THOUGHTS ON OUR BELOVED SLOTOWN

May, 2008 

Journal Article by Mayor Dave Romero

There is much to love about San Luis Obispo. When my family has visitors, we always tour our beautiful downtown with them, sharing with pride the many features that make our city so special. Our visiting friends always remark how fortunate we are to live here.

When we arrived in 1956, our city was similar to scores of other California cities. Downtown had no Mission Plaza, no street trees, many ugly signs on buildings, little architectural character, cracked concrete streets, plain grubby sidewalks and a creek that was a forgotten eyesore relegated to backyards. There was no Art Museum, Children’s Museum or Little Theater.  Lacking one-way streets, traffic signals and off-street parking, streets were quite congested.

The Downtown we enjoy is the result of hundreds of decisions made over years by many different City Councils and leading citizens, assisted by our Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Association. Almost all the decisions were opposed by some, often by many, and it took political courage to move ahead in spite of  this opposition.  Mission Plaza was bitterly fought and finally decided by a vote of the community. One-way streets, parking meters (thus funding parking structures), location of parking structures, and street trees in Downtown were all difficult and controversial decisions. Our city would not have its charm and character had those decisions gone another way. We all owe a debt of gratitude to those civic leaders who showed so much vision and courage.

A city, as a living entity, changes continually or it dies. It cannot stay “status quo”. In recent years Council decisions to extend Mission Plaza, approve the Downtown Center, approve the Court Street Project, expand the Marsh Street Parking Structure, build a new office/parking structure near City Hall and subject downtown to more rapid seismic retrofit all play a part in improving the character and beauty of Downtown. The City is safer and better with each of them.

Today, the City Council, in following its “Downtown Concept Plan”, has adopted extensive requirements and standards for some few slightly taller buildings downtown, permitting more people to live in the heart of the city and provide needed vitality. We are replacing  inefficient surface parking lots with multi-storied parking structures. We are also making hard decisions regarding degree of preservation of many historic buildings.

The Chinatown and the Garden St. Terraces projects will wind through the “fine-tooth-comb” city review process during the next few months. We will do our very best to get it right again for San Luis Obispo.

I feel confident that civic leadership that follows us will build on the solid foundation we leave, and SLOTOWN will continue to be paradise for our children and grandchildren.