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Thursday, November 18, 2010
Published by the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce If you have trouble viewing this e-mail, click here to view in a browser.
Disappointing news for a major City Goal The City recently learned that the proposed San Luis Obispo Skate Park – one of the major city goals – did not receive a $1.8 million grant they applied for from the California State Parks Office, which would have been highly instrumental in the completion of the community skate park. The skate park was one of more than 475 projects that applied in round one of the grant, which amounted to $1.6 billion in requests for only $184 million in available grant money that went to 62 recipients. The City Parks and Recreation department intends to apply in the second round, which will be due in early 2011. However, since the grants are awarded based on community need, San Luis Obispo may not look as “needy” as other communities due to our median income and median cost of living. Without the grant, the project will move forward but will probably be delayed by at least one year and the project will need to be financially supported by increased fundraising efforts throughout the community including the current “buy a brick, build a dream” campaign. City considers new ways to balance downtown issues The San Luis Obispo City Council began an early discussion Tuesday night about the possibility of creating a hospitality zone in the downtown as one way to address community concerns regarding late-night behavior associated with alcohol consumption. Hospitality zones – which have been created in other communities nation-wide – are mixed-used areas with a concentration of restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs, which host festivals, events and markets while expanding the range of activities available to shoppers and visitors through the evening hours. The zone takes into consideration things like the development of diverse music and entertainment opportunities, planning for outdoor dining, managing panhandling, planning for various transportation options and – perhaps most importantly – is intended to create a collaborative process to manage conflicts like noise, trash and intoxication-related issues. The concept could be an important step in enhancing the downtown and dealing with existing tensions between daytime and nighttime business operators and neighbors rather than just layering on additional regulation. The city will continue to explore the concept in the coming months and expand stakeholder discussions. Foodies delight with new eateries Big Sky Café will soon have several new neighbors on Broad St., between Higuera and Marsh Streets. Tropical Chocolates, a local gourmet chocolate company, is moving from the south end of Broad Street into downtown SLO. Next door, Broad Street Tavern – a new steakhouse and seafood restaurant – is slated to open by the end of the year. Finally, Wild Donkey Café, a new restaurant featuring Greek and Mexican cuisine, is expected to open soon in the building that previously housed Tio Alberto’s. There will definitely be a lot of new flavors to sample in downtown SLO.
November 23 - Good Morning San Luis Obispo While information in the e-Insider comes from sources we believe to be reliable, we recommend not taking any action on this information without independent corroboration. |