Lodging options for visitors to SLO are about to increase as plans for a new Monterey Street hotel were approved in February.
On Tuesday Feb. 17, the SLO City Council approved the proposal for a new 102-room hotel adjacent to Pappy McGregor’s on Monterey Street. The four-story hotel has been in the works for a number of months and will move forward after making certain revisions to its original proposal.
The Chamber’s Director of Governmental Affairs, Charlene Rosales, spoke to our support of key principles of the project, including; the need for consistent and predictable requirements for new development projects, thoughtful infill in appropriately zoned areas to prevent sprawl, and better connectivity between the upper Monterey Street and the downtown core.
Originally faced with opposition, hotel developers West Coast Management removed all balconies facing San Luis Creek, conducted noise and height impact studies on surrounding neighborhoods and agreed to increase the height of a parking wall facing the creek as well as add mature trees to provide visual landscape screening.
In alignment with the recently adopted Land Use and Circulation Element standards for the Monterey Street tourist corridor, council members Carlyn Christianson, Dan Rivoire and John Ashbaugh moved approval of the hotel, with new conditions that the elevated parking area be fully enclosed, the vegetative screenings be created and no windows on the side facing the creek can be modified or converted to balconies in the future.
Measure G oversight
The Citizen’s Revenue Enhancement Oversight Commission met for the first time on Jan. 26 and elected a chair, vice chair, adopted bylaws and reviewed accounting methods.
Highly recommended by the Chamber, this five-member commission of city residents was appointed by the City Council to review, report on and make recommendations on the uses of the funds raised by Measure G, the half-percent sales tax. Voters spoke loud and clear that they wanted to see these funds go towards the protection and maintenance of essential services and facilities such as open space preservation, bike lanes and sidewalks, public safety, neighborhood street paving and code enforcement, flood protection, senior programs and other vital services and capital improvement projects.
Bob Jones Trail
For the past nine years work has been done to expand the Bob Jones Trail and it finally paid off. At their Feb. 24 meeting the County Board of Supervisors approved the final environmental impact report allowing for the work to complete the trail section from the Octagon Barn on South Higuera Street to the staging area for the original trail on Ontario Road near Avila Beach.
The Chamber was there to voice support for this great infrastructure investment that will allow for and encourage safe and healthy pedestrian and bicycle access, and recreational opportunities.
“We would like to see continued investment in our public open spaces and trails so locals and visitors alike can enjoy all that our region offers,” Rosales said. “Features like this benefit our environment and economy.”