SLO City Council wants to make parklets permanent — and maybe close more downtown streets
Parklets are here to stay in downtown San Luis Obispo after the City Council unanimously agreed to pursue a permanent program — and members are also interested in exploring some street section closures to boost business and invigorate the downtown.
On Tuesday, each of the five SLO City Council members backed forming a plan for a permanent city parklet program, citing the benefits to economic recovery and the cultural attraction of using outdoor public spaces for dining and visitor enjoyment.
The new long-term policies, under the Open SLO program, also will include planning for permanent outdoor dining on sidewalks in addition to streets.
The council also expressed support for continuing to close off parts of Monterey Street nearest to Mission Plaza for parklet and pedestrian use (currently one lane is closed where Guiseppe’s Italian Restaurant and Finney’s restaurants are located) — possibly fully closing off sections to cars.
SLO transportation manager Luke Schwartz said that a formal draft plan of the permanent measures will likely come before the council by early next year.
Permanent parklets were supported by 83% of participants in a community survey that generated 7,125 responses.
“The fact that more than 7,000 people responded to our survey, which is twice as many as the number that responded to the (two-year financial plan) budget survey, really shows how much people care about this topic,” said SLO Vice Mayor Erica Stewart.
It’s not only residents who like the parklets. Nearly two-thirds of businesses who currently have a parklet were interested in making them permanent as well.
Since the start of the pandemic, about 40 parklets have been installed in SLO, with roughly 30 still in use.
The city will continue with seating and designated public table spaces in Mission Plaza, as well as allowing businesses to use parking lot spaces for dining.
The plan will incorporate recommendations council members made at Tuesday’s study session on design guidelines, business fee structures, and considerations for non-restaurant business types.
Mayor Heidi Harmon said she was pleased to see the city move forward with Open SLO in Spring 2020 — saying it has been successful and is proof a permanent program can work.
“I’m so happy we didn’t let trying to make it perfect get in the way of the good,” Harmon said. “So much about this has been so good.”
What SLO business leaders are saying
COVID-19 shook up downtowns and business districts across America, hitting especially hard in the early months of shutdowns and restrictions.
Before the 2020-21 fiscal year, 353 SLO businesses opted not to renew their business licenses, a striking indication of the pandemic’s economic impact, with some of the most affected including beauty shops, retail stores, restaurants, professional services, massage parlors and a host of sole proprietors.
But others were able to stay afloat, in part due to Open SLO’s initiatives designed to accommodate physical distancing while supporting the local economy, business leaders said.
“Investments in the Open SLO program have allowed many businesses to survive the dark days of the pandemic,” said Bettina Swigger, CEO of Downtown SLO, a nonprofit that fosters an economically vibrant downtown, in public comment. “We’re so pleased to see downtown visitation return to and surpass pre-pandemic levels of activity.”
Swigger told The Tribune this week that new businesses are popping up in the downtown and tourist and patron visitation has picked up.
“We’ve seen new businesses open and others that are going to be announced any day now,” Swigger said. “... I think the parklets are the most rapid acceleration of what downtown can be conceptually, and they’ve provided such a wonderful European sensibility to the downtown.”
Molly Kern, SLO Chamber of Commerce director of governmental affairs, said in public comment: “It’s more clear than ever the fates of businesses and governments are intertwined. ... We’re so grateful for your partnership and your recognition of the importance of business to the community during this unprecedented time.”
Kern added that the SLO Chamber supports clarity on formal design guidelines, keeping fees to businesses down as businesses continue to face economic challenges coming out of the pandemic, and the nimble installation and removal of parklets as needed.
Kern added that non-dining businesses should also be considered in the planning, implementing creative economic support solutions that have served restaurants as well.
Considerations in rolling out the program
While council members widely supported the long-term strategies of its Open SLO program, they also discussed concerns, including the loss of parking, fees assessed to businesses for parklet use, and sidewalk space for pedestrian mobility.
The city generates about $3,500 per year for each metered parking space, and SLO has lost an estimated $200,000 to $300,000 due to parklet installations, Schwartz said. That’s affecting the city’s parking fund budget, which will need to be made up, City Manager Derek Johnson said.
About 50% to 60% percent of city businesses that responded to the survey said they’d be willing to pay $1,000 to $10,000 annually for parklets, and council members supported a fee schedule, which could be based on gross receipts and considerations of charging more to higher-earning businesses.
Harmon said fees should include “fairness” to smaller businesses, with potential grants available to those in need.
Other considerations included cleanliness and design standards for parklets, as city officials have received some complaints about untidy parklet areas.
The city would take on some responsibility of maintenance, but businesses are largely responsible for keeping up their parklets.
Some retailers have voiced complaints about loss of parking and blocked views of their storefronts due to parklets, as well as adequate loading zone space.
City transportation officials said they’re exploring how best to encourage traffic flow by possibly converting some 30-minute spaces to commercial loading zones.
Council members also want to accelerate the estimated $43 million Palm-Nipomo parking structure as much as possible. It is anticipated for completion by fall 2024-25, according to city officials.
Should Monterey Street closure expand?
The city will come back with a plan for either closing all or portions of Monterey Street near Mission Plaza for pedestrian access, including consideration of closing or partially blocking the dog leg on the Monterey and Broad street side of the plaza to car traffic.
The city’s Downtown Concept Plan includes consideration of a “woonerf,” a concept that includes marked changes in street pavement materials to indicate the shared space between cars and pedestrians, slowing down traffic.
Schwartz said the city will review the possibilities for a woonerf on Monterey over the next few months.
“We need to make sure the residents that live on Palm in that area still would have car access to Fed Ex deliveries and other needs,” Marx said. “As a council, we’ve discussed (fully) closing the dog leg for years and backed down on that in the past.”
This story was originally published July 21, 2021 at 10:57 AM.
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