SLO council approves new park plan: Here’s what it could include, from play area to paths
The San Luis Obispo City Council has approved a proposal for a new neighborhood park on the city’s north end, envisioning a new play area, walkways, picnic tables and more.
Residents lobbied for years for park space between Foothill Boulevard and Highway 101. They got their wish Tuesday when council members voted unanimously to approve a new project at 533 Broad St., called the North Broad Street Neighborhood Park.
The new facility, located a block from Lincoln Market & Deli near the Highway 101 freeway, will require six months of construction. Work could start in the fall after some additional planning steps, though exact no timeline has been set, according to Shelsie Kloepper, the city’s project manager.
The 0.9-acre parcel is currently a community garden with 18 plots for raising plants.
The new rezoned space would keep garden planter boxes with on-site compositing facilities, while adding “open turf space, playground equipment, a water fountain/water filling station, picnic tables, benches, trash and recycling receptacles, and an accessible walking path with pathway lighting around the perimeter of the park,” according to a city staff report.
“We explored a few options (for a location), but this neighborhood is pretty built out,” Kloepper told The Tribune. “We saw a way to activate the space.”
“I’m thrilled to see this project come to fruition,” City Council member Jan Marx said. “The neighborhood has been advocating for a park there for 10 years, maybe longer. We’re under-parked as a city. And we’re increasing the density but not necessarily the parkland.”
Marx said that “it’s really important to keep increasing the parkland” because nature areas help maintain mental health and quality of life.
SLO residents protest, praise location of new park
Some community members don’t like the location of the new park, submitting letters to the city in protest.
“I was trying to be polite with my words but I won’t mince them any longer,” said Karen Wren Mead, a San Luis Obispo resident. “This is a totally stupid, dangerous place to put a park. Can you imagine parking? Look at how impacted the neighborhood gets at lunch time from Lincoln Deli.”
San Luis Obispo resident Lea Brooks expressed concerns about safety for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as motorists who may be annoyed by the presence of more people on bike or foot in the area.
But neighbor Tom Perry say the site of the new park has been a dumping ground for chairs, mattresses and other trash.
“Along with the trash, we have witnessed homeless (people) camping in the area, and a homeless permanent camp structure” in the creek area, they wrote, creating pollution and safety issues, they wrote.
“I am so happy that the planners have put together a good, well though-out plan, that will serve our local neighborhood and overall community well,” the Perrys wrote.
Kloepper said the city “explored a few options” for the location of the park, ”but this neighborhood is pretty built out.”
“We saw a way to activate the space,” Kloepper told The Tribune.
What’s next for Broad Street park plan?
The plan for the new park will still need to pass building permitting and contractor bidding processes, meaning it likely wouldn’t be completed until 2022. The city will also need to monitor wildlife impacts.
The City Council, which allocated $783,000 for the project, will hold a second reading on the public hearing at its next regular meeting, often a routine process to formalize a project proposal.
“It’s a lovely design and way to incorporate a whole bunch of things,” City Council member Andy Pease said.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Pease advised the inclusion of signage about riparian protection, which was added as a project condition, to explain why people need to stay out of the nearby creek areas and help protect wildlife.
Fencing will separate the park space and creek areas, Kloepper said.
City Council member Carlyn Christianson noted Tuesday that neighbors led the charge to keep the proposal for the park alive, saying, “Sometimes it’s the council leading the public, but in this case it’s the public leading the council.”
Correction: This article was corrected to clarify that a public comment was signed by Tom Perry, and wasn’t a joint correspondence.
This story was originally published March 3, 2021 at 11:02 AM.
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