Council approves budget, expedites processing for ‘The Landing Paso Robles’ project
Highlights from the regular meeting of the Paso Robles City Council for June 15
–Highlights from the regular Paso Robles City Council meeting held on Tuesday, June 15, are as follows. A recording is available at www.prcity.com/youtube.
In compliance with social distancing, the City Council, staff, and the public participated via conference call. The public was invited to view a live stream of the meeting at www.prcity.com/youtube.
Council did the following:
Received an update on COVID-19: This was the last planned COVID-19 update, and staff referred to the state’s guidance this week allowing us to reopen the vast majority of activities. The city’s Emergency Operations Center has been demobilized and city facilities are reopened, some with limited hours at this time. Staff and council thanked the community for the collective efforts to get to this point. Vaccination information is available at www.RecoverSLO.org/Vaccine.
Received a capital projects update: Phase 2 of Dry Creek Road from Estrella Warbirds to Jardine Road will be starting construction within the coming weeks. Community outreach for the Union Road and Golden Hill intersection improvements is starting now. Construction of a roundabout at the intersection will begin later this year. 2021 annual street maintenance work is also underway on zones 4D and 4G, near Nicklaus and Stoney Creek areas. More information is available at www.prcity.com.
Issued a Juneteenth proclamation: Council declared Saturday, June 20, 2021, as Juneteenth Day. Since 1865, the American celebration known as Juneteenth has historically been observed as the end of the Institution of Slavery in our Great Nation. Juneteenth gives us all the opportunity to rededicate ourselves to the true American spirit and to strive for a more perfect Union.
Recognized Cal Poly students for work on the city’s shooting range: A group of construction management students completed improvements to the police department’s shooting range using a very limited budget, improving the usability of the space at a low cost.
Approved Interim City Attorney & Interim Assistant City Attorney Appointments: Best Best & Krieger, LLP (BB&K) has been providing City Attorney services to the city since 2010 when former City Attorney, Iris Yang, joined BB&K. Iris Yang served as City Attorney from 1993- 2019. The city appointed Iris’s assistant attorney, Kimberly Hood, as Interim City Attorney in February 2019. Kimberly has announced her departure from BB&K, effective June 18. Elizabeth Hull was appointed Interim City Attorney. She is a member of BB&K’s Executive Committee and has over 20 years of municipal law experience with a focus on economic and community development, specializing in affordable housing and land use. Her primary assistant will be Isaac Rosen, who worked in the City Attorney’s Office at the City of San Luis Obispo before joining BB&K.
Ordered weed abatement on properties out of compliance: Emergency Services works to eliminate community fire hazards created by weeds. This includes a public information campaign, letters to property owners found in violation, and administrative cautions. Notices were mailed or posted in accordance with PRMC Chapter 16.10 for the properties identified to be out of compliance (54 properties as of June 15th). Council declared these properties a public nuisance and ordered the city to conduct weed abatement on those properties and bill property owners for associated costs.
Approved a development plan, conditional use permit, oak tree removal, and tentative parcel map for Fire Station 3 at 2924 Union Road: The project is located on an approximately 8-acre site in the northeastern city limits. Phase I of the project consists of constructing a 6,800 square-foot building that will be Fire Station No. 3. It will include a four-bay engine house, office space, sleeping rooms, kitchen, and common areas. Other site improvements would be parking lot and driveways, storm water management infrastructure, outdoor training areas, and landscaping. The station will improve response times, which currently exceed target levels due to the distance of Fire Stations 1 and 2 to the northeast quadrant of the City. Phase II would add an additional 6,000 square feet to the Fire Station 3 building, and construction of a 6,000 square-foot Police Department facility with a 2,000 square-foot evidence storage building and various other training and support facilities.
Adopted the FY 2021-22 City Budget: The city’s budget provides funding for all city services, infrastructure investments, and activities performed during the year. Council has had several public budget discussions since December. At this meeting, council received a summary presentation on the operating and capital budgets, which they have reviewed in various segments in more detail at prior meetings. The total city-wide budget (excluding transfers) for FY 2021-22 is $97,745,800 of which 35-percent pertains to the General Fund, 21-percent to the Capital Improvement Program Fund, 16-percent to the Water Fund, 11-percent to the Wastewater Fund and 17-percent comes from twelve other funds the city manages. The full proposed budget can be found on the city’s website.
Authorize staff to expedite the processing of the requested general plan amendment, development agreement and planning entitlements for The Landing Paso Robles Project: Majestic Realty Co. (Majestic) was selected by the State of California to purchase the former Estrella Youth Correctional Facility (“Paso Robles Boys School”), located at 4545 Airport Road, from the State of California, and is currently in their due diligence period. Majestic has submitted a project application for “The Landing Paso Robles,” a business park project that is consistent with the overall vision of the City’s conceptual framework land use plan. Majestic submitted applications to the city which include a General Plan Amendment, Zoning Text & Map change, Conceptual Master Development Plan, Phase I Development Plan, Vesting Tentative Tract Map, Oak Tree Removal Permit, and Development Agreement. The preliminary project design includes a warehouse/distribution facility, smaller warehouse and maker space, office space, hotel lodging, market hall, winery, restaurants, and retail establishments with a total square footage of 1,871,000± SF. The city issued a Notice of Preparation and Initial Study (IS/NOP) for the proposed project to solicit additional information on the scope of the environmental analysis and to notify public agencies and the public that the city will prepare an EIR to further assess potential environmental impacts that may result from implementation of the proposed project. The comment period opened on Friday, May 21, 2021, and will close on Monday, June 21, 2021. At this stage, council reviewed public comments that resulted from the EIR scoping meeting held by the Paso Robles Planning Commission; provided additional comments on the proposed project; and authorized staff to expedite the processing for the requested General Plan Amendment. There are several steps that must be completed before the project will be ready for City Council consideration, the biggest of which is the EIR process. It is expected that the public hearings with the Planning Commission and City Council for project approval will be held in early 2022.
Thanked the outgoing Assistant City Manager and Interim City Attorney for their service: Mayor Martin and the council thanked Assistant City Manager Sarah Johnson-Rios and Interim City Attorney Kimberly Hood for their service to the City of Paso Robles since 2019. They have both accepted other employment, Johnson-Rios in the City of Morro Bay and Hood in Yolo County. Mayor Martin commended their efforts to leave Paso better than it was when they arrived.
The next regular City Council meeting is on Thursday, July 8th at 6:30 p.m., via livestream at www.prcity.com/youtube. Public comment can be made during the meeting by calling 805-865-PASO (7276) or provided prior to the meeting by emailing cityclerk@prcity.com.
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