocate for these efforts.
We advocate for multimodal transportation in order to improve access to Downtown.
As transportation needs shift on a macro level, the City of SLO must ensure that infrastructure exists to provide proper
access to our urban center. We support increased marketing and promotion efforts for public transportation to increase
ridership. We support expanded bicycle paths and appropriate bicycle parking/storage downtown. Working with the
City, we would like to launch a Park and Walk education campaign to encourage drivers to park in the structures and
stroll to their destinations. We strongly advocate for the construction to begin on the Palm/Nipomo street parking
structure.
We advocate for housing in the Downtown core, and encourage the adoption of policies that create multi-use
developments and redevelopments in the downtown core. We recognize that affordable housing is a pressing issue for
our community to remain vital, especially for those who have retail and service jobs in the Downtown core.
1135 Chorro Street | San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 | Phone: (805) 541-0286 | Fax: (805) 781-2647
ReachUs@DowntownSLO.com | DowntownSLO.com
Finally, we strongly advocate for the implementation of the Downtown Concept Plan.
We were pleased to participate in the creation of the Downtown Concept Plan and Mission Plaza Concept Plan. The
Downtown Concept Plan is on display in the street-front window of our office on Chorro Street, and every day we see
citizens interact with the plan, pointing out their favorite components. Working in concert with private business and
government, many of these dreams can become a reality in the next two years, including the establishment of a cultural
district and the renovation of the restrooms/Adobe in Mission Plaza.
As always, we appreciate the time and thoughtful care you put into all of your decisions, and I personally thank you for
your service to our community.
Sincerely,
Bettina Swigger
Chief Executive Officer
Downtown SLO
bettina@DowntownSLO.com
(805)234-9677