Council approves $6.1 million purchase of property near airport
4301 Second Wind Way, Paso Robles, CA. Image from LoopNet.com.
Building will serve as new City Council Annex, corporation yard
–The following are highlights from the Paso Robles City Council meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 3, as sent by the City of Paso Robles. The city council took the following actions:
Approved the purchase of improvements at 4301 Second Wind Way – Council authorized the city manager to execute a purchase and sale agreement for property located at 4301 Second Wind Way to utilize for city operations as a more cost-effective option than the current leases for the City Hall Annex, at 821 Pine Street, and for the Corporation Yard (at 635 Riverside Drive). The property will cost $6.1 million, which will come from a variety of special funding sources, in order to protect general fund reserves. This up-front expenditure will save approximately $7 million over 30 years and will generate ongoing lease revenue for the general fund and airport fund, as the city will use only a portion of the property and will lease the remainder. There is no negative impact on the general fund, the city reports.
Received update on COVID-19 – Council received an update on the number of confirmed cases at the state, county, and local levels; updated info available online. SLO County continues to be in the red, or “substantial” tier, though the state’s weekly updates aren’t being released until Wednesday this week, due to the election. The city’s COVID-19 response and communication efforts continue, and additional Recreation Services are now being offered in compliance with guidelines. Additional information about city services during the pandemic is available at www.prcity.com.
Presented proclamations of recognition – Mayor Steve Martin presented proclamations recognizing Law Enforcement and Records and Support Personnel Day, which is on Nov. 10, and National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, which is November.
Approved the 2021 city council regular meeting schedule – This includes canceling the first meeting in January and the second meeting in July. In addition, in order to give the community sufficient time to review agenda packets during key holiday weeks, the calendar rescheduled three meetings to Thursday nights, including the first June meeting to June 3, the first July meeting to July 8, and the first September meeting to Sept. 9. All other regular council meetings in 2021 will occur on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month at 6:30 p.m. (special meetings also occur throughout the year, as needed). All council meetings will be listed on the city events calendar at prcity.com.
Approved planning grant funds and a parks grant application – Council approved the Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) Grant Application and Agreement, which will provide $152,003 to complete updates to city planning and zoning documents, to: streamline the entitlement and permitting process; update the zoning code, which would help eliminate erroneous and conflicting information and facilitate a more user-friendly document; and update the 2011 Uptown/Town Centre Specific Plan, which will address issues that limit development potential, and possibly include an expansion to the specific plan’s boundaries to the west. In addition, council approved an application for the State of California Per Capita Grant Program, which will provide an estimated $178,000 for improvements to the Uptown Family Park at 641 36th Street, pending state approval.
Adopted an ordinance to set a tax rate for cannabis delivery business but delayed implementation – In 2018, city voters approved Measure I-18, which enacted Ordinance No. 1066 N.S. to establish a tax on cannabis-related activities. To implement that measure, the council established the following local cannabis business tax rates (in addition to any state-imposed taxes): 1) Twenty dollars per square foot of space utilized in connection with the cultivation of cannabis; 2) Six cents for each one dollar of gross receipts for cannabis delivery businesses; 3) Fifteen cents for each one dollar of gross receipts for cannabis manufacturing, testing, and distribution businesses; and 4) Ten cents for each one dollar of gross receipts for cannabis retailers. Given that the city’s Zoning Code currently authorizes only medical cannabis delivery businesses, and only in the Riverside Corridor and the C-3 district, subject to the granting of a conditional use permit, only the tax on delivery businesses will go into effect after second reading of this ordinance. Council directed staff to delay implementing the tax until February 3 to provide adequate time to ensure that all businesses delivering cannabis in Paso Robles can be taxed. All other commercial cannabis businesses, including storefront cannabis retail dispensaries, are currently prohibited in Paso. The other three tax rates may be reduced by council if those business types are approved for operation in the city. Council had previously directed staff to develop a process for community involvement in evaluating other forms of cannabis businesses in Paso Robles, to include an Ad Hoc Committee, of which Councilmembers Hamon and Garcia will be members.
The agenda can be found at https://www.prcity.com/agendacenter and the livestream from the meeting can be found at www.prcity.com/youtube. The minutes will be available as part of the packet for the City Council’s next regular meeting.
The next regular City Council meeting takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 6:30 p.m., both via livestream at www.prcity.com/youtube. Public comment can be made during the meeting by 805-865-PASO (7276) or provided prior to the meeting by emailing cityclerk@prcity.com.
In compliance with social distancing, the council, staff, and the public participated via conference call. The public was given the opportunity to view a live stream of the meeting at www.prcity.com/youtube, invited to call into the meeting at 805-865-PASO (7276), and to email public comment to cityclerk@prcity.com prior to the meeting.
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