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Council highlights: Riverbed fire mitigation, downtown parking, homelessness committee 

City Council meeting highlights

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–Highlights from the Paso Robles City Council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019, as submitted by the City of Paso Robles, are as follows:

Received a presentation regarding Riverbed Fire Risk Mitigation. At the end of this week or early next week, the Fire Department is beginning the hazardous fuels reduction project in the Salinas Riverbed, utilizing crews and masticator machinery. Masticator work will start at 13th and North River to Highway 46E and hand crews will start working from 13th Street to Larry Moore Park. Pink flagging indicating the project areas will be visible throughout the riverbed corridor. Additionally, some Riverwalk locations will be temporarily closed during the project. Please anticipate detours over the next 45 days.

Paso Cares is collecting cold food (that does not need to be heated or cooked) at the following locations: Fire Station 1 (900 Park Street), Fire Station 2 (235 Santa Fe), Golden 1 Credit Union on Niblick Road, EarthTones Gifts and Galleries on Park Street, and Manzanita Property Management on the corner of 8th and Park Street.

Received an update on the Downtown Parking Program. The program will go into effect on August 14th. Kiosks are up and signage is being installed. Paid parking will be in effect from 9am-6pm, Monday – Friday, and there is no time limit. The first two hours are free. Payment is accepted at kiosks or via an app available at www.waytopark.com. During a preliminary grace period, warnings will be issued rather than citations. Thereafter, parking citations will be $33. All disabled parking with a placard or a plate is free.

Approved a lease for Balloons Over Paso to operate at the airport. After reviewing four submittals to lease a city-owned hangar located at 5070 Hangar Way, Balloons Over Paso was selected as the business that will be of most benefit to the airport and the development of additional airport activity. The projected annual revenue to the city is estimated to be approximately $19,000-$28,000 per year depending on the success of this new business.

Approved a one-year extension on a lease of the city maintenance yard. The city will continue to operate maintenance operations out of the current location at 625 Riverside for one more year, given that the alternate location at The Boys School has been delayed due to state policy changes regarding surplus property.

Approved the General Obligation Bond Tax Rate for FY 2019-20. The tax rate is being reduced from the prior year. It will be $42.50 per $100,000 of secured assessed valuation for Fiscal Year 2019-20, down from $49.10 per $100,000 of secured assessed valuation in Fiscal Year FY 2018-19.

Received and filed the Information Technology Strategic Plan and Risk Assessment. The city contracted with Moss Adams LLP to develop an IT Strategic Plan and Cybersecurity Risk Assessment to identify technology and cybersecurity needs, and to establish prioritized projects to address and resolve those needs. The resulting strategic plan creates a road map to support the delivery of municipal services for consideration in the city’s budget and resource planning efforts for the coming years.

Received and filed the city’s response to the 2019 San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury report, “Affordable Housing,” An Urgent Problem for Our Community. The City’s response outlines several actions that Paso Robles has taken to produce affordable housing and to reduce barriers to affordable housing production. It also outlines several other policy options that will be considered as part of the Housing Element Update process that will begin later this year.

Adopted an ordinance amending the City’s Zoning Code to regulate short-term rentals in all zoning districts throughout the city. After 31 public meetings over 4+ years, called by the Short-term Rental Task Force, the Paso Robles Planning Commission, and the council itself, the council held adopted an ordinance that permits home-share and vacation rentals in all residential districts, subject to a numeric limit on the number of permits that may be issued. The ordinance institutes requirements for vacation rental owners to pay transient occupancy taxes, obtain business licenses, abide by occupancy limits and parking requirements, and comply with “Good Neighbor” guidelines. It also establishes a complaint hotline to address neighborhood concerns. It requires the council to review the status of the industry in one year and two years from now and specifies that the ordinance will expire if not modified or replaced in three years.

Approved an agreement with the Lew Edwards Group to provide community engagement planning and communications and identify community priorities and potential solutions. As community priorities and needs continue to evolve, the demands on the City, in public safety and other essential services, will continue to escalate. However, the City’s locally controlled revenues are limited and can be enhanced only at a limited rate that is not meeting community needs and priorities. This effort with the Lew Edwards Group will enact a robust community dialogue and community engagement effort, develop proposals to address demonstrable needs, and work with the community on implementation steps to address those needs.

Formed an Ad Hoc Committee of the City Council on Homelessness. Mayor Martin and Councilmember Hamon were appointed to serve as an Ad Hoc Committee of the City Council to research potential policy options and resources to address homelessness in Paso Robles.

This represents just a subset of the total actions by the council. The full agenda can be found at www.prcity.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08062019-268 and the audio from the meeting can be found at www.prcity.com/AgendaCenter/City-Council-2.

The next city council meeting takes place on Tuesday, Aug. 20,  at 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall/Library Conference Center at 1000 Spring Street.

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The news staff of the Paso Robles Daily News wrote or edited this story from local contributors and press releases. The news staff can be reached at info@pasoroblesdailynews.com.