AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO AND THE SAN LUIS OBISPO MUSEUM OF ART FOR USE OF
CITY PROPERTY
24 To City: City of San Luis Obispo
990 Palm Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93041
Attention: [insert contract administrator]
To Artist: [NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[ADDRESS]
44. GOVERNING LAW. Any action arising out of this Agreement shall be brought in the Superior Court of San Luis Obispo County, California, regardless of where else venue may lie. The validity, interpretation, construction and performance of this Agreement, and all acts and transactions pursuant hereto and the rights and obligations of the PARTIES hereto shall be governed, construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of California, without giving effect to principles of conflicts of law.
45. AUTHORITY TO EXECUTE AGREEMENT. Both the CITY and the ARTIST do covenant that each individual executing this Agreement on behalf of each PARTY is a person duly authorized and empowered to execute Agreements for such PARTY.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the PARTIES hereto have caused this instrument to be executed the day and year first above written.
CITY ARTIST
_______________________________
By: [Name]
Its: [Title of City Manager or Department Head]
_______________________________
By: [Name]
Its: [Title]
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_______________________________
By: J. Christine Dietrick, City Attorney
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO AND THE SAN LUIS OBISPO MUSEUM OF ART FOR USE OF
CITY PROPERTY
25 EXHIBIT A – Description of Work
[Placeholder for Description of the Art piece]
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO AND THE SAN LUIS OBISPO MUSEUM OF ART FOR USE OF
CITY PROPERTY
26 EXHIBIT B – Description of Services
[Placeholder for Description of Services]
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO AND THE SAN LUIS OBISPO MUSEUM OF ART FOR USE OF
CITY PROPERTY
27 EXHIBIT C – Terms and Conditions for Payment
1. The CITY shall pay the ARTIST $____________ for the WORK pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Agreement. $________ shall be compensation for the ARTIST’S commission for the WORK. $________ shall be compensation to cover travel costs. No additional compensation shall be provided for the commission or travel expenses, whether or not actual travel costs are higher. Travel costs include amounts paid for lodging, transportation, gas if traveling by car, and per diem expenses.
2. The CITY shall pay the ARTIST a deposit of $_______ upon execution of this Agreement. Within 30 calendar days of the ARTIST notifying the CITY that installation of the WORK is complete and the CITY providing written acceptance of the WORK, the CITY shall pay the remaining balance of $_______________.
3. The ARTIST shall be paid for services satisfactorily rendered pursuant to this Agreement in accordance with the terms herein and subsequent adjustments, changes or additions as specifically provided for in this Agreement. Such payment shall be full compensation for work performed and services rendered, for all supervision, labor, supplies, materials, equipment or use thereof, taxes, and for all other necessary incidentals including transportation of the WORK to the place of installation.
4. The City shall not withhold applicable federal or state payroll or any other required taxes, or other authorized deductions from each payment may to the Artist.
5. No payment to the ARTIST for any work performed or services rendered shall constitute a waiver or release by the CITY of any claims, rights or remedies it may have against the ARTIST under this Agreement or by law, nor shall such payment constitute a waiver, remission, or discharge by the CITY of any failure or fault of the ARTIST, to satisfactorily perform the WORK and services as required under this Agreement.
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO AND THE SAN LUIS OBISPO MUSEUM OF ART FOR USE OF
CITY PROPERTY
28 EXHIBIT D – Schedule for Completion of Work
1. The ARTIST shall perform work according to the following schedule:
a. [insert schedule]
2. The CITY shall grant a reasonable extension of time to the ARTIST if there is a delay on the part of the CITY in performing its obligations under this Agreement, or if conditions beyond the ARTIST'S control or Acts of God render timely performance of the ARTIST'S services impossible or unduly burdensome.
Failure to fulfill contractual obligations due to conditions beyond either party's reasonable control will not be considered a breach of contract; provided that such obligations shall be suspended only for the duration of such conditions.
3. For delays in the installation of the WORK beyond the schedule provided for under this Agreement caused by factors reasonably under the ARTIST'S control, the CITY agrees to accept one hundred dollars ($100.00) per day as liquidated damages for such delay, which is a reasonable estimate of potential future damages under the circumstances.
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO AND THE SAN LUIS OBISPO MUSEUM OF ART FOR USE OF
CITY PROPERTY
29 EXHIBIT E – Insurance Requirements
1. The ARTIST and any subcontractors performing services in connection with this Agreement, shall carry, maintain, and keep in full force and effect during the term of the provision of services under this Agreement, the following insurance coverage which meets the following minimum requirements:
a. Comprehensive General liability insurance with a $1,000,000 limit for each occurrence, and combined single limit, against any personal injury, death, loss or damage resulting from the wrongful or negligent acts by the ARTIST’S subcontractors, including an endorsement adding the City, its agents, officers, and employees as additional insured. b. Personal Property Insurance Coverage under which the WORK is added, or other insurance coverage that insures the WORK against all risks of physical loss, damage or theft during transit and delivery of the WORK to the CITY and at all times before CITY’S acceptance of the WORK.
c. If the ARTIST is using a vehicle for delivery and installation, Comprehensive Vehicle Liability Insurance covering personal injury and property damage, with minimum limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence combined single limit, covering any vehicle utilized by the ARTIST or ARTIST’S subcontractors in performing the services required by this Agreement. d. If the ARTIST has additional workers directly employed, Workers Compensation Insurance as required by the State of California at the statutory limits.
2. The policy or policies required herein, shall be primary to any coverage available to the CITY and shall include provisions for waiver of subrogation. The ARTIST hereby waives its right of subrogation. Any deductibles must be declared to and approved by the CITY prior to commencement of WORK under this Agreement.
3. At all times during the period when such insurance must be maintained, the ARTIST shall maintain on file with the City Clerk a certificate or certificates of insurance on a form approved by the City Attorney showing that the aforesaid policies are in effect in the required amounts. The ARTIST shall, prior to commencement of work under this Agreement, file with the City Clerk such certificate or certificates.
All of the policies required under this Agreement shall contain an endorsement providing that the policies cannot be canceled or reduced except on thirty (30) days prior written notice to the CITY, and specifically stating that the coverage contained in the policies affords insurance pursuant to the terms and conditions as set forth in this Agreement.
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO AND THE SAN LUIS OBISPO MUSEUM OF ART FOR USE OF
CITY PROPERTY
30 Exhibit C: City’s Insurance Requirements
Without limiting SLOMA’s indemnification of City, and prior to commencement of Lease, SLOMA shall obtain, provide, and maintain at its own expense during the term of this Agreement, policies of insurance of the type and amounts described below and in a form satisfactory to the City.
General liability insurance. SLOMA shall maintain commercial general liability insurance with coverage at least as broad as Insurance Services Office form CG 00 01, in an amount not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence, $2,000,000 general aggregate, for bodily injury, personal injury, and property damage. The policy must include contractual liability that has not been amended. Any endorsement restricting standard ISO “insured contract” language will not be accepted.
Workers’ compensation insurance. SLOMA shall maintain Workers’ Compensation Insurance (Statutory Limits) and Employer’s Liability Insurance (with limits of at least $1,000,000). SLOMA shall submit to City, along with the certificate of insurance, a Waiver of Subrogation endorsement in favor of City, its officers, agents, employees, and volunteers.
Property insurance. The Museum of Art located at 1010 Broad St, San Luis Obispo, CA is included on the City’s property insurance schedule. However, upon commencement of construction of SLOMA improvements and betterments, or installation of equipment, with approval of City, SLOMA shall obtain and maintain insurance on SLOMA’s improvements and betterments. Policy shall be provided for replacement value on an “all risk” basis. There shall be no coinsurance penalty provision in any such policy.
Proof of insurance. SLOMA shall provide certificates of insurance and required endorsements to City as evidence of the insurance coverage required herein. Insurance certificates and endorsements must be approved by City’s Risk Manager prior to commencement of performance. Current certification of insurance shall be kept on file with City for the contract period and any additional length of time required thereafter. City reserves the right to require complete, certified copies of all required insurance policies, at any time.
Duration of coverage. SLOMA shall procure and maintain for the contract period, and any additional length of time required thereafter, insurance against claims for injuries to persons or damages to property, or financial loss which may arise from or in connection with the performance of the Work hereunder by SLOMA, their agents, representatives, employees, or subconsultants.
Primary/noncontributing. Coverage provided by SLOMA shall be primary and any insurance or selfinsurance procured or maintained by City shall not be required to contribute with it. The limits of insurance required herein may be satisfied by a combination of primary and umbrella or excess insurance. Any umbrella or excess insurance shall contain or be endorsed to contain a provision that such coverage shall also apply on a primary and non-contributory basis for the benefit of City before the City’s own insurance or self- insurance shall be called upon to protect it as a named insured.
City’s rights of enforcement. In the event any policy of insurance required under this Agreement does not comply with these specifications or is canceled and not replaced, City has the right but not the duty to obtain the insurance it deems necessary, and any premium paid by City will be promptly reimbursed
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO AND THE SAN LUIS OBISPO MUSEUM OF ART FOR USE OF
CITY PROPERTY
31 by SLOMA or City will withhold amounts sufficient to pay premium from SLOMA payments. In the alternative, City may cancel this Agreement.
Acceptable insurers. All insurance policies shall be issued by an insurance company currently authorized by the Insurance Commissioner to transact business of insurance or is on the List of Approved Surplus Line Insurers in the State of California, with an assigned policyholders’ Rating of A- (or higher) and Financial Size Category Class VII (or larger) in accordance with the latest edition of Best’s Key Rating Guide, unless otherwise approved by the City’s Risk Manager.
Waiver of subrogation. All insurance coverage maintained or procured pursuant to this agreement shall be endorsed to waive subrogation against City, its elected or appointed officers, agents, officials, employees, and volunteers or shall specifically allow SLOMA or others providing insurance evidence in compliance with these specifications to waive their right of recovery prior to a loss. SLOMA hereby waives its own right of recovery against City and shall require similar written express waivers and insurance clauses from each of its subconsultants. Enforcement of contract provisions (non estoppel).
SLOMA acknowledges and agrees that any actual or alleged failure on the part of the City to inform SLOMA of non-compliance with any requirement imposes no additional obligations on the City nor does it waive any rights hereunder.
Requirements not limiting. Requirements of specific coverage features or limits contained in this section are not intended as a limitation on coverage, limits or other requirements, or a waiver of any coverage normally provided by any insurance. Specific reference to a given coverage feature is for purposes of clarification only as it pertains to a given issue and is not intended by any party or insured to be all inclusive, or to the exclusion of other coverage, or a waiver of any type. If the SLOMA maintains higher limits than the minimums shown above, the City requires and shall be entitled to coverage for the higher limits maintained by the SLOMA. Any available insurance proceeds in excess of the specified minimum limits of insurance and coverage shall be available to the City.
Notice of cancellation. SLOMA agrees to oblige its insurance agent or broker and insurers to provide the City with a thirty (30) day notice of cancellation (except for nonpayment for which a ten (10) day notice is required) or nonrenewal of coverage for each required coverage. If any of the SLOMA’s insurers are unwilling to provide such notice, then SLOMA shall have the responsibility of notifying the City immediately in the event of SLOMA’s failure to renew any of the required insurance coverages or insurer’s cancellation or non-renewal.
Additional insured status. General liability, automobile liability, and umbrella/excess liability insurance policies shall provide or be endorsed to provide that City and its officers, officials, employees, agents, and volunteers shall be additional insureds under such policies. Prohibition of undisclosed coverage limitations. None of the coverages required herein will be in compliance with these requirements if they include any limiting endorsement of any kind that has not been first submitted to City and approved of in writing.
Separation of insureds. A severability of interests provision must apply for all additional insureds ensuring that SLOMA’s insurance shall apply separately to each insured against whom claim is made or suit is brought, except with respect to the insurer’s limits of liability. The policy(ies) shall not contain any cross-liability exclusions.
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO AND THE SAN LUIS OBISPO MUSEUM OF ART FOR USE OF
CITY PROPERTY
32 Pass-through clause. SLOMA agrees to ensure that its subconsultants, subcontractors, and any other party who is brought onto or involved in the project/service by SLOMA (hereinafter collectively “subcontractor”), provide the same minimum insurance coverage and endorsements required of SLOMA. SLOMA agrees to monitor and review all such coverage and assumes all responsibility for ensuring that such coverage is provided in conformity with the requirements of this section. However, in the event SLOMA’s subcontractor cannot comply with this requirement, which proof must be submitted to the City, SLOMA shall be required to ensure that its subcontractor provide and maintain insurance coverage and endorsements sufficient to the specific risk of exposure involved with subcontractor’s scope of work and services, with limits less than required of the SLOMA, but in all other terms consistent with the SLOMA’s requirements under this agreement. This provision does not relieve the SLOMA of its contractual obligations under the agreement and/or limit its liability to the amount of insurance coverage provided by its subcontractors. This provision is intended solely to provide SLOMA with the ability to utilize a subcontractor who may be otherwise qualified to perform the work or services but may not carry the same insurance limits as required of the SLOMA under this agreement given the limited scope of work or services provided by the subcontractor. SLOMA agrees that upon request, all agreements with subcontractors, and others engaged in the project, will be submitted to City for review.
City’s right to revise specifications. The City reserves the right at any time during the term of the contract to change the amounts and types of insurance required by giving the SLOMA ninety (90) days advance written notice of such change. If such change results in substantial additional cost to the SLOMA, the City and SLOMA may renegotiate SLOMA’s compensation.
Self-insured retentions. Any self-insured retentions must be declared to and approved by City. City reserves the right to require that self-insured retentions be eliminated, lowered, or replaced by a deductible, or require proof of ability to pay losses and related investigations, claim administration, and defense expenses within the retention through confirmation from the underwriter.
Timely notice of claims. SLOMA shall give City prompt and timely notice of claims made or suits instituted that arise out of or result from SLOMA’s performance under this Agreement, and that involve or may involve coverage under any of the required liability policies.
Additional insurance. SLOMA shall also procure and maintain, at its own cost and expense, any additional kinds of insurance, which in its own judgment may be necessary for its proper protection.
SLOMA’s personal property, fixtures, equipment, inventory, and vehicles are not insured by City against loss or damage due to fire, theft, vandalism, rain, water, criminal or negligent acts of others, or any other cause.
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO AND THE SAN LUIS OBISPO MUSEUM OF ART FOR USE OF
CITY PROPERTY
33 Exhibit E
[Placeholder for description of the City Property]
Public Art Partnership
The San Luis Obispo Museum of Art proposes to work as a contractor to help fulfill the City of San Luis Obispo’s Public Art Goals. Specifically, the Museum will provide expertise, connections, logistical management, communications, and engagement leadership.
As the Museum works to connect with artists and their representatives throughout the region and the world, the leadership team will also identify projects appropriate for fulfillment of the City’s public art program. San Luis Obispo encourages Public Art that respects our past and embraces the future; supporting all members and facets of the community and the pursuit of sustainability, diversity, and inclusivity. The City of San Luis Obispo strives to incorporate these values into public spaces through the proliferation of public art.
The Museum’s leadership will facilitate this process for at least 3 annual projects including:
1) Identifying and prioritizing projects and artists for consideration 2) Work within budget determined by City for each project. 3) Work with City staff to review potential installation sites. 4) Meetings with artists to discover considerations such as materials, shipping, installation, scheduling etc.
5) Working with multiple agencies to determine viability of project including structural engineers, traffic safety, lighting, disruptions and more. 6) Provide maintenance plan for each project.
7) Developing project overview for presentation to City Manager and City Council 8) Processing the project expenses and permits
9) Monitor and report all code requirements and permit fulfillment. 10) Identifying and invite key stakeholders to engage is committee process 11) Work with artist for presentation to key stakeholders committee 12) Develop communications role out program following feedback from stakeholders committee. 13) Identifying and engaging appropriate community partners 14) Work with City representatives to ensure maximum community engagement and media coverage.
15) Arrange for all on site signage and all exhibitions copy for City communications 16) Whenever possible the Museum will host an exhibition that compliments the public art installation and additional programs that further the community connection/ownership.
Additionally, SLOMA will present monthly written status updates regarding budget, process updates, and projects in research phase.
The Museum’s expertise negates the need for RFQ’s and streamlines the process. SLOMA leadership is committed to maintaining a consistent balance of regional, national, and international artists as a part of a robust public art program. See exhibit A for selection criteria.
The San Luis Obispo Museum of Art requests an annual fee of $100,000 for this service.
Barbara Bell
President
Ermina Karim
Vice President
Charles Crotser
Secretary
Trudie Safreno
Treasurer
Charles Feltman
Past President
Cheryl Cuming
Board Member
John Dunn
Board Member
Derek Johnson
Board Member
Jennifer Petty
Board Member
David Richards
Board Member
Sandi Sigurdson
Board Member
Philip Williams
Board Member
Leann Standish
Executive Director
1010 BROAD STREET at Mission Plaza
POST OFFICE BOX 813
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA 93406
PH: 805-543-8562
[email protected]
Exhibit A.
The San Luis Obispo Museum of Art leadership team has decades of experience in arts management and community engagement. SLOMA’s Chief Curator and Director of Education holds two hold a master’s degree in educational leadership from Cal Poly and one curating from the University of Denmark.
SLOMA undergoes an extensive vetting process for each piece of artwork to determine its overall value to the SLO community. Elements taken into consideration include level of artistic excellence, interactivity, innovative qualities, originality and durability. Additionally, SLOMA considers the City of SLO’s DEI objective that envisions a San Luis Obispo that is welcoming, inclusive and safe when considering both the artists, artwork and community.
SLOMA prioritizes working with artists who demonstrate prior experience with public art projects, including familiarity with site-specific design and materials suitable for public outdoor settings.
SLOMA’s ongoing programming allows for an additional platform for the community to engage with each project artist and the depth of their work.
Barbara Bell
President
Ermina Karim
Vice President
Charles Crotser
Secretary
Trudie Safreno
Treasurer
Charles Feltman
Past President
Cheryl Cuming
Board Member
John Dunn
Board Member
Derek Johnson
Board Member
Jennifer Petty
Board Member
David Richards
Board Member
Sandi Sigurdson
Board Member
Philip Williams
Board Member
Leann Standish
Executive Director
1010 BROAD STREET at Mission Plaza
POST OFFICE BOX 813
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA 93406
PH: 805-543-8562
[email protected]
Item 6f
Department: Public Works
Cost Center: 5021
For Agenda of: 7/11/2023
Placement: Consent
Estimated Time: N/A
FROM: Matt Horn, Public Works Director
Prepared By: Austin O’Dell, Interim Transit Manager
SUBJECT: AUTHORIZATION TO INCREASE APPROPRIATION FOR BATTERY
ELECTRIC BUSES
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a Draft Resolution entitled, “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of San Luis Obispo, California, authorizing the appropriation of additional undesignated Transit Fund balance for battery electric buses.”
POLICY CONTEXT
This project is consistent with the City’s adopted 2023-25 Financial Plan Major City Goal for Climate Action, Open Space, & Sustainable Transportation. The project is also consistent with the City’s Climate Action Plan, 2017-22 Short Range Transit Plan, the SLO Regional Zero Emission Bus Plan, and the State of California’s Innovative Clean Transit Rule.
DISCUSSION
In 2021, the City of San Luis Obispo and the San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority (SLORTA) submitted a joint discretionary grant application for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) 5339(b) funding to purchase 11 battery electric buses. The grant includes six battery electric buses for SLO Transit and five battery electric buses for SLORTA. The intent of the application is to assist both agencies’ needs to comply with the State of California’s zero emission bus mandate. SLORTA served as lead for the grant application.
The project funding was identified and approved by Council with the 2021-23 Financial Plan adoption based on the grant application funding split needed to purchase the six battery electric buses. SLORTA was notified in March 2022 that the application was approved and that the FTA awarded funds to SLORTA and to the City for the 11 buses.
Item 6f
Cooperative Procurement Agreements
Washington State and the State of California offer cooperative procurement agreements and can serve as lead agencies for bus procurement. The lead agencies have satisfied the federal competitive procurement process which allows eligible agencies to participate in cooperative agreements without the need to solicit for proposals. The City’s Municipal Code section 3.24.060(E) allows for direct purchasing when the purchase is made cooperatively with one or more government agencies in place of the City’s bid procedures which typically must be followed for these types of purchases. Participating in cooperative procurements reduces staff time and resources required to solicit for and execute separate procurement agreements.
In 2021, the City used the California battery electric bus cooperative procurement agreement to purchase one battery electric bus from New Flyer and one battery electric bus from Proterra. The purpose of purchasing vehicles from two different manufacturers was to allow staff to evaluate the buses and determine which manufacturer would be best for future purchases since the City did not have any experience with buses from these two manufacturers. These buses are expected to go into service in July 2023.
At the time of purchasing the two new battery electric buses, a third manufacturer, Gillig, was not considered as a potential supplier because they were not included in the State of California’s cooperative procurement agreement. Gillig is, however, included in the State of Washington’s cooperative procurement agreement which the City can also use for bus replacement purchases.
Staff collected quotes from Proterra and New Flyer from the California State cooperative agreement and Gillig from the Washington State cooperative agreement for the purchase of the remaining six battery electric buses. Staff reviewed quotes, vehicle specifications, and determined that acquiring buses from Gillig represents the best value and fit for the City’s transit service, SLO Transit’s, needs. New Flyer’s quoted price was significantly more than the other two, so staff compared configuration specifications for only Proterra and Gillig.
Staff compared over 160 items from Proterra’s and Gillig’s bus configuration specifications and rated each item on a one (lowest) to five (highest) scale. More points were awarded based on whether the item was required or optional, whether the item was configurable or fixed, and how closely it can be configured to match the vehicles in SLO Transit’s existing fleet. Gillig scored much higher with 425 points awarded compared to 376 for Proterra.
Need for Additional Funding
Since grant funding was awarded and the cooperative agreements were analyzed, vehicle production costs for all manufacturers have increased significantly. Gillig, LLC provided an updated quote on May 4, 2023 (Attachment A) indicating a 10.8% increase in costs for the battery electric buses configured to the City’s specifications. The updated costs result in a deficit of $278,521 in current project funding as shown in Table 1.
However, the funding gap can be filled by the Transit Fund’s undesignated fund balance.
Item 6f
Table 1: Battery Electric Bus Purchase Funding
Project No. 2000505 Funding
Current Funding $ 6,632,843
Gillig Quote (May 4, 2023) $ 6,911,364
Surplus / (Deficit) $ (278,521)
6% Contingency $ 414,682
Proposed Additional Funding $ 693,203
The additional funding also includes a six percent contingency to cover future unanticipated costs associated with the purchase of the six battery electric buses. The contingency amount is based on trends in periodic manufacturing cost increases since the onset of the COVID-10 pandemic. This report recommends adoption of a Draft Resolution (Attachment B) authorizing the appropriation of $693,203 from Transit Fund’s undesignated fund balance to the project account for Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Project 2000505 as well as other administrative actions necessary to complete the purchase.
Previous Council Action
This project was identified and approved by Council as part of the 2021-23 Financial Plan adoption.
Public Engagement
This is an administrative item, so no outside public engagement was completed. Public comment can be provided to the City Council through written correspondence prior to the meeting and through public testimony at the meeting.
CONCURRENCE
This proposed action has the concurrence of the Administration Department’s Office of Sustainability and is in alignment with the City’s Fleet Replacement Policy which prioritizes active transportation and electric fuel source vehicles over gas- and dieselpowered fleet vehicles.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The recommended action is not considered a “Project” under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
Budgeted: Yes Budget Year: 2022-23
Funding Identified: Yes
Item 6f
Fiscal Analysis:
Funding Sources
Total Budget
Available
Current
Funding
Request
Remaining
Fund
Balance
Annual
Ongoing
Cost
Transit Fund (Fund Balance) $ 9,686,258 $ 693,203 $ 8,993,055 State Grants (TDA) $ 1,326,568
Federal Grants (FTA
5339(b)) $ 4,799,978
Federal Grants (FTA 5307) $ 506,296
Total $ 6,632,843 $ 693,203 $ 8,993,055
The project was identified and approved with the adoption of the 2021-23 Financial Plan prior to the FTA awarding funds. The initial project cost estimate was based on the grant application split between the two agencies and was conservative compared to actual funding awarded to the City.
The State Grants for this purchase constitute the local match required for federal grant funding and are comprised of Transportation Development Act (TDA) funding. The Federal Grants for this purchase are comprised of Federal Transit Administration (FTA) 5339(b) funding and FTA 5307 funding. Both Federal and State Grants were programmed by the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) to assist with the purchase.
The gap between the purchase price of the six battery electric buses and the Federal and State Grant funds are planned to be filled using Transit Fund balance. The recommended additional funding also includes a six percent contingency to cover future unanticipated expenses. Funds for this appropriation are available from the Transit Fund’s undesignated fund balance which forecasted to be $9,686,258 by the end of the 2022-23 fiscal year.
ALTERNATIVES
Deny authorization to increase appropriation request. Council could choose not to increase the appropriations for the purchase of the six-battery electric bus. Staff does not recommend this action because the City will not be able to purchase the buses in accordance with the state mandate and it would jeopardize federal grant funds that cannot be spent on other projects.
ATTACHMENTS
A - Gillig, LLC cost quote - May 4, 2023
B - Draft Resolution Authorizing Transfer of Additional Transit Funds
May 4, 2023
Mr. Austin O’Dell
Transit Manager
City of San Luis Obispo
919 Palm Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Dear Mr. O’Dell,
Thank you for your interest to purchase two (2) 35’ Low Floor Plus Battery Electric Buses and four (4) 40’ Low Floor Plus Battery Electric Buses through the State of Washington RFP#2020 06719-01.
Attached you will find the State of Washington RFP price tabulation that would pertain to the City of San Luis Obispo order. GILLIG is pleased to quote the following:
TWO (2) 35’X102” LOW FLOOR BATTERY ELECTRIC BUSES $1,147,316.00 EA FOUR (4) 40’X102” LOW FLOOR BATTERY ELECTRIC BUSES $1,154,183.00 EA This price is valid through July 2023. Prices exclude registration and license fees but does include CA Sales Tax (8.75% adjusted to 4.8125%). The production of your buses can be scheduled within 20-22 months from receipt of purchase order. To maintain this production schedule, we will require a firm purchase order by the end of July.
We thank you for this opportunity and appreciate your interest in GILLIG and our products.
We certainly look forward to working with City of San Luis Obispo and in so doing, continuing to build our long-term partnership. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Sean Solis
Sean Solis
Regional Sales Manager
cc: William F. Fay, Jr.
Javier Hernandez, Jr.
R ______
RESOLUTION NO. _____ (2023 SERIES)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS
OBISPO, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING THE APPROPRIATION OF
ADDITIONAL UNDESIGNATED TRANSIT FUND BALANCE FOR
BATTERY ELECTRIC BUSES
WHEREAS, the City of San Luis Obispo operates the San Luis Obispo (SLO) Transit system; and
WHEREAS, in 2021, the City of San Luis Obispo and the San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority (SLORTA) submitted a joint discretionary grant application for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) 5339(b) funds for the purchase of eleven battery electric buses; and
WHEREAS, in 2022, the Federal Transit Administration approved the grant application; and
WHEREAS, the City of San Luis Obispo received the amount of $4,799,978 for six battery electric buses from the FTA 5339(b) grant; and
WHEREAS, the City of San Luis Obispo received the amount of $506,296 from FTA 5307 formula funds to supplement the FTA 5339(b) grant; and WHEREAS, the City of San Luis Obispo is using Transportation Development Act (TDA) state grant funding for the local match amount of $1,326,568; and WHEREAS, Municipal Code section 3.24.060(E) allows for direct purchasing when the purchase is made cooperatively with one or more government agencies; and WHEREAS, staff identified a Washington State transit bus cooperative purchasing agreement which meets the federal procurement requirements, compared battery electric vehicle manufacturer specifications, pricing, and determined manufacturer Gillig, LLC to be the best fit for the City of San Luis Obispo’s transit needs; and WHEREAS, vehicle productions costs have increased significantly since the grant application was submitted in 2021; and
WHEREAS, additional funding in the amount of $693,203 is required to fund the purchase battery electric buses, as specified in the grant application, using the Washington State transit bus cooperative purchasing agreement; and WHEREAS, the Transit Fund has sufficient undesignated fund balance to cover the additional funding needed.
Resolution No. ____ (2023 Series) Page 2
R ______
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of San Luis Obispo does hereby authorize the following:
1. Authorize the Finance Director to appropriate $693,203 from undesignated Transit Fund balance to the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Project account 2000505 via Budget Amendment Request (Exhibit A); and
2. Authorize the Public Works Director to prepare, file, secure assurances and concurrences, submit necessary documents associated with, and other necessary actions for the purchase of the six battery electric buses.
Upon motion of ______________, seconded by ________________, and on the following roll call vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
The foregoing resolution was adopted this ______ day of _____________, 2023. ________________________________
Mayor Erica A. Stewart
ATTEST:
________________________
Teresa Purington
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
________________________
J. Christine Dietrick
City Attorney
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of San Luis Obispo, California, on ______________________. ________________________________
Teresa Purrington
City Clerk
Resolution No. ____ (2023 Series) Page 3
R ______
EXHIBIT A
Department Fiscal Year
Public Works 2023
Fiscal Officer Date
Nicole Lindner 6/29/2023
Department Head Date
Matt Horn
Fund Cost Center Account Amount
-
Fund Cost Center Account Amount
621 9501 71006 693,203.00
693,203.00
Fund Cost Center Account Amount
621 0000 32001 (693,203.00)
(693,203.00)
Project Title Award Project Fund Task Amount
Fleet replacement Transit 6 Gillig Buses 2000505 Transit 0 693,203.00 693,203.00
Budget Analyst Date
Finance Director (if Necessary) Date
Posted By Process ID Date Period
Transit unassigned fund balance
BUDGET AMENDMENT REQUEST
PROJECTS AND AWARDS
EXPENDITURES AND TRANSFERS OUT
REVENUES AND TRANSFERS IN
PURPOSE
On 7/11/2023 council approved the appropriation of $693,203 from Transit Fund’s undesignated fund balance to the project account for Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Project "Fleet replacement Transit 6 Gillig Buses" 2000505.
CHANGE TO FUND BALANCE, WORKING CAPITAL OR DESIGNATION
Cost Center and Account Title
Cost Center and Account Title
Account Title
Transit Fund
Item 6g
Department: Administration
Cost Center: 1006 and 1007
For Agenda of: 7/11/2023
Placement: Consent
Estimated Time: N/A
FROM: Greg Hermann, Deputy City Manager
Prepared By: Molly Cano, Tourism Manager
SUBJECT: ADOPTION OF FY 2023-24 COMMUNITY PROMOTION PROGRAMS
FOR TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (TBID) AND
PROMOTIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE (PCC)
RECOMMENDATION
As recommended by the Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) Board and the Promotional Coordinating Committee (PCC):
1. Authorize the City Manager to enter into program expenditures and various contracts for the TBID not to exceed the FY 2023-24 revenue of $1,852,700 (excludes staffing costs), based on the recommendations by the TBID Board and the adopted TBID Fund revenue projections as part of the 2023-25 Financial Plan; including
a. Approval of the funding of year two of the contract extension with Noble Studios for marketing services in the amount of $1,000,000; and b. Funding of the final year extension of the contract with Badger Branding for content marketing services in the amount of $87,800; and
2. Authorize the City Manager to make expenditures utilizing the TBID Fund’s available un-assigned fund balance during FY 2023-24 based on the most recent audited financials and at the recommendations by the TBID Board; and
3. Authorize the City Manager to use the TBID Fund Reserve of $100,000 for tourism marketing expenditures in FY 2023-24 in accordance with the TBID reserve policy; and
4. Authorize the City Manager to enter into various contracts and program expenditures for Community Promotions not to exceed the FY 2023-24 program budget of $367,000 (excludes staffing costs) based on the recommendations by the PCC.
POLICY CONTEXT
As referenced in the City’s Municipal Code, Section 12.42.030 (Authorized Use), TBID revenue is used for the promotion of tourism.1
1 12.42.030 – Authorized Use: A. The general promotion of tourism within the district is to include costs as specified in the business plan to be adopted annually by the city council.
Item 6g
REPORT-IN-BRIEF
The City’s Community Promotions program is comprised of the Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) and the Promotional Coordinating Committee (PCC). While these advisory bodies have separate program functions and budgets - together they both work to promote San Luis Obispo locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.
Tourism Business Improvement District
After thorough review and consideration, the TBID Board has identified program priorities and budget allocations for the focus of the TBID marketing efforts in FY 2023-24. The list below includes the most notable allocations; however, the complete list of budget allocations is outlined on Attachment A. (Attachment A – TBID FY 2023-24 Line-Item Budget)
1. Tourism Marketing Services with Noble Studios: $1,000,000 The TBID will maintain their largest budget allocation (approximately 47%) towards the marketing service agreement with the contracted agency-of-record, Noble Studios. This year will be the second year of the final contract extension.
2. Content Marketing Services with Badger Branding: $87,800 To efficiently manage the organic content channels through various social media networks, the TBID will continue to retain the local content marketing provider Badger Branding for the strategy, execution, and management. This is the final year of the contract extension with this vendor.
3. SLO Chamber of Commerce Contract Services: $105,688
Fiscal year 2023-24 is the first year of two-year agreements with the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce for the shared services in partnership with the PCC for Visitor Services ($51,975) and Public Relations Services ($50,000 plus $3,713 for hard costs related to media monitoring service).
4. Cal Poly Athletics Partnership: $65,000
FY 2023-24 is the first year of a two-year partnership agreement with Cal Poly Athletics to promote collaboration between local hotels and the lodging needs of Cal Poly athletic program.
5. Sustainability Initiative: $21,408
The TBID will continue to allocate 1% of TBID revenue in FY 2023-24 to Keys for Trees, a sustainability initiative in partnership with EcoSLO aimed at offsetting the carbon impact of visitors in the community.
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6. Membership in Industry Associations & Promotional Cooperative Marketing Programs: $90,500
The TBID will invest collectively approximately $40,500 in FY 2023-24 to maintain membership in organizations including Central Coast Tourism Council, California Travel Association, California Hotel and Lodging Association and SLO Coast Wine Collective. In addition, the TBID has earmarked $45,000 for cooperative marketing opportunities with these organizations and others.
7. Events and Promotions: $165,000
The TBID has earmarked up to $100,000 for general event promotion and sponsorships, plus an additional $40,000 for event activations and collateral, and $25,000 for seasonal promotions like the Midweekend.
8. Research and Program Development: $160,000
In FY 23-24 the TBID plans to invest up to $160,000 in funding for various program development and research initiatives including funding for a Sales/Meetings consultant & strategy development project, the update the 5-year Tourism Strategic Plan Update consultant, and funding for updated Brand Sentiment research in preparation for the Marketing Services request for proposal.
9. Resource Contingency Fund: $38,302
The TBID has allocated approximately $38,000 in other contract services for a resource contingency to be used to support the growing program need for resources to complete the work programs.
10.Program Contingency Fund: $29,000
The TBID has allocated an operating program contingency fund of $29,000 for the funding of opportunity projects that may arise including other marketing expenses.
Promotional Coordinating Committee
As stated in the PCC Advisory Body Bylaws,
“The purpose of the PCC is to advise the Council in working to improve the quality of life for all City residents and our visitors. The Committee recommends projects to help promote the City as a regional trade, recreation, and tourist center, consistent with community goals.” The PCC has identified the allocations within in its program budget to support this purpose and to advance community promotions. The following program priorities and budget allocations are the focus of the community promotions efforts in FY 2023-24. The list below includes the most notable allocations; however, the complete list of budget allocations is outlined on Attachment B.
Item 6g
1. Cultural Grants In Aid (GIA)/ Cultural Arts and Community Promotion (CACP) program: $100,000
In FY 2023-24 the Cultural GIA program will evolve into the Cultural Arts and Community Promotion (CACP) grant program, which will culminate in a new annual competitive grant process for FY24-25. The PCC will maintain the historical allocation of $100,000 from the FY23-24 Community Promotions program budget for the entirety of the grant program. After the awarding the GIA grants for events occurring July 1 – December 31, 2023, the remaining funds from the total grant allocation will then be available for CACP for events occurring January 1 – June 30, 2024.
2. SLO Chamber of Commerce Contract Services: $208,757
FY 2023-24 is the first year of two-year agreements with the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce for the shared services in partnership with the TBID for Visitor Services ($121,257) and Public Relations Services ($50,000) through contracted work efforts. In addition, the PCC will maintain a new two-year agreement for Grant Promotional Support ($30,000), and the funding for the production & distribution of the printed maps ($7,500).
3. Community Placemaking & Recovery Projects: $53,243
The PCC has earmarked $53,243 in funds available for the development of new projects to enhance the quality of life in San Luis Obispo through strategic placemaking or recovery investments in alignment with the adopted 2023-25 Major City Goal work efforts and other projects to support community promotion. The funding will be available for projects deemed important by the PCC to advance the goals of the committee.
DISCUSSION
Background
With the adoption of the 2023-25 Financial Plan, the City Council approved the program budget and defined the work program for the Community Promotions program and the TBID. Both programs are overseen and administered by advisory bodies to the City Council. The PCC makes recommendations regarding the use of Community Promotions funding and the TBID Board recommends the use of the TBID assessment.
In the development of the program expenditures budgets for the Financial Plan Supplement, both advisory bodies established recommendations for use of funding in FY 2023-24 with respective contract considerations.
Item 6g
Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID)
The TBID began the program development and budget allocation process in March 2023 by discussing the goals, priorities, and direction for the FY 2023-24 TBID program. They also completed contractor evaluations to aid in the considerations to the pending contract extensions. During this process, the TBID Board communicated the importance of continuing to align the budget direction, program priorities and funding commitments with the implementation of the imperatives outlined in the 2019-2024 TBID Strategic Plan, as well as the 2-year TBID Strategic Marketing & Business Plan.
The TBID strategic initiatives are to:
1. Elevate the SLO Brand and Experience
2. Deliver Smart Growth
3. Build Meaningful Partnerships
4. Ensure Organizational Excellence
5. Foster Destination Resilience
Marketing Services + Partnership Contracts
On May 10, 2023 at the regular TBID Board meeting, the TBID received proposal presentations from the following organizations on the continuation of services and agreement renewals resulting in the following recommendations outlined below. (Attachment C – May 10, 2023 TBID Minutes)
Noble Studios & DCI
Fiscal year 2023-24 will commence the fourth year and final year of the agreement with Noble Studios for marketing services, as a result of a successful RFP process in the Spring of 2020. That RFP stipulated that the City, based on the recommendation of the TBID Board, reserves the right to renew the agreement for total of four fiscal years, providing funding to do so is appropriated for this purpose in subsequent budgets. After a thorough evaluation and annual planning process, during the June 28, 2023, meeting the TBID Board approved the scope of work for the final year of the Service Agreement with Noble Studios for the final two-year term and the allocation of funding of $1,000,000 for FY 2023-24 to account for an increase in the cost of services with Noble Studios as well as increased work program needs. The work agreement with Noble Studios also includes the subcontractor partnership with DCI, a national public relations firm. (Attachment D - Noble Studios Proposal)
Badger Branding
Following a successful RFP process by the TBID, in the fall of 2021 the City contracted with Badger Branding for Content Marketing Services related to the management and curation of the social media channels for the TBID (aka ShareSLO). The services provided by this contractor include the development and implementation of a Social Media Marketing Strategy, Online Community Engagement, Content Creation and Procurement, and Analysis and Reporting.
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The initial contract between the City and the Badger Branding began in September 2021 and stated that the City - based on the recommendation of the TBID Board - reserves the right to renew the agreement twice for total of three fiscal years. After a thorough evaluation the TBID Board has recommended the final renewal of the agreement with Badger Branding for FY 2023-24. The TBID Board has recommended allocating the funding commitment of $87,800 to Badger Branding for FY 2023-24. (Attachment E - Badger Branding Proposal)
SLO Chamber of Commerce
FY 23-24 will commence new 2-year agreements with the San Luis Obispo Chamber for Commerce for various contract partnerships including Public Relations and Visitor Services. The TBID has a long partnership with the San Luis Obispo Chamber for Commerce for these work programs, and the Chamber is uniquely suited to perform this work on behalf to the City and TBID. After receiving the proposals from the Chamber for these services, as well as collaboration with the PCC on cost-sharing, the TBID Board recommends the approval of the new 2-year agreements with the SLO Chamber for Public Relations and Visitor Services. In FY 2023-24 both the Public Relations and Visitor Services agreements will be shared with the PCC. The TBID Board recommends full funding of the contracts, including: (Attachment F - SLO Chamber TBID Proposal)
1. The first year of the Public Relations contract in the TBID amount of $50,000; and
2. The first year of the Visitor Services agreement in the amount of $51,975 which includes the continuation of the phone & availability service and the special promotions support service; and
3. The media monitoring service expenditure of $3,527 to support a joint service with the PCC to monitor media pick-up and story production.
Cal Poly Athletics
Since FY 2011, the TBID has grown a partnership with Cal Poly Athletics (Mustang Sports Properties) for the promotion of San Luis Obispo lodging properties in conjunction with Cal Poly athletic related activities. The TBID Board has recommended the continuation of this partnership for a new 2-year term starting in FY 2023-24 in the amount of $65,000 annually. While the commitment of these funds will garner direct marketing benefit for the TBID overall, the actual funds are used by Cal Poly Athletics to house visiting teams, officials and VIPs in SLO TBID lodging properties. (Attachment G - Cal Poly Athletics Proposal)
Research & Program Development
In FY 2023-24 the TBID will be making a significant investment in Research and Development to advance of the initiatives outlined in the revised strategic plan and the TBID strategic marketing and business plan for projects like the development of a TBID Sales Strategy, the updated to the TBID strategic plan, and research on brand sentiment that will inform the marketing services RFP that will take place in the fiscal year. These programs will be developed and implemented throughout the year.
Item 6g
Industry Associations & Programs
The Board also considered membership and programs with the following industry associations within California:
1. Central Coast Tourism Council (CCTC): The Board recommends maintaining membership with the CCTC in the amount up to $1,000.
2. California Travel Association (CalTravel): The Board recommends membership with the CalTravel organization in the amount up to $1,000.
3. SLO Coast Wine Collective: The Board recommends membership with the SLO Coast Wine Collective in the amount up to $5,000.
4. California Hotel and Lodging Association (CHLA): The Board recommends the investment in the TBID constituent membership in the amount of $30,000.
In addition, the TBID will be partnering for the third year with the Office of Sustainability and Natural Resources and EcoSLO on the continuation of the Keys For Trees initiative aimed at offsetting the carbon impact of visitors in San Luis Obispo. The TBID has allocated 1% of the 2023-24 projected revenue, approximately $21,000 to this program.
The remaining TBID program funds are allocated to program expenses including cooperative marketing opportunities with organizations like Visit SLO CAL or Central Coast Tourism Council (CCTC), attendance at industry conferences and additional partnerships and event sponsorships, investment in the Smith Travel Reports and other organizational services, and marketing and promotional initiatives.
These expenditures and contract commitments have been reviewed and approved by the TBID Board and the final complete line-item budget allocations were approved by TBID Board for recommendation to City Council at the TBID Board meeting June 28, 2023. (Attachment H – June 28, 2023 DRAFT TBID Minutes)
Promotional Coordinating Committee (PCC)
The purpose of the PCC is to enhance the quality of life for residents of San Luis Obispo and to enhance the experience for visitors to San Luis Obispo. This mission was the guiding force behind the budget consideration for the PCC. During the June 14, 2023, meeting, the PCC finalized the 2023-24 partnership commitments and budget allocations including the continuation of Visitor Services and Public Relations efforts, strategic initiative investment for community placemaking and recovery efforts, and the funding of the Promotional Grant program of Cultural GIA and CACP (Attachment I – June 14, 2023 DRAFT PCC Minutes)
PCC Program Commitments
SLO Chamber of Commerce
As stated above, FY 2023-24 will commence new 2-year agreements with the San Luis Obispo Chamber for Commerce for various contract partnerships including Public Relations, Visitor Services and Grant Promotional Support. The City through the PCC, continues to partner with the San Luis Obispo Chamber for Commerce for the
Item 6g
continuation of various services like the production of the printed maps that are resources for visitors and residents. The City has a long partnership with the San Luis Obispo Chamber for Commerce for these work programs, and the Chamber is uniquely suited to perform this work on behalf to the City through the PCC. After receiving the proposals from the Chamber for these services, as well as collaboration with the TBID on costsharing, the PCC recommends the approval of the new 2-year agreements with the SLO Chamber for Public Relations and Visitor Services, plus the PCC funded Grant Promotional Support agreement. The PCC recommends full funding of the contracts, including: (Attachment J - SLO Chamber PCC Proposal)
1. The first year of the Public Relations contract in the PCC amount of $50,000; and
2. The first year of the Visitor Services agreement in the PCC amount of $121,257; and
3. The first year of the Grant Promotional Support agreement in the amount of $30,000 for the support of Cultural GIA and CACP grant awardees with promotional services; and
4. The funding up to $7,500 for printing of map and materials like the downtown tearoff map and neighborhood maps.
Cultural Grants in Aid (GIA)/ Cultural Arts and Community Promotion (CACP) The PCC has been offering Cultural GIA funding for decades. Local non-profit organizations utilize the funding to provide cultural, recreational, or social activities in our community. Since FY 2020-21 in response to the pandemic, the PCC modified the standard GIA program to respond to the needs of the non-profit community, event organizers, participants, and leaders. While the modified program was created during that time to provide more frequent application periods due to the frequently changing nature of the rules and regulations supporting gatherings and the fixed grant amounts provided a known funding level for successful applicants, now that events have returned to the community the modified program is no longer efficient or as effective for staff, the committee, and the applicants. Additionally, at the request of City Council, the program name will be changed to better reflect the objective of the program.
In FY 2023-24, the Cultural GIA (GIA) program will evolve into the Cultural Arts and Community Promotion (CACP) grant program. This transition will occur in phases over FY23-24, culminating with an annual competitive grant process for FY 2024-25.
While the new CACP grant program is very similar to Cultural GIA and maintains the same purpose (to support the promotion of events in San Luis Obispo), there are some slight changes to the program specifications. The key change to note is that the CACP grants will be a competitive application for funding as opposed to a fixed amount.
Unlike in GIA, in CACP the PCC will allow for multiple organizations to apply under a single non-profit fiscal sponsor. It was important to the PCC that from a timing perspective this program change did not negatively impact events and organizations that have historically received GIA funding. With that in mind, they planned for a phased application
Item 6g
process that will extend the existing Cultural GIA fixed $4,000 grant funding for events that occur from July 1 – December 31, 2023, and then move to the new CACP application for events that occur from January 1 – June 30, 2024, beginning in July 2023.
The PCC plans to maintain the historical allocation of $100,000 from the FY 2023-24 Community Promotions program budget for these grant programs so the remaining funds from the GIA allocation for events occurring July 1 – December 31, 2023, will then be available for CACP for events occurring January 1 – June 30, 2024. During the July 2023 PCC meeting the final GIA grants will be awarded in a Public Hearing, and the CACP grants will also be awarded in a Public Hearing of the PCC in October 2023. All grant agreements and expenditures are within the PCC program budget, so as outlined in the recommendation the City Manager will be authorized to approve the agreements and expenditures.
The remaining Community Promotions program funds are allocated to program expenses including attendance at industry conferences, additional partnerships, and marketing and promotional initiatives.
Previous Council or Advisory Body Action
The following advisory body actions were taken to support these recommendations:
1. PCC approval of the line-item budget and contract commitments on June 14, 2023, for recommendation to City Council.
2. TBID approval of contract allocations and line-item budget allocations was approved on June 28, 2023 for recommendation to City Council.
Public Engagement
All TBID and PCC meetings were noticed in accordance with Brown Act standards. The public will also have the opportunity to provide public comment before or during the July 11, 2023 City Council meeting.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) does not apply to the recommended action in this report, because the action does not constitute a “project” under CEQA Guidelines sec. 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
Budgeted: Yes Budget Year: 2023-24
Funding Identified: Yes
Item 6g
Funding Sources
Total
Budget
Available
Current
Funding
Request
Remaining
Balance
Annual
Ongoing
Cost
General Fund
(AdministrationCommunity Promotion
budget)
$ 411,735 $ 411,735 $0 $0
State
Federal
Fees
Other: TBID budget $2,140,800 $2,140,800 $0 $0
Other: TBID Fund
Reserve
$100,000 $100,000
Total $2,652,535 $2,652,535 $0 $0
The comprehensive list of line-item allocations for the PCC and TBID programs can be reviewed within attachments A and B, respectively.
Fiscal Analysis:
On page 77 of the adopted 2023-25 Financial Plan, the projected Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) in FY 23-24 is $10,704,000. The TBID revenue is based upon 20% of the TOT, making the FY 2023-24 TBID revenue budget projected at $2,140,800. Staff recommends that the Council provide authority to the City Manager to execute agreements and make expenditures up to the full amount of the adopted TBID budget for as outlined in this report and at the recommendation of the TBID Board. It is the fiscal responsibility of the TBID to utilize the maximum amount of revenue each year to further the marketing reach through the district’s promotional efforts. In the event that TBID revenues do not reach budget projections, staff recommends that the Council authorize the City Manager to utilize funds in the TBID Fund Reserve to offset those revenues.
The total FY 2023-24 program budget for Community Promotions (PCC) is $411,705, as can be referenced on page 134 of the City’s adopted 23-25 Financial Plan.
ALTERNATIVES
The Council could choose to fund the contracts or program allocations at different levels or modify the scope of services. The advisory bodies and staff do not recommend adjustments, as the proposed expenditures are the result of careful review, discussion, and negotiations between the parties.
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ATTACHMENTS
A - TBID FY 2023-24 Line-Item Budget
B - PCC FY 2023-24 Line-Item Budget
C - May 10, 2023 TBID Minutes
D - Noble Studios Proposal
E - Badger Branding Proposal
F - SLO Chamber TBID Proposal
G -Cal Poly Athletics Proposal
H - June 28, 2023 DRAFT TBID Minutes
I - June 14, 2023 DRAFT PCC Minutes
J - SLO Chamber PCC Proposal
TBID Budget 2023-24 -- DRAFT
Income Source 2023-24 2024-25
TOT Revenue Assumption (City) $ 10,704,000 $ 10,918,080 TBID Assessment (20% of TOT Revenue) $ 2,140,800 $ 2,183,616 Carryover/Available Fund Balance Transfer
TBID Program Budget $ 2,140,800 $ 2,183,616
Fund Reserve
Difference $ 413,600
Expenditure FY 23-24 % of Budget $$ Difference Notes
Operations/Staffing
Administration Overhead (2% of TBID Assessment) $ 42,816 2.0% $ 8,272 Staffing (FTE & .75 FTE) $ 276,698 12.9% $ 68,107
Staffing Contingency $ 38,302 1.8% $ 38,302
Available for staffing reorg and additional support as
needed (Intern, Admin Support)
Contracts & Marketing Services
Marketing Contract - Noble Studios/DCI $ 1,000,000 46.7% $ 99,400 Final year extension Chamber of Commerce - PR $ 50,000 2.3% $ 5,000 2-year agreement; 50/50 spilt with PCC Chamber of Commerce - Guest Services $ 51,975 2.4% $ 4,475 2-year agreement; 70/30 split with PCC; hold funding
increase until staffing complete
Chamber of Commerce - Media Monitoring Service Fee $ 3,713 0.2% $ 186 2-year agreement; 50/50 spilt with PCC Co-op Marketing Program Funding $ 45,000 2.1% $ 15,000
Additional funding for new and expanded
opportunities
Content Marketing Services - Badger Branding $ 87,800 4.1% $ (40,400) Final year extension; funding decrease due to the
removal of content creator funding
Partnerships
Cal Poly Athletics $ 65,000 3.0% $ 3,000 2-year agreement EcoSLO - Sustainability Initiative $ 21,408 1.0% $ 4,136 Continuation of Keys for Trees program; 1% of
projected TBID revenue
SLO Coast Wine Collective Membership $ 5,000 0.2% $ - 1-year partnership agreement Events & Promotions
General Events Promotion $ 100,000 4.7% $ 70,000
Increase in event funding; actual funding in FY23 was
$80k on events
Event Activation + Collateral $ 40,000 1.9% $ -
Approved for staff use on purchase of swag; banner
printing; and event activation expenses
Seasonal Promotion $ 25,000 1.2% $ - Intended for Midweekend or similar promotion Tradeshows
Tradeshows $ 25,000 1.2% $ 10,000
For TBID participation in IPW, Visit SLO CAL missions
and other tradeshow opportunities
Tourism Conferences $ 8,000 0.4% $ -
For staff attendance at industry conferences like
Outlook Forum, CCTC fall + spring retreats, etc.
Tourism Organizations
CCTC Dues $ 1,000 0.0% $ - Membership fee for regional organization Smith Travel Report $ 3,500 0.2% $ - Cost of report agreement CalTravel Membership $ 1,000 0.0% $ - Membership fee for statewide organization California Hotel & Lodging Association $ 30,000 1.4% $ 1,430 Earmarked funds for CHLA membership; final amount
TBD
Research + Program
Research + Program Development $ 160,000 7.5% $ 110,000 Funding earmarked for Sales/Meetings consultant &
strategy development, Strategic Plan Update
consultant, and Brand Sentiment research
Support/ Meetings
Tourism Program Expenses $ 7,500 0.4% $ 2,500 Miscellaneous staff expenses FAM Trip Hosting $ 8,000 0.4% $ 3,000
Increase based on other contract changes related to
FAMs
Services/Online Tools/Fulfillment (Dropbox, Crowdriff,
Survey Monkey) $ 15,000 0.7% $ 3,500 Increase based on incremental service cost increases Contingency
Contingency Fund $ 29,000 1.4% $ 9,000
To be allocated by TBID Board as needs and
opportunities arise
Total Committed $ 2,140,712
Funds Remaining $ 89
Total $ 2,140,800
Budget 2023-25 FY 24 Projected Updated: 6/14/23
Budget $ 411,735
Carryover
Total Budget $ 411,735
Expenditure
2023-24 Notes
Expenditure
Grant Funding $ 100,000 Funding available for GIA/CACP
Grant Promotional Contract $ 30,000
Grant Support agreement w SLO
Chamber; 2-year agreement
Community Placemaking & Recovery Projects $ 53,243
Available for projects deemed
important by the PCC to advance
the goals of the committee
Visitor Center & Guest Services $ 121,257
Agreement w SLO Chamber;
Shared commitment w TBID -
70/30 spilt PCC/TBID; 2-year
agreement
PR Contract $ 50,000
Agreement w SLO Chamber;
Shared commitment w TBID -
50/50 spilt PCC/TBID; 2-year
agreement
Media Monitoring Service $ -
Agreement w SLO Chamber;
Shared commitment w TBID -
50/50 spilt PCC/TBID; 2-year
agreement; year 1 amount funded
in FY23
Downtown Maps $ 7,500
Agreement w SLO Chamber; 2-
year agreement; Maps to be
printed TBD
Support Cost $ 5,000
Staff expenses: meetings,
materials, conferences/travel etc.
Administration $ 44,735 Staff salary
Total Committed $ 411,735
Community Promotions Budget Worksheet
1 Tourism Business Improvement District Board Minutes
May 10, 2023, 10:00 a.m.
Council Hearing Room, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo
Tourism Business
Improvement District
Board Present:
Committee Member Lori Keller, Committee Member Winston
Newland, Committee Member Prashant Patel, Megan Taylor, Vice Chair Lydia Bates
Tourism Business
Improvement District
Board Absent:
Chair Clint Pearce
City Staff Present: Tourism Manager Molly Cano, Tourism Analyst Jacqui ClarkCharlesworth _____________________________________________________________________
1. CALL TO ORDER
A Regular Meeting of the San Luis Obispo Tourism Business Improvement District Board was called to order at 10:04 a.m. in the Council Hearing Room at City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, by Vice Chair Bates.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
3. CONSENT
Motion By Committee Member Keller
Second By Committee Member Patel
To approve the Consent Agenda Items 3a. through 3h.
Ayes (5): Committee Member Keller, Committee Member Newland, Committee Member Patel, and Vice Chair Bates
Absent (1): Chair Pearce
CARRIED (4 to 0)
2 3.a MINUTES OF TBID REGULAR MEETING ON APRIL12, 2023
3.b MINUTES OF TBID SPECIAL MEETING ON APRIL 26, 2023
3.c SMITH TRAVEL REPORT (STR)
3.d TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX (TOT) REPORT
3.e SLO CHAMBER PUBLIC RELATIONS MONTHLY REPORT
3.f SLO CHAMBER GUEST SERVICES MONTHLY REPORT
3.g NOBLE STUDIOS & DCI MARKETING MONTHLY REPORT
3.h BADGER BRANDING ORGANIC SOCIAL REPORT
4. BUSINESS ITEMS
4.a TBID ANNUAL CONTRACT PROPOSALS
4.a.1 Cal Poly Athletics - Sponsorship
4.a.2 San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce - Visitor Services & Public Relations
4.a.3 Badger Branding - Amendments to Content Marketing Services
4.a.4 Noble Studios - Amendments to Marketing Services
The Board received a presentation on each of the contract proposals from the strategic partners and contractors.
No action taken on any of the proposals.
4.b CROWDRIFF RENEWAL
Motion By Committee Member Keller
Second By Committee Member Patel
To approve the renewal the Crowdriff Service contract.
Ayes (5): Committee Member Keller, Committee Member Newland, Committee Member Patel, Committee Member Taylor, and Vice Chair Bates
Absent (1): Chair Pearce
CARRIED (5 to 0)
3 4.c HOTEL PHOTO PROJECT
The board was presented with four photography project proposals, ranging in price from $6-$57k.
Motion By Committee Member Keller
Second By Committee Member Patel
To approve to contract with TriMotion Media in a not to exceed amount of $20,000 for the production of TBID hotel photo assets.
Ayes (5): Committee Member Keller, Committee Member Newland, Committee Member Patel, Committee Member Taylor, and Vice Chair Bates
Absent (1): Chair Pearce
CARRIED (5 to 0)
4.d SUMMER SUPPLEMENTAL PAID MEDIA BUDGET ALLOCATION
Due to the timing of the contract renewal and contract funding in FY24, the TBID considered opportunities for supplemental media funding to keep the advertising programs for the TBID on from July through mid-August, when the FY 24 contract would be funded. Noble Studios presented 3 options including a new media injection of $34,500 (including fees), pre-paying of $30,000 or pausing media until mid-August.
Motion By Committee Member Patel
Second By Committee Member Keller
To approve the funding of $34,500 to Noble Studios for the Media Injection as presented in the meeting.
Ayes (5): Committee Member Keller, Committee Member Newland, Committee Member Patel, Committee Member Taylor, and Vice Chair Bates
Absent (1): Chair Pearce
CARRIED (5 to 0)
4.e MIDWEEKEND PROMOTION RECAP
Continued to a future meeting.
4 5. TBID LIAISON REPORTS AND COMMUNICATION
5.a HOTELIER UPDATE – LIAISON REPORTS
Member Taylor indicated that she would be leaving the Board as she is moving to another hotel outside of San Luis Obispo.
5.b PCC UPDATE – LIAISON REPORT
Tourism Manager Cano provided a brief update on PCC.
5.c VISIT SLO CAL UPDATE – LIAISON REPORT
Member Bates is recommended to the Visit SLO CAL marketing committee by the marketing committee.
5.d TOURISM PROGRAM UPDATE – STAFF REPORT
Tourism Manager Cano provided an update on the Tourism Programs.
6. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 12:18 p.m. The next Regular Meeting of the Tourism Business Improvement District Board is scheduled for June 14, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. in the Council Hearing Room at City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo.
APPROVED BY TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT BOARD:
XX/XX/202X
Proposed Marketing
Contract Budget
Allocation
FY23-24
May 10, 2023 | SLO TBID Board Meeting Page 245 of 467
2022-2024 Initiatives
Making Good Progress We Have Updates Let’s Discuss
● Brand Campaign
● Paid Media
● Creative Services
● Search Engine
Optimization
● Website Development &
Maintenance
● Strategic & Industry
Partnerships
● Events
● Constituent Relations
● Research & Development
● Diversity, Equity &
Inclusion
● Email Strategy
● Organic Social Media
● Public Relations
● Sustainability
● Meetings, Business and
Trade Travel
● Content Strategy
2023-2024 Scope of Work
FY23-24 Retainer Services Additional
Opportunities
Making Good Progress We Have Updates Let’s Discuss
● Paid Media Campaign
Management
● Search Engine
Optimization
● Creative Services
● Content Creation (Blogs)
● Website Services
● Account Strategy,
Management & Meetings
● Public Relations
● Content Creation
(e-Newsletters)
● Meetings
● Sustainability
● LGBTQ+
● Content Partnerships
● Brand Research
FY23-24
Retainer Services
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 5 Performance Marketing
SEO
To continue improving the visibility of
VisitSLO.com, Noble will provide ongoing SEO
recommendations with a focus on helping to
grow organic traffic to the site.
● Quarterly SEO content plan development
● Proactive monitoring of top keywords
● Quarterly technical SEO audits
● Creation of page prompts and/or page
optimizations for up to 2 pages per
month
● Page title and meta description updates
as needed
Paid Media
Ongoing paid media planning, buying,
campaign management and optimization of
the recommended $425K Paid Media Budget.
● Quarterly media plan development
● Promotional media plan development
● Negotiations with trusted media
partners
● Providing POVs on co-ops as they arise
● Campaign set up & QA
● Campaign optimizations and/or
restructuring as needs arise
● Includes the build out of a Sustainable
SLO retargeting campaign
Reporting
To ensure visibility into the performance and
impacts of our integrated digital strategies,
Noble will continue to provide quarterly and
monthly reports and presentations.
● Monthly activity reports
● Quarterly performance report
presentation
● MidWeekend wrap up reports and
presentations
● GA4 performance dashboard creation
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 6 Creative Services
Annual Report & Sizzle Reel
In collaboration with the City and cross-agency
teams, Noble Studios will develop the SLO TBID
Annual Report and Sizzle Reel.
● Development of annual report content in
collaboration with the City and
cross-agency teams
● Design on the annual report based on
existing template
● Development of a strategic brief and
storyboard to guide the creation of the
sizzle reel
● Sizzle reel video editing
Brand & MidWeekend Campaign Evolutions
Leveraging both brand research findings and
performance insights, Noble will provide
recommendations for how to evolve the
messaging and imagery in order to create more
personally relevant experiences for potential
travelers.
● Creative refreshes for our “Live the SLO
Life” campaign assets
● Creative refresh of the “MidWeekend”
campaign assets
● Creation of Sustainable SLO creative
assets to support brand campaign
retargeting tactics
Creative Services
Visually create, manage, and oversee the visual
representation of all branded SLO TBID
marketing assets for a cohesive and impactful
look and feel across all touchpoints.
● Asset creation for co-ops and strategic
partnerships such as SLO CAL, Cal Poly
Athletics, CCTC and more
● Visitors Guide updates
● Ad hoc creative requests to support with
the unique creative needs that will arise
throughout the next year
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 7 Website Services
Website Maintenance & Services
● Website Services - Includes a set amount of time (75 hours) that allows the Noble Studios team to tackle a broad array of potential website services depending on your unique business needs. These services also ensure that we can continue to further enhance the new website experience.
● Website Maintenance, Repair and Optimization (MRO) -
Includes a set amount of time (60 hours) allocated for our technical team to take a specialized and proactive approach to ensuring that the quality, performance and security of your site is maintained in accordance with evolving industry standards.
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 8 Content Creation
Blogs & e-Newsletters
Noble will continue to provide valuable, engaging, and authentic content to help further position Visit SLO as the go-to source for all things travel-related in San Luis Obispo. The goal of this content is to provide relevant and timely information on the website which is then leveraged across owned channels.
● Quarterly content planning in alignment with themes or priorities as identified within the 30/60/90 day plan
● Creation and implementation of up to 2 pieces of net new blog content per month
● Content development and build of one e-newsletter per month to the general newsletter subscription audience
● Content development and build of up to 6 additional e-newsletters to continue to engage our segmented audiences with content relevant to their unique interests
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 9 Account Management
Account Strategy, Management & Meetings
Account strategy and project management are integral components of the success of our partnership with the City.
● Account strategy and stewardship with development and implementation of the annual marketing plan
● Project management of timelines and deliverables
● Quarterly 30/60/90 Day Marketing Plan Review Meetings ● Weekly and ad/hoc status meetings with City Staff
● Attendance at TBID meetings and presentation prep
● In-market visits and workshops with the TBID and cross-agency teams
● Collaboration and presentations with third-party contractors or industry partners as necessary
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 10 Public Relations
Public Relations
DCI will be subcontracted under Noble for ongoing media relations, proactive pitching and outreach to secure coverage among SLO’s Most Wanted Media List. These efforts are indebted to help build continued consumer awareness by amplifying the destination brand and reaching audiences locally, regionally and nationally. ● DCI Immersion for new Senior Account Director, Siobhan Chretien ● Update to the MWML and Key Messages
● PR strategy within the 30/60/90 Day Marketing Plan
● Proactive/Reactive Pitching
○ Up to 4x quarterly pitches and proactive outreach to secure 2-3 articles from MWML per quarter ○ Responding to media leads and reactive opportunities
● Experiential Media Event
○ Support coordinating an interactive media networking experience for editorial decision makers and content creators in NYC or another key market
● 5-6 Individual press trips and/or small group FAM
● Inclusion in DCI all-client pitch initiatives
● Monthly and quarterly media reports
● Monthly status calls with City Staff & Noble
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 11 Co-ops and Print Placements
Co-Ops & Print Placements
● Visit SLO CAL Visitors Guide
○ Full Page - $3,650
● Visit California Visitors Guide
○ CCTC Placement - $5,250
● CCTC
○ Regional Listing & Featured Map Photo Ad - $2,350
● Visit SLO Destination Brochure
○ Certified Folders Distribution - $5,500
● SLO Chamber
○ Chamber Visitors Guide - $3,700
Total Anticipated Costs: $20,450
Recommended Budget Allocation: Up to $25k for Co-op Print Placements (to account for any rate increases unknown at this time)
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 12 Scope Budget
Performance Marketing
(Paid, SEO & Reporting) $157,000
Creative Production $105,000
Content Creation $58,000
Website Maintenance $27,000
Account Strategy,
Management & Meetings $115,000
Public Relations (DCI) $49,000
Total Agency Fees $511,000
Other Costs
Paid Media $425,000
Journalist/FAM
Travel Fees
$16,000
Print Ads / Co-ops $25,000
Technology Fees $19,000
Contingency $4,000
Total Costs Up to $489,000
Total Base Contract: $1,000,000
(11% increase YoY)
FY23-24
Opportunities
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 14 Brand Research
Brand Sentiment Research
In order to track progress towards brand awareness and sentiment, among locals as well as prospective visitors from feeder markets, Noble Studios would partner with Wiser Insights to deploy a brand sentiment survey this fall. The insights will help us gain an objective, statistically reliable and trackable measure of point-in-time sentiment toward SLO as a branded destination and could be leveraged during the RFP process.
$35,000 Noble Services
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 15 To help position SLO as a meetings destination, Noble Studios is ready to support with the messaging, content and digital strategy to keep SLO top of mind for meeting planners through paid and owned media tactics.
Meetings Strategy
Visit San Luis
Obispo
SLO Life Tips
Brand Campaign
Sustainability Meetings
(NEW!)
Event
Promotion MidWeekend
Paid Channels (Paid Social, Display, Video, etc.)
Owned Channels (SEO-Optimized Website Content, email, videos for organic social, etc.)
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 16 Discovery Inputs and Outcome
Keyword Discovery
Target Audience & Market Analysis
Channel Strategy
User Experience + Landing Page Considerations
Digital Messaging
Strategy and Media Plan
Stakeholder + Local Community Interviews
Google Analytics + Measurement Analysis
Competitor Analysis
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 17 Clear
Goals
Marketing
Feedback
Loop
Effective
Sales
Collateral
Integrated
Audience
& Channel
Strategy
Website
Experience
Content
Connect
to
Convert
Core Components of a
Meetings Strategy
When we think about a robust meetings marketing
program, there are key areas “spokes” that work
together with an ultimate goal of connecting with a
meeting planner to drive visitation to the destination.
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 18 Meetings | Owned Channel Strategy
Discovery, Strategy & Planning
● Target Audience/Market Analysis
● Competitor Audit
● Stakeholder Collaboration/Interviews
● Discovery Presentation
Creative Strategy
● Creative Concepting / Visual Direction for Video/Photo Production Content Creation
● Development and implementation of up to 4 SEO-Optimized Pieces of Content for VisitSLO.com
● Creative services to support with the development of a sales kit and/or sales materials Photo/Video Production
● Coordination of a photo/video shoot in-market
● Noble will source & subcontract video production team ● One video plus color-corrected images
Account/Project Management:
● Collaboration and meetings with Strategy Consultant and City Staff ● Management of project timeline & deliverables
$150,000 Noble Services
Meetings Strategy Consultant
● Collaboration with City Staff,
hoteliers and cross-agency
teams to help guide and
establish the overarching
Meetings Strategy for the
destination
$$$ Consultant Fee
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 19 Meetings | Paid Channel Strategy
Discovery, Strategy & Planning
● Channel Strategy
● Media Plan Development
Content Creation
● Development and implementation of a paid landing page focused on driving traffic directly to property websites (partner referrals) ● Creation of campaign assets to fulfill media plan
Paid Media Management & Reporting
● Campaign and tracking set-up
● Management & optimization of a 3 month paid media campaign ● Campaign performance reports
$25,000 Noble Services
Does not include media budget (est. $30K+)
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 20 To help raise awareness of Sustainable SLO and our Keys for Trees program, we need to take our sustainability tactics to the next level by helping to develop a content and digital strategy that helps tell the story to potential travelers and locals alike.
Sustainability Strategy
Visit San Luis
Obispo
SLO Life Tips
Brand Campaign
Sustainability
(GOING ALL IN!) Meetings (NEW!) Event Promotion MidWeekend Paid Channels (Paid Social, Display, Video, etc.)
Owned Channels (SEO-Optimized Website Content, email, videos for organic social, etc.) Earned Channels (Public relations)
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 21 Sustainability Owned Channel Strategy
Creative Strategy
● Script Development / Visual Direction for Photo/Video Production Content Creation
● Development and implementation of up to 2 SEO-optimized pieces of content ● Creative services to support with collateral (ex. signage for trees planted) Photo/Video Production
● Coordination of a photo/video shoot in-market
● Noble will source & subcontract video production team ● Up to 3 videos plus color-corrected images
Account/Project Management:
● Collaboration and meetings with City Staff and cross-agency teams ● Management of project timeline & deliverables
$145,000 Noble Services
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 22 To help further showcase SLO’s commitment to inclusivity and diversity, there is an opportunity to ensure that we are showing the LGBTQ+ experience authentically across our owned channels. Noble Studios would love the opportunity to partner with SLO to capture new video and photo assets and to develop net new content to be featured across the brand new VisitSLO.com.
LGBTQ+
Visit San Luis
Obispo
SLO Life Tips
Brand Campaign
LGBTQ+ (NEW!) Culinary Outdoor Relaxation &
Wellness
Content & Creative Strategies to Connect With Our Interest & Intent Based Audiences Family &
Frequent
Traveler
Cal Poly Arts & Culture 65+
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 23 LGBTQ+ Content Strategy
Creative Strategy
● Creative Concepting / Visual Direction for Photo/Video Production Content Creation
● Development and implementation of up to 2x SEO-optimized pieces of content Photo/Video Production
● Coordination of a photo/video shoot in-market
● Noble will source & subcontract video production team ● Up to 1 video plus color-corrected images
Account/Project Management:
● Collaboration and meetings with City Staff, GALA, and cross-agency teams ● Management of project timeline & deliverables
$90,000 Noble Services
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 24 Content Partnerships
Content Partnerships
In place of content creators, Noble would do outreach to full-service content studios such as Matador Network which works with some of the world’s biggest brands and many
destinations such as Visit California.
● Negotiations with trusted content partners
● Collaboration and coordination of content
production
● Exact content partnership details would be provided
following negotiations for TBID review
$12K Noble Service + Minimum Media Commitment of $50K
Confidential. Intellectual property of Noble Studios. 25 Scope Budget
Meetings
(Owned Content
Strategy)
$150,000
Meetings
Strategy
Consultant
$TBD
Meetings
(Paid Strategy) $25,000
Meetings
Paid Media
Budget
$30,000+
Total Budget $205,000+
Scope Budget
Sustainability
(Owned Content
Strategy)
$145,000
Total Budget $145,000
Scope Budget
LGBTQ+
(Owned
Content
Strategy)
$90,000
Total Budget $90,000
Scope Budget
Brand
Sentiment
Research
$35,000
Total Budget $35,000
Scope Budget
Content
Partnership
Media &
Creative
Services
$12,000
Content
Partnerships
Paid Media
Budget
$50,000
Total Budget $62,000
Brand Research Meetings Sustainability LGBTQ+
Content
Partnerships
FY23-24 Opportunities
Budget Summary
Scope of Work
Date: 05/10/23
Project: City of SLO TBID Tourism Content Marketing
_____________________________________________________________________ Account Management: $7,520
• Meet quarterly with the TBID agency of record and staff to collaborate on the social strategy alignment with the overall TBID marketing and content objectives. • Collaborate with staff and AOR regularly and manage deadlines for timely reviews and approvals of content.
• Manage the variety of services, tools and platforms needed to accomplish contractor responsibilities (Crowdriff).
• Attend and report to the TBID Board quarterly and annually.
Strategy and Development: $10,800
• Develop and implement a comprehensive social media strategy including utilization of the TBID’s strategic initiatives, marketing plan, branding documents and insights – plus other relevant resources provided by the contractor. Content must always be appropriate and in good taste and incorporate (when feasible) the TBID’s alignment with the City’s major goals such as sustainability and DEI.
• Recommend and provide other social platforms and tools as needed to achieve strategic goals.
• Research and leverage SLO activities, events and trends to post relevant and timely content.
• Use critical thinking and forward-thinking strategies as the voice of Visit San Luis Obispo. • Accomplish a verified account status for the ShareSLO Instagram account.
Creative Services: $32,400
• Create original content that can be used on social media as well as other TBID channels. • Produce all necessary elements including design, photography and videography to create posts, stories, reels and other creative social media tools. • Create social media toolkits as needed for partners to use that meet the SLO TBID's goals – both for Visit San Luis Obispo channels or for Visit SLO presences on other channels.
• Utilize the TBID’s owned assets for content production.
Platform and Community Management: $27,000
• Collaborate with community businesses and strategic partners to curate content across multiple channels.
• Identify strategic partner accounts, local organization accounts, business accounts, travel related accounts, influencer accounts and relevant community member accounts to leverage and curate from to expand the Visit San Luis Obispo audience. • Assess the number and types of posts regularly for a balanced but proactive social presence.
• Identify key hashtags that should be used and promoted to elevate Visit San Luis Obispo content.
• Update and create story highlights regularly on the ShareSLO Instagram account. 1880 Santa Barbara Ave, Suite 170
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
• Attend community events to capture relevant and timely content to be the voice and eyes of San Luis Obispo.
• Post with the mindset of a professional influencer and a professional business account. • Produce content that feels welcoming for all audiences and demonstrates diversity, equity, and inclusion at all times.
• Engage with contracted influencers by reposting, saving and sharing content through appropriate social platforms.
• Provide social media management including monitoring, curating, creating, posting, filtering, and measuring the social media presence of Visit San Luis Obispo across common digital platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Google Travel Stories and more.
• Use an always on approach when managing the Visit San Luis Obispo social channels and consistently engage with social users and community accounts by liking posts and responding to comments and direct messages in a timely manner while using the voice of SLO at all times.
• Manage content in accordance with best practices as a business and community voice. • Manage a social calendar for Visit San Luis Obispo posts, stories, ideas and strategy. • Maintain a prepared but flexible approach to scheduled posts within the social calendar. • Update the Visit San Luis Obispo profile as needed within the developed strategy and create linktrees that drive traffic to VisitSLO.com.
• Update cover photos and profile photos as and if needed. • Create and organize asset galleries within CrowdRiff. • Request user generated photo rights regularly by using CrowdRiff and uploading manually approved rights into the platform.
• Update the followed hashtags in CrowdRiff regularly as needed.
Measurement & Reporting: $4,320
• Establish measurable goals annually and quarterly.
• Develop, measure, and report on social KPIs and overall performance monthly, quarterly, and annually.
• Measure and report specific communication outcomes as needed. • Measure and report on engagement and enhancement of number of followers. • Provide a monthly written activity report for City Staff and the TBID Board.
Content Service Additions Contingency: $1,080
• Should other creative services be needed, such as support for the blog, newsletter copy, small design projects, etc., this contingency can serve to cover those expenses. Budget to be reallocated elsewhere if not needed.
Hard Costs: $3,600
• SproutSocial annual subscription with 2 seats.
Other Fees: $1,080
• Funds to purchase event tickets for attendance and/or giveaways as needed and appropriate. Budget to be reallocated elsewhere if not needed.
TOTAL: $87,800
The management of the Visit San Luis Obispo social channels will be the primary focus for this contract, however the production of content for other owned channels as needed such as blogs, VisitSLO.com website content, newsletter copy, or small design projects may be requested.
Accommodation of these requests will be based upon remaining unallocated budget.
May 2023
1 Proposal to the City of San Luis Obispo
Tourism Business Improvement District
May 2023
Guest Services and Public Relations
Purpose: Build on the partnership between the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce and the City of San Luis Obispo’s Tourism Business Improvement District to convert heads in bed to hearts in beds, bolster the city’s public image for guests and strengthen San Luis Obispo as an unforgettable place where visitors engage in a lifestyle they aspire to live, become emotionally attached and return to regularly.
Expertise: The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce looks forward to building on our existing strengths including a successful track record of promoting San Luis Obispo, strong relationships throughout the community as well as extensive experience providing public relations and visitor services.
Looking forward: For more than 50 years, the Chamber has worked with the City of San Luis Obispo to improve the quality of life and economic vitality of our community. We continue to seek new opportunities to deepen our partnership and further the understanding of San Luis Obispo as an exceptional community to live in and visit.
May 2023
2 Table of Contents
Cover letter 1
Qualifications 3
Project Team 4
Proposals 5
Summary 11
May 2023
3 Qualifications
The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce offers a distinctive and powerful combination of strengths to assist the Tourism Business Improvement District in fulfilling its mission and strategic direction.
● Direct relationships with more than 1,200 local businesses that represent nearly 38,000 employees throughout the county. These long-term relationships allow us to work cohesively with local businesses to execute promotions, collaborations, projects and media visits. ● Constant interaction with visitors in our downtown Visitor Center. More than 75,000 visitors were personally greeted and assisted in 2022 and we engaged with thousands more over the phone and digitally via email and website chat. The center, which is open seven days a week, is staffed by visitor information professionals who are trained to answer questions and accommodate the requests of locals, visitors and travel writers. ● Productive relationships with the media, rooted in our 40+ years of work in San Luis Obispo public relations. We are the go-to resource for travel writers due to the strength of the “chamber of commerce” brand and the strong relationships we have built through the years. ● We have a nimble, responsive PR team, which is well informed about what is happening in the city and can capture the attention of as well as respond to journalists with timely information, photography and contacts.
● Long-term strategic alliances with local organizations and events that attract visitors and enhance the overall experience for tourists, including Hearst Castle, SLO Coast Wine Collective, Cal Poly, Festival Mozaic, Downtown SLO, the PAC and the SLO Film Festival. ● Access to a library of more than 50,000 current and historical images of San Luis Obispo and the surrounding area. The award-winning images have appeared in publications such as National Geographic Traveler, Los Angeles Times, Outside Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, AFAR and many more.
● The SLO Chamber continues to stay on top of the trends in tourism promotions, working with regional, statewide, national & international partners to identify and act on emerging trends and best practices.
May 2023
4 Project Team
The SLO Chamber has an experienced, professional staff who work together to execute projects to completion with a track record of success. The key team members who will lead the work for the Tourism Business Improvement District include:
Jim Dantona
President/CEO
Jim Dantona’s focus is on helping local businesses prosper. He brings his professional experience in government and personal passion in economic development to leading the Visitor Center and working on contracts with the TBID and PCC. In addition, Jim comes with more than 20 years of experience in the public and private sector helping communities thrive.
Hollie West
Director of Communications
Hollie West has been with the SLO Chamber since 2022, and brings to the team a strong background in communication, brand development and public relations. She is passionate about San Luis Obispo being a wonderful place to live, work, play and visit, and works to share that with visitors, media and publications.
Lori Silva
Director of Business Operations
Lori Silva has been a key player at the SLO Chamber for nearly two decades.
Her vast network and roots in the local business community coupled with her administrative expertise will assist the TBID in strategy and execution of partnerships, activations and promotions.
Coming Soon
Communications Coordinator
The SLO Chamber Communications Coordinator will support TBID work through expertise in local happenings, PR writing to acquire impactful media placements, administrative support and pitching what’s new to regional partners.
Julia Pavelko
Visitor Center Manager
Julia Pavelko brings decades of local knowledge and friendly customer service to interactions with all guests in the Visitor Center. A key player in executing TBID promotions and activations, Julia is the boots-on-the-ground for guest services.
May 2023
5 Proposals
Visitor Center/Guest Services
The SLO Chamber’s Visitor Center is in a unique position to provide the San Luis Obispo guest with a friendly and informative experience even before their arrival. This not only entices visitors to San Luis Obispo, but plays a pivotal role in the overall guest experience, encouraging travelers to stay in and return to SLO. Through relationships developed with each of the TBID constituents, we capitalize on the Visitor Center’s significant face-to-face, phone, website and email traffic to encourage travelers to stay in San Luis Obispo and match the right guest with the right property. We are proposing to continue the current services we provide to the TBID.
The Chamber provides a hotel availability service that is currently exclusive to the TBID. Visitor Center staff contact every TBID property each week on behalf of the TBID, and maintain a record of which hotels are sold out and which have availability for each Thursday, Friday and Saturday as well as impacted weekdays throughout the year. This helps guests, who would otherwise need to call each property on their own, easily find a room in the city. This service also allows for TBID properties to refer their clients directly to the Visitor Center for centralized guest services.
Since July 2022, the Chamber has been able to utilize this availability information to refer TBID properties more than 13,000 times. This service also acts as a vital connection point to relay and gather important information and data.
In addition, Visitor Center staff answer each call made to the TBID’s 1-877-SLO-TOWN phone number, which serves as a response tool to the TBID’s advertising efforts and digital presence.
This creates the option for a ‘real person’ to assist in trip planning, ensuring that travelers seeking personal guidance have a friendly, live voice to shape their experience of San Luis Obispo before even arriving. The telephone dedicated TBID 1-877-SLO-TOWN line includes voicemail for after-hours in which calls are returned during the next day’s hours of operation. In 2023-24, the Visitor Center will be open seven days a week, Sunday-Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., and Thursday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. for a total of 55.5 hours a week with additional hours added on seasonally.
This year we are also proposing the continued use of the live chat service on VisitSLO.com that was activated mid-March 2020 to maintain additional communication avenues. As more and more interactions are taking place in a digital arena, this provides yet another way to capture guests’ interest in San Luis Obispo.
May 2023
6 Promotions - Sales Support - Fulfillment
The Visitor Center also serves as a fulfillment location and customer service lead for TBID special promotions. We look forward to collaboration on the development of promotions, serving as the customer service outlet for guest inquiries in regard to advertised promotions, and the delivery of promotional materials to guests upon their arrival in San Luis Obispo. We propose to continue this partnership, but as the needs and tactics of the TBID change and adapt, we also expand this offering to include active support of the TBID’s sales objectives and follow up and fulfillment of information requests about San Luis Obispo that come in from other sources.
Scope of work
The scope of work within this proposal includes:
• Tracking room availability Thursday – Saturday through:
o Weekly email and phone calls to all constituents as well as additional tracking for impacted weeks throughout the year (i.e. Cal Poly Week of Welcome, Cal Poly Family Weekend, Cal Poly Graduation)
o Availability information for impacted times will be provided to TBID properties in order to help maintain guests within the city
o Tracking will be extended to TBID Homestay properties that opt in to the service o SLO hotel contact information included in advertising on window after Visitor Center hours on weekends
• Guest service and booking assistance for guests that call the customer service line seeking tourist information on 1-877-SLO-TOWN
• Guest service and information assistance via the live chat widget on VisitSLO.com • Site visits by Visitor Center staff to each hotel to build understanding of each property’s unique offerings and individual needs to ensure that the Visitor Center is making informed and educated referrals
o Up to 6 activations per year
• Site visits to TBID strategic partners (ie: SLO Coast Wine properties) to deliver TBID marketing and promotional materials
o Up to 2 activations per year
• Assisting guests in the Visitor Center with booking a SLO city hotel room • Up to 4 activations per year of Visitor Center on-the-road service to assist in tourism promotion at off-site or virtual events such as: trade shows, brand activations, or at incounty TBID sponsored events, that fall upon mutually agreed dates. Lodging expenses as needed would be covered by the city, similar to past years. • Up to 4 activations per year of Visitor Center involvement in special promotions, sales support, and information fulfillment including:
o Utilization of the Visitor Center as a fulfillment location for guest pick-up and delivery of promotion
May 2023
7 o Utilization of Visitor Center staff to respond to phone and email inquiries regarding those promotions
o Involvement of CEO & Visitor Center manager in planning strategy and execution to ensure seamless fulfillment
o Active support of TBID sales efforts (ie: follow up and auditing leads lists from Visit SLOCAL and pushing information to TBID properties) o Information request fulfillment to those that have expressed interest in San Luis Obispo (ie: Visit CA lists)
Mail TBID brochure and other agreed open materials
• Training & Research
o Deepen training of Visitor Center staff members on the individual hotel properties, through techniques such as scheduled hotel property visits, to gain an authentic understanding of each property.
o Track and report general visitor geographic data
o Perform and report on general survey research of visitors call or walking into the Visitor Center up to three times per year
o Provide and report on general survey data for property research at request of City
o All Visitor Center staff members will acquire SLO Cal Welcome Customer Service certification
$173,250 a year for the next two years
split between TBID and PCC
Public Relations
Overview of 2023-2025
Since 2014, the SLO Chamber has led tourism public relations for the City of San Luis Obispo through a partnership between the Tourism Business Improvement District and the Promotional Coordinating Committee. In this role, the SLO Chamber has managed the responsive and proactive public relations efforts to showcase the best of San Luis Obispo and entice visitors and locals to explore our city.
We are the boots-on-the-ground local expert working in partnership with the TBID’s national public relations agency, DCI. Over the past two years, we have supported DCI’s national pitching and media relationships as well as proactively pitched the TBID pillars and promotions for consideration to media partners throughout the state. Serving both the TBID and the PCC’s goals, our proactive work this past year has mainly focused on sustainability efforts, DEI work, the culinary and beverage scenes, and placing SLO as the hub of the County and a destination that has something for everyone.
May 2023
8 As part of this focus, contract elements include pitching story ideas, inviting writers to experience the destination and coordinating those trips, sending out media releases, responding to media inquiries, use of the SLO Chamber’s photography library for editorial requests and developing customized media kits. We do all this public relations work for just one client – San Luis Obispo.
This focused effort is paying off; even in this past year we contributed to dozens of media placements that highlight San Luis Obispo including those in Forbes, Thrillest, AFAR, HuffPost, TripSavvy, MSN, Conde Nast Traveler and Food & Wine.
2023-25 Strategy
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism marketing and public relations have changed drastically.
As the media landscape continues to shift, San Luis Obispo is facing a new normal in tourism and in our community. It is more important than ever to communicate the vitality and character of our community and showcase San Luis Obispo as a friendly and thriving city where people want to live, and visitors want to vacation.
The public relations program will remain up to speed on PR and tourism marketing trends as well as share the story of the unique offerings San Luis Obispo has for both residents and visitors by highlighting the character of the community and why locals love to call SLO home. This includes the promotion of community initiatives and the sharing of distinctive experiences which set the San Luis Obispo community apart from other destinations.
Objectives:
a) Promote San Luis Obispo as a destination to live, play and stay, driving visitation and delivering economic impact
b) Build consumer awareness serving as the voice of SLO by amplifying the destination brand and reaching audiences locally, regionally and nationally c) Communicate the vitality and character of San Luis Obispo and the community Target audiences:
Our promotional efforts will target two audience groups:
1) Potential visitors ranging from millennials to baby boomers, in defined key drive markets (Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego), as well as those with special interests such as food and wine, outdoor activities, sustainable travel or arts and culture 2) Central Coast residents looking to rediscover what is in their backyard or within their community
Strategies to reach target audiences:
Specific to the Tourism Business Improvement District
Telling the right story in the right place
The tourism industry is a vital part of San Luis Obispo and in our partnership with the TBID’s Noble and DCI, we will continue to amplify our voice and reach, operating as the boots-on-thePage 280 of 467 May 2023
9 ground local expert. We will work together to position San Luis Obispo as the ideal destination for visitors, taking into consideration how the city fits into wider travel trends.
Press visits & FAMs
There is no substitute for experiencing San Luis Obispo firsthand. Press trips play a major role in generating editorial placements that tell the San Luis Obispo story and showcase our key messages. These placements inspire travel and educate consumers on the destination. This year we will be:
● working with key partners to craft and host individual and FAM visits based on existing relationships and responsive leads
● crafting and hosting individual media visits as a result of DCI’s proactive outreach Specific to the Promotional Coordinating Committee
Championing a vibrant economy
Small businesses are the lifeblood of our community and help shape the diverse economy in San Luis Obispo. There are many unique and unearthed stories to be shared within the community, and highlighting the character and faces of San Luis Obispo is an important piece of our success.
The stories of creativity and innovation among families, students, small business owners and professionals are waiting to be told, and sharing these stories will encourage further connection amongst neighbors and enhance the intrinsic feeling of joy felt when entering our community.
Uniquely SLO
Every inch of San Luis Obispo has its own unique history, with innovation and creativity around every corner. These stories continues to be at the forefront, and we will build upon this past year’s work to amplify this message to the community through continued strategic partnerships, working with local and regional media, and promoting community programs and campaigns.
Additionally, we will continue to soldier on with our sustainability and DEI focuses — not only booming trends in travel tourism, but a core pillar of SLO’s identity.
Public Art
With more than 100 public art pieces and a bustling arts and culture scene, San Luis Obispo is positioned uniquely as a small town that packs a big punch for art lovers. Focus on public art will continue to be highlighted and uplifted as a key characteristic of San Luis Obispo’s charm.
Neighborhoods
With the upcoming completion of three more neighborhood maps highlighting the unique corridors of San Luis Obispo and the businesses that reside within them, the story of SLO’s character and history will continue to be told with an emphasis on exploring off the beaten path.
Foster Key Relationships:
It continues to be vital to work with our community partners to strengthen our collective message. With less resources and more obstacles as we look to encourage people to explore our city, the SLO Chamber will proactively work with other organizations to cross market through
May 2023
10 public relations initiatives as well as grow strategic alliances. In the upcoming year we are excited to further deepen our collaboration with strategic partners that contribute to the region’s cultural vibrancy.
Visit California: We will leverage the large international megaphone that belongs to Visit California by participating in its PR programs. Key opportunities include submitting content to Visit California’s editorial board, participating in Visit California-led press trips, sharing content on Visit California’s social media channels and potentially attending domestic media marketplaces.
Central Coast Tourism Council: We will leverage the Central Coast Tourism Council’s growing reach by participating in its PR efforts and positioning the destination as the heart of the Central Coast.
Visit SLO CAL: We will leverage the national and international reach of Visit SLO CAL by partnering closely with their PR team and participating in their programs. As the hub of SLO CAL, SLO is poised to lead Visit SLO CAL-led press trips and ensure that SLO CAL understands our key messages and the city as a productive partner in promoting our region.
SLO Coast Wine Collective: Understanding that the budding wine region is a flourishing aspect of our destination, SLO will work with SLO Coast Wine’s team on telling the story of the new AVA and publicizing the destination together.
Cal Poly: Cal Poly is not only one of the community’s largest economic drivers, but also a huge draw for visitors whether they be families of students or those seeking the university’s many cultural offerings. Through our built-in relationship with Cal Poly, we are able to work with them to get in front of additional audiences like alumni, staff recruits and other key stakeholders in the university.
SLO Lodging Properties: We will work with the city’s lodging partners and any PR teams to lead the destination portion of any hosted media or FAMS. As there is a shared interest for success in both promoting the hotels and the destination, this partnership is natural but also tactical in its approach.
Scope of work:
The scope of work within this proposal includes:
o In partnership with DCI agency:
o Developing the 2023-24 PR strategy and editorial calendar o Sourcing ideas and content for responsive leads
o Building custom itineraries and hosting travel writers on individual and FAM trips throughout the year
o Maintaining VisitSLO.com media center
o Participation in and pitching of TBID coordinated special promotions such as The Midweekend
May 2023
11 o Working in coordination on the comprehensive marketing plan to increase brand awareness across all platforms
o Continued independently:
o Fulfilling all media requests
o Tying in with Visit California, Visit SLO CAL & CCTC’s public relations efforts to enhance visibility and sync messaging
o Partnering with neighboring destinations on tourism initiatives o Working with community partners on additional hosting opportunities o Sourcing, building custom itineraries and hosting travel writers on individual and FAM trips throughout the year with key partners
o Participation in and pitching of City coordinated campaigns such as Support Local to regional media
o Participating in potential out-of-area promotional trips including preparation, media coordination and staff travel
$100,000 a year for PR Services for the next two years, jointly funded by the TBID and PCC In 2022-23, the TBID and the PCC funded the contract 50/50 Media Monitoring
In 2023-24, we propose a continuation of the media monitoring contract with Cision which allows the TBID & PCC to see the impact of public relations work, gives our PR team access to contact information for outlets, freelancers and influencers, and allows for whitelisted distribution of media releases. This is a pass-through contract, and because of the Chamber’s nonprofit status, the service is available at a significant discount. This year, we propose the TBID and PCC once again jointly fund the media monitoring service to ensure the SLO Chamber has the tools they need to complete their work and measure results. $7,425 a year jointly funded by the TBID and PCC
Summary
Guest Services & Visitor Center for 2023-25 $173,250 a year* *jointly funded by the PCC and TBID
Public Relations Services for 2023-25 $100,000 a year*
*jointly funded by the TBID and PCC
Media Monitoring Service 2023-24 $7,425 a year
City of Slo recap 21-2Page 285 of 467 2
PARTNERSHIP
OBJECTIVES
review
All City of SLO - TBID benefits on the Cal Poly Athletics advertising platform link back to fulfill your marketing objectives for the partnership. Our efforts are to generate awareness to entice our visiting teams and fans to Visit SLO, showing the areas beauty, small town charm, diverse activities, all to put hearts in beds. heighten shareslo brand
After a years absence, the ShareSLO brand will be reintroduced to fans in and out-ofmarket with an integrated digital and traditional approach in several media channels. reach out-of-market fans
New, innovative digital reach will help ShareSLO reach out-of-market to attract visitors and heads in beds as the brand promotes the #SLOReady messaging to Cal Poly fans. drive team & alumni visits
MSP will pro-actively promote the city hotels through visitors guides sent to all visiting coaches/operations personnel in the Big Sky and Big West Conferences. Additionally, messaging can direct visits by out-of-town Alumni by emphasizing specific times of year - Homecoming and Open House - to entice them to return to SPage 286 of 467 LO.
BRAND AWARENESS Page 287 of 467
IP RIGHTS
MARKS & LOGOS
Cal Poly's most valuable asset to the partnership is the use of its intellectual property. Fans connect with a partner through the school and co-branding can lift affinity for a product or service significantly. (Please see next slide).
WHEN VIEWING CO-BRANDED ADVERTISING ASSETS, COLLEGE SPORTS FANS ARE:
ip use increases fan engagement
2x
55 4x
33 % %
Source: Learfield/Turnkey Intelligence, Intellectual Property Study, 2017
BE SEEN IN A
BIG WAY
videoboard BANNER
Prominently displayed on the large videoboard in the south endzone, where all eyes navigate during a game, the San Luis Obispo logo, along with the website VisitSLO.com was seen by football and men's and women's soccer fans throughout the fall. The San Luis Obispo brand is front-and-center, fans from out-of-market included parents and Alumni during Parent's and Homecoming weekends, as well as visitors/boosters from Montana, South Dakota, Eastern Washington, San Diego,
Oregon and Idaho.
Total attendance football games: 33,860
Total attendance men's and women's soccer: 27,968
Total ESPN+ Football Views: 152,663
COURTSIDE
ACTION
MOTT courtside
LED ROTATIONAL
Showcased in (4) fall and winter sports, the ShareSLO brand was front-and-center to fans in Mott Athletic Center, as well as those tuning in from out-of-market on the ESPN+ live stream of games. This year the motion graphic colors were changed out to Cal Poly green and gold to make more of a connections with our fans. Out-of-market teams included: South Carolina, Sacramento, San Jose, Michigan, Northern Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Los Angeles, Oregon, Utah, San Diego, Minneasota and Arkansas.
Total Fall/Winter Sports Attendance: 62,978
ESPN+ Views for men's and women's basketball/volleyball:
197,990
TAKE ME OUT TO
THE BALLGAME
BAGGETT STADIUM
OUTFIELD BANNER
Extending brand awareness into the spring and Cal Poly's most popular sport, the large outfield San Luis Obispo sign heighten awareness in-stadium and to out-of-market to fans watching games in-stadium and on the ESPN+ live stream. Out-of-market market reach included: Missouri, Oregon, Ohio, Los Angeles, San Jose, Hawaii, San Diego, Irvine, Riverside, Sacramento, and Fresno.
Total Baseball Attendance: 44,988 thru 4/30/23
COLLEGE SPORTS FANS ARE A FIT
SOURCE: CAL POLY FANBASE DASHBOARD 1.24.23 TOTAL FOLLOWERS ACROSS PRIMARY ATHLETICS SOCIAL MEDIA (FB, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER) .
YOUGOV PROFILES, 1.15.23 A COLLEGE SPORTS FAN IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IS AN ADULT 18+ WHO HAS AN INTEREST IN COLLEGE SPORTS & RESIDES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 207,000+
CAL POLY FANBASE RECORDS
ACROSS CALIFORNIA
GROW WITH US DIGITALLY
SOURCE: CAL POLY FANBASE DASHBOARD 1.24.23 TOTAL FOLLOWERS ACROSS PRIMARY ATHLETICS SOCIAL MEDIA (FB, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER). GOOGLE ANALYTICS, GOPOLY.COM, JULY 2021 – JUNE 2022 103,000+
FOLLOWERS ACROSS ALL
SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
2,100+
NEW FOLLOWERS IN THE LAST
90 DAYS
ALWAYS BE PRESENT
FAN365
The City of SLO - TBID created powerful connections with fans across websites they visit every day via Fan365, the Cal Poly retargeting platform. Campaigns were conducted in fall, winter and spring and targeted to out-of-market fans. This kept the San Luis Obispo brand and VisitSLO.com web address front-and-center as fans surfed the Internet.
Fan365 Features:
proprietary 1st party audience - fed to Cal Poly fans directly co-branded ads - would like to see co-branded ads this coming year to compare results
reach the right fan, at the right time with your custom message Turnkey media activation from our team of digital marketing experts with no hidden fees
.22% avg.
CTR
689
Clicks
306,036
Impressions Delivered
Total CAMPAIGN
HIGHLIGHTS
The overall partnership goal was to heighten the San
Luis Obispo brand after a years absense from fans and
drive traffic to the VisitSLO.com website. Fans out-ofmarket were targeted in order to spur registrations and put heads in beds.
CAMPAIGN FLIGHTS: Fall, Winter and Spring
KPI: Guaranteed 100,000 impressions each campaign
TARGET: Out-of-Market fans, primarily in the great Los
Angeles and San Francisco Bay Area
CAMPAIGNs
SPOTLIGHT
Delivered average of 102,000 impressions each campaign
Ads delivered to primary data (fans), highly targeted
Avg. CTR of .22% is 4X better than average display ad
campaign
FAN 365
ENGAGE FANS DIGITALLY
.68% avg.
CTR
697
Clicks
101,992
Impressions Delivered
Total CAMPAIGN
The overall partnership goal was to heighten the San Luis Obispo
HIGHLIGHTS
brand after a years absense from fans and drive traffic to the VisitSLO.com website. Fans out-of-market were targeted in order to spur registrations and put heads in beds.
CAMPAIGN FLIGHTS: Fall 2022
KPI: Guaranteed 100,000 impressions
TARGET: Out-of-Market fans, primarily in the great Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Area
CAMPAIGNs
SPOTLIGHT
Delivered average of 101,992 impressions delivered
Used Cal Poly Colors in ad to connect the brands
Ads delivered to primary data (fans), highly targeted
Avg. CTR of .68% is 10X better than average display ads Winter campaign dropped down to .24% CTR
Recommend changing creative each season
FAN 365 case study
ENGAGE FANS DIGITALLY
City of SLO - TBID spread awareness, drove traffic, and captured data all year with a dynamic presence on the
official website and App of the Cal Poly Mustangs.
STRATEGIC PLACEMENTS:
GoPoly.com. and Cal Poly App
The City of SLO - TBID ads were run-of-site on both GoPoly.com and the Cal Poly App. GoPoly.com and the App generated over
4.66 million pageviews last year and we anticipate growth by the end of the 22-23 season.
GoPoly.com reached over 854,000 unique users and the Cal Poly App has 5781 subscribers to date, with 4125 active users, who use the App throughout the year. We anticipate adding more downloads to the App as a Rewards Program gets
integrated within the App.
WEBSITE & App
EXTEND BEYOND GAMEDAY
TRAFFIC DRIVERS Page 299 of 467
REACH FANS
DIRECTLY
LIVE STREAMING COMMERCIALS
on espn+
The "SLO Ready" 30 sec. commercial aired on the new ESPN+ live streams or Cal Poly stream during home games for football, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, men's soccer and baseball. With the switch to the ESPN+ platform, the viewership online jumped significantly. Here are overall numbers and highlights of 22-23:
Total ESPN+ Football Reach:
Total Reach (Home and Away games): 152,663 Unique Views. Montana Game 33,000+ Unique Views.
Men's Basketball Reach:
6735 Average Viewers per game, 107,756 Unique Viewers in season. Second highest in Big West. 20K unique views vs. Mt. Saint Mary's and UC Irvine.
Women's Basketball Reach:
51,376 Unique Views, 3425 Avg. Views, 31K Views vs. #1 South Carolina Baseball Reach: Waiting for numbers.
The City of SLO was grandfathered in cost for spots for the past 2-year contract. Spot costs have increased exponentially from the previous stream. Thus, for 23-24 season, City of SLO will receive a 30 sec. spot in football, men's basketball and baseball only. Page 300 of 467 visiting team
guides
tbid hotel information
sent directly to coaches &
operations staff
To encourage visiting teams to book stays in TBID hotels, each coach or operations manager for football, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball were sent an email and the TBID hotel graphic - a total of 35 coaches from around-the-country and California.
SUMMARY Page 302 of 467
SUMMARY
PARTNERSHIp
All Cal Poly Athletics marketing assets were focused on fulfilling the primary City of SLO - TBID Objectives of heightening brand awareness of the brand and ShareSLO, reaching out-of-market fans, driving traffic to the VisitSLO.com website and, ultimately putting hearts-in-beds.
Cal Poly Athletics created hundreds of thousand digital impressions with ESPN+ Broadcasts, retargeting ads and GoPoly.com ads. All ads linked back to VisitSLO.com site to start fans through the discovery process and sales funnel.
The partnership dollars given to the department went back to booking TBID hotel rooms for visiting teams, officials of games and official department visits. In all, (23) total hotels responded to RFP emails (Up from 15) and (23) TBID hotels were booked for the season. These hotels were chosen as they expressed interest in hosting the guests. The department will make an effort to utilize as many TBID hotels that expressed interest in hosting for 23-24.
To improve affinity and brand lift, we would recommend that all ads be co-branded with the inclusion of the Cal Poly logo in broadcast and digital efforts. We also have seen that changing up creative, messaging and photos will also cause a lift. 23-24 to 24-25 Sponsorship Package includes:
Spanos Static Signage
Mott Scrolling LED
Baggett Stadium Outfield Sign
(1) 30 sec. spot on the ESPN+ broadcasts of football (home and away games), men's basketball (home) and baseball (home) games Fall, Winter and Spring Fan365 retargeting ads focusing on out-of-market fans Investment: $65,000 per year
THANK YOU!
HEATHER
HELLMAN
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION OF A PARTNERSHIP
WITH CAL POLY ATHLETICS
Heather Hellman
General Manager
Mustangs Sports Properties
[email protected]
Phone: 805-215-8545
1 Tourism Business Improvement District Board Minutes
June 28, 2023, 9:30 a.m.
City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo
Tourism Business
Improvement District
Board Present:
Member Lori Keller, Member Winston Newland, Member
Prashant Patel, Member Sandy Sandoval, Chair Clint Pearce (one vacant seat)
Tourism Business
Improvement District
Board Absent:
Vice Chair Lydia Bates
City Staff Present: Tourism Manager Molly Cano, Tourism Analyst Jacqui ClarkCharlesworth, City Clerk Teresa Purrington, Deputy City Clerk Megan Wilbanks
_____________________________________________________________________
1. CALL TO ORDER
A Special Meeting of the San Luis Obispo Tourism Business Improvement District Board was called to order on June 28 at 9:30 a.m. in the Council Hearing Room at City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, by Chair Pearce.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA
Public Comment:
Meghan Olson, the new Tourism Intern for the City of San Luis Obispo, introduced herself to the Board.
--End of Public Comment--
3. OATH OF OFFICE
City Clerk Teresa Purrington administered the Oath of Office to newly-appointed TBID Board Member, Sandy Sandoval.
2 4. CONSENT
Motion By Member Keller
Second By Member Newland
To approve Consent Items 4a to 4g.
Ayes (5): Member Keller, Member Newland, Member Patel, Member Sandoval, and Chair Pearce
Absent (1): Vice Chair Bates
CARRIED (5 to 0)
4.a MINUTES OF TBID REGULAR MEETING ON MAY 10, 2023
4.b SMITH TRAVEL REPORT (STR)
4.c TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX (TOT) REPORT
4.d SLO CHAMBER PUBLIC RELATIONS MONTHLY REPORT
4.e SLO CHAMBER GUEST SERVICES MONTHLY REPORT
4.f NOBLE STUDIOS & DCI MARKETING MONTHLY REPORT
4.g BADGER BRANDING ORGANIC SOCIAL REPORT
5. BUSINESS ITEMS
5.a FY 23-24 VISIT SLO MARKETING & BUSINESS PLAN AMENDMENT
APPROVAL
Tourism Manager Molly Cano, along with Hayley Corbett and Gabbi Hall with Noble Studios, Katy McGrath with Badger Branding and Hollie West with the SLO Chamber provided an overview of the 2023-24 Visit SLO Marketing & Business Plan Amendments and responded to Board inquiries.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
Motion By Member Patel
Second By Member Newland
3 Approval of the amendments, as presented, to the second year of the FY 2022-24 Visit SLO Marketing & Business Plan.
Ayes (5): Member Keller, Member Newland, Member Patel, Member Sandoval, and Chair Pearce
Absent (1): Vice Chair Bates
CARRIED (5 to 0)
5.b FY 23-24 TBID PROGRAM BUDGET
Tourism Manager Molly Cano provided an overview of the TBID Program Budget and reported on the recommendations from the Budget Task Force, which was comprised of Chair Clint Pearce, Member Lydia Bates, and Member Prashant Patel.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
4 Motion By Member Newland
Second By Member Sandoval
Approval of the recommendations from the Budget Task Force and TBID Board recommendation to City Council to approve the FY 2023-24 TBID Budget and program allocations.
Ayes (5): Member Keller, Member Newland, Member Patel, Member Sandoval, and Chair Pearce
Absent (1): Vice Chair Bates
CARRIED (5 to 0)
5.c TBID CONTRACT APPROVALS
Tourism Manager Molly Cano provided an overview of the TBID contracts that are ready for approval by the Board and responded to questions.
5 Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
Motion By Member Patel
Second By Member Newland
Approve the following contractor agreements:
• Final year extension of work with Noble Studios for marketing contract services in FY 23-24
• Final year extension of Badger Branding for organic content marketing services in FY23-24
• Two-year agreement for FY 23-24 and FY 24-25 with the SLO Chamber for Visitor Services; difference in funding amount paid at the end of the year based on staffing requirements met
• Two-year agreement for FY 23-24 and FY 24-25 with SLO Chamber for Public Relations
• Two-year agreement for FY 23-24 and FY 24-25 with Cal Poly Athletics
Ayes (5): Member Keller, Member Newland, Member Patel, Member Sandoval, and Chair Pearce
Absent (1): Vice Chair Bates
CARRIED (5 to 0)
5.d VISIT SAN LUIS OBISPO BRANDED SWAG ITEMS
Tourism Analyst Jacqui Clark-Charlesworth provided on overview of the proposed items to be branded and responded to questions.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
Motion By Member Patel
Second By Member Keller
Approve staff's recommended branded swag items and allocate $50,000 from the Fund Balance to cover the purchase cost.
6 Absent (1): Vice Chair Bates
CARRIED (5 to 0)
5.e KIND TRAVELER PARTNERSHIP
Tourism Manager Molly Cano provided an overview of the Kind Traveler partnership and responded to questions. She noted that Visit California is in partnership with Kind Traveler, which presents a Co-Op opportunity where Visit CA subsidizes portions of member commitments, which reduces the TBID's investment cost. The TBID's commitment would be using the Kind Traveler platform to promote the 'Keys for Trees' program.
There is also an opportunity to acquire the platform's registered emails to help build the TBID's database of sustainable travelers for future targeted outreach, as well as future opportunities to add on other programs like press or creator FAM visits.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
Motion By Member Newland
Second By Member Patel
Approve a two-year paid partnership with Kind Traveler through Visit California to support the sustainability efforts of Visit San Luis Obispo and allocate the following funds:
• Year one rate: $17,500 (reduced from $50,000 with the Visit California Co-Op); year one funding from available Fund Balance • Year two+ rate: $12,495 (reduced from $50,000 with the Visit California Co-Op); committing to Year 2 at the time of signing for Year 1 receives a 15% discount on the originally quoted price ($14,700) to further reduce the total to $12,495.
Ayes (5): Member Keller, Member Newland, Member Patel, Member Sandoval, and Chair Pearce
Absent (1): Vice Chair Bates
CARRIED (5 to 0)
7 Member Keller left the meeting at 11:15 a.m. and will be absent for the duration of the meeting.
5.f Q1 PLANNING + MEDIA PLAN REVIEW & APPROVAL
Danni Winter, Performance Marketing Director at Noble Studios, presented the planning strategy for the First Quarter and a review of the Media Plan.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
Motion By Member Patel
Second By Member Sandoval
Approve the Q1 Media Plan as presented.
Ayes (4): Member Newland, Member Patel, Member Sandoval, and Chair Pearce
Absent (2): Member Keller, and Vice Chair Bates
CARRIED (4 to 0)
5.g WEBSITE STATUS UPDATE
Hayley Corbett, Senior Client Success Manager, and Breanne Standingwater, Senior Project Manager, with Noble Studios provided an update on the status of the new visitSLO.com website; estimated launch date is Tuesday, July 11, 2023.
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
Action: The TBID received an update on the VisitSLO.com redesign project and the status of the project contingency budget. No formal action required.
6. TBID LIAISON REPORTS AND COMMUNICATION
6.a HOTELIER UPDATE – LIAISON REPORTS
8 Member Patel reported that he attended the AAHOA event and shared that members appreciated the photoshoot, especially the small 'mom and pop' establishments.
6.b PCC UPDATE – LIAISON REPORT
Chair Pearce provided an update on PCC activities.
6.c VISIT SLO CAL UPDATE – LIAISON REPORT
Chair Pearce provided an update on Visit SLO CAL activities.
6.d TOURISM PROGRAM UPDATE – STAFF REPORT
Tourism Manager Molly Cano provided an update on the tourism program.
7. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 11:55 a.m. The next Regular Meeting of the Tourism Business Improvement District Board is scheduled for July 12 at 10:00 a.m. in the Council Hearing Room at City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo.
_________________________
APPROVED BY TOURISM BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT BOARD:
XX/XX/2023
1 Promotional Coordinating Committee Minutes
June 14, 2023, 5:30 p.m.
Council Hearing Room, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo
Promotional
Coordinating
Committee Present:
Committee Member Clint Pearce, Committee Member John
Thomas, Committee Member Anni Wang, Vice Chair Lori Lerian, Chair Samantha Welch
Promotional
Coordinating
Committee Absent:
Committee Member Maureen Forsberg, and Committee Member Robin Wolf
City Staff Present: Tourism Manager Molly Cano, Tourism Analyst Jacqui ClarkCharlesworth, City Clerk Teresa Purrington _____________________________________________________________________
1. CALL TO ORDER
A Regular Meeting of the San Luis Obispo Promotional Coordinating Committee was called to order on June 14, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Hearing Room at City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, by Chair Welch.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA
Public Comment:
None
--End of Public Comment--
3. CONSENT
Motion By Vice Chair Lerian
Second By Committee Member Thomas
To approve Consent Items 3a through 3f.
Ayes (5): Committee Member Pearce, Committee Member Thomas, Committee Member Wang, Vice Chair Lerian, and Chair Welch
Absent (2): Committee Member Forsberg and Committee Member Wolf CARRIED (5 to 0)
2 3.a MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING ON MAY 10, 2023
3.b 2022-23 COMMUNITY PROMOTION BUDGET REPORT
3.c SLO CHAMBER MONTHLY PUBLIC RELATIONS REPORTS
3.d SLO CHAMBER VISITOR CENTER REPORTS
3.e SLO CHAMBER GIA SUPPORT REPORTS
3.f TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX (TOT) REPORT
4. PRESENTATIONS
4.a PUBLIC RELATIONS MONTHLY ACTIVITY UPDATE
Hollie West, SLO Chamber presented the Public Relations monthly activity update for April and May.
ACTION: No action was taken on this item.
5. BUSINESS ITEMS
5.a SUPPORT LOCAL VIDEO PROJECT PROPOSAL
Ashley Scarcella, Verdin Marketing, provided a presentation on the comprehensive neighborhood video.
Public Comment
None
--End Public Comment—
The committee discussed their interest in multiple voices represented across the different neighborhoods rather than a singular voice as previously discussed.
Motion By Vice Chair Lerian
Second By Committee Member Pearce
To approve the proposal for the comprehensive neighborhood video proposal in the amount of $11,000.
Ayes (5): Committee Member Pearce, Committee Member Thomas, Committee Member Wang, Vice Chair Lerian, and Chair Welch Absent (2): Committee Member Forsberg and Committee Member Wolf CARRIED (5 to 0)
3 5.b FY 22-23 COMMUNITY PROMOTIONS BUDGET STATUS
Tourism Manager Molly Cano provided the Committee with the status of the 22-23 budget.
Public Comment
None
--End Public Comment--
Motion By Committee Member Wang
Second By Vice Chair Lerian
To prepay the media monitoring contract in the amount of $3,700.
Ayes (5): Committee Member Pearce, Committee Member Thomas, Committee Member Wang, Vice Chair Lerian, and Chair Welch Absent (2): Committee Member Forsberg and Committee Member Wolf CARRIED (5 to 0)
5.c FY 23-24 COMMUNITY PROMOTIONS PROGRAM BUDGET
The Committee discussed the budget allocations for FY 23-24.
Public Comment
None
--End Public Comment--
Motion By Committee Member Thomas
Second By Committee Member Pearce
To approve the budget for FY 23-24 Community Promotions Program budget.
Ayes (5): Committee Member Pearce, Committee Member Thomas, Committee Member Wang, Vice Chair Lerian, and Chair Welch Absent (2): Committee Member Forsberg and Committee Member Wolf CARRIED (5 to 0)
4 5.d PCC CONTRACT APPROVALS
Public Comment
None
--End Public Comment--
Motion By Vice Chair Lerian
Second By Committee Member Wang
To approve the contracts for SLO Chamber Visitors Services, SLO Chamber Public Relations, and SLO Chamber Grant Promotion Support.
Ayes (5): Committee Member Pearce, Committee Member Thomas, Committee Member Wang, Vice Chair Lerian, and Chair Welch Absent (2): Committee Member Forsberg and Committee Member Wolf CARRIED (5 to 0)
6. PCC LIAISON REPORTS AND COMMUNICATION
6.a GIA LIAISON REPORT – Liaison Assignments
No reports.
6.b COMMITTEE OUTREACH UPDATE – Committee Report
Committee Member Thomas attended the first Monday Meet-up and expressed interest at having PCC’s neighborhood maps represented at future events.
6.c TBID BOARD REPORT – TBID Meeting Minutes of May 10, 2023 The meeting on June 14 was canceled due to a lack of a quorum.
Committee Member Pearce provided an update on items the TBID has been working on including their budget and VisitSLO.com redesign.
6.d TOURISM PROGRAM UPDATE – Staff Report
Tourism Manager Molly Cano provided an update on the Tourism Program.
7. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:22 p.m. The next Regular Meeting of the Promotional Coordinating Committee is scheduled for July 12, 2023 at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Hearing Room at City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo.
5 APPROVED BY PROMOTIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE: XX/XX/2023
May 2023
1 Proposal to the City of San Luis Obispo
Promotional Coordinating Committee
May 2023
Visitor Center & Promotional Services
Purpose: Build on the partnership between the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce and the City of San Luis Obispo’s Promotional Coordinating Committee to enhance and enrich the resident and visitor experience in San Luis Obispo, create a central hub of community and visitor information, and promote the city to residents and potential visitors.
Expertise: The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce looks forward to building on our existing strengths including a successful track record of promoting San Luis Obispo, strong relationships throughout the community as well as extensive experience providing public relations and visitor services.
Looking forward: For more than 50 years, the Chamber has worked with the City of San Luis Obispo’s Promotional Coordinating Committee to create new programs and utilize existing Chamber assets to improve the quality of life and economic vitality of the community we live in; we continue to seek new opportunities to deepen our partnership and further the understanding of San Luis Obispo as an exceptional place to live and visit.
May 2023
2 Table of Contents
Cover letter 1
Qualifications 3
Project Team 4
Proposals 5
Summary 11
May 2023
3 Qualifications
The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce offers a distinctive and powerful combination of strengths to assist the Tourism Business Improvement District in fulfilling its mission and strategic direction.
● Direct relationships with more than 1,200 local businesses that represent nearly 38,000 employees throughout the county. These long-term relationships allow us to work cohesively with local businesses to execute promotions, projects and media visits. ● Constant interaction with visitors in our downtown Visitor Center. More than 75,000 visitors were personally greeted and assisted in 2022 and we engaged with thousands more over the phone and digitally. The center, which is open seven days a week, is staffed by visitor information professionals who are trained to answer questions and accommodate requests of locals, visitors and travel writers.
● Productive relationships with the media, rooted in our 40+ years of work in San Luis Obispo public relations. We are the go-to resource for travel writers due to the strength of the “chamber of commerce” brand and the strong relationships we have built through the years. ● We have a nimble, responsive PR team, which is well informed about what is happening in the city and can capture the attention of as well as respond to journalists with timely information, photography and contacts.
● Long-term strategic alliances with local organizations and events that attract visitors and enhance the overall experience for tourists, including Hearst Castle, SLO Coast Wine Collective, Cal Poly, Festival Mozaic, Downtown SLO, the PAC and the SLO Film Festival. ● Access to a library of more than 50,000 current and historical images of San Luis Obispo and the surrounding area. The award-winning images have appeared in publications such as National Geographic Traveler, Los Angeles Times, Outside Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, AFAR and many more.
● The SLO Chamber continues to stay on top of the trends in tourism promotions, working with regional, statewide, national & international partners to identify and act on emerging trends and best practices.
May 2023
4 Project Team
The SLO Chamber has an experienced, professional staff who work together to execute projects with a track record of success. The key team members who will lead the proposed work for the Promotional Coordinating Committee include:
Jim Dantona
President/CEO
Jim Dantona’s focus is on helping local businesses prosper. He brings his professional experience in government and personal passion in economic development to leading the Visitor Center and working on contracts with the PCC and TBID. In addition, Jim comes with more than 20 years of experience in the public and private sector helping communities thrive.
Hollie West
Director of Communications
Hollie West has been with the SLO Chamber since 2022 and brings to the team a strong background in communication, brand development and public relations. She is passionate about San Luis Obispo being a wonderful place to live, work, play and visit, and works to share that with visitors, media and publications.
Lori Silva
Director of Business Operations
Lori Silva has been a key player at the SLO Chamber for nearly two decades.
Her vast network and roots in the local business community coupled with her administrative expertise will assist the PCC in strategy and execution of partnerships, activations and promotions.
Coming Soon
Communications Coordinator
The SLO Chamber Communications Coordinator will support PCC work through expertise in local events, PR writing to acquire impactful media placements, administrative support and pitching what’s new to regional partners.
Julia Pavelko
Visitor Center Manager
Julia Pavelko brings decades of local knowledge and friendly customer service to interactions with all guests in the Visitor Center. A key player in executing PCC and TBID promotions and activations, Julia is the boots-on-the-ground for guest services.
May 2023
5 Proposals
Visitor Center
Overview of 2021-23
The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center is a professionally staffed visitor center open every day of the week, serving community members and tourists that are walking in, calling and emailing with questions. During the two-year contract period of 2021-22 and 2022-23, we will have personally assisted more than 160,000 individuals face-to-face, and more than 40,000 via phone, email, and digitally on behalf of the city. The traffic far exceeds any other city/chamber visitor center in the region.
Proposal for 2023-25
As the Visitor Center continues to be an information and community support hub for both tourists and locals, we look forward to maintaining a spirit of nimbleness and responsiveness to the changing needs of our community. The SLO Chamber is committed to our partnership and support of the Promotional Coordinating Committee and looks forward to continuing to grow our efforts together.
We are always open to new thoughts and ideas as the PCC moves forward in the vital work of making our community vibrant and thriving. When new strategies and possible work scopes develop, we are ready and willing to jump in, help out, and come to the table with how we can expand our long-standing partnership further.
Additionally, as the Promotional Coordinating Committee continues to establish their strategic initiatives, such as the public art program, neighborhood placemaking, and advancement of the City’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion major City goal — the Visitor Center can serve as an informational, physical location to help tell the story of the PCC’s work to enhance San Luis Obispo for all.
To continue to meet the needs of the visitors and residents seeking support, we propose maintaining the current Visitor Center hours of being open seven days a week, SundayWednesday 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., and Thursday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. for a weekly operation of 55.5 hours.
Scope of work
The scope of work within this proposal includes:
• Guest service and information assistance via the live chat widget on VisitSLO.com • Use the City of San Luis Obispo’s tourism logo and URL in visitor information materials commissioned and paid for by the City of SLO
• Provide visitor information for the visitors of San Luis Obispo through high level of personal customer service to visitors; respond to high volumes of information requests;
May 2023
6 serve as contact for information requests; maintain and contribute to the digital annual events calendar; dispense maps, guides and brochures about SLO • Assist in fulfilling the City’s placemaking efforts, goals and objectives and tell the story of the PCC’s work to enhance SLO for all.
• Collect demographic data through the Visitor Center
• Training & Research
o Deepen training of Visitor Center staff members on the individual hotel properties, through techniques such as scheduled hotel property visits, to gain an authentic understanding of each property.
o Track and report general visitor geographic data
o Perform and report on general survey research of visitors call or walking into the Visitor Center up to three times per year
o Provide and report on general survey data for property research at request of City
o All Visitor Center staff members will acquire SLO Cal Welcome Customer Service certification.
$173,250 a year for 2023-24 and 2024-25 fiscal years
Split between TBID and PCC
San Luis Obispo City & Neighborhood Maps
The tear-off, tableted city maps are the most utilized visitor resource in our Visitor Center as well as throughout San Luis Obispo. Maps are distributed quarterly and on-demand to all San Luis Obispo city hotels as well as hospitality partners including Amtrak, wineries and local museums. Neighborhood maps, both the five existing and three new, are growing in popularity with Visitor Center guests as well. We propose funding the printing of additional and new neighborhood maps as well as an update to the tear-off city maps, as needed. $7,500 for tear off city maps and neighborhood map printing, as needed GIA/CACP Marketing Support
Over the last decade, the Chamber has provided event promotion and public relations support to the Promotional Coordinating Committee’s Grants-In-Aid recipients. This partnership has been aimed at driving attendance and support by residents and visitors to events in the city.
We propose a continuation of the modified GIA/CACP support, with the option to host additional events as part of the Think Differently series if there is a need. Additionally, we will continue to work with the PCC to adjust our services based on the ongoing needs of the program.
$30,000 a year
May 2023
7 Public Relations
Overview of 2021-23
Since 2014, the SLO Chamber has led tourism public relations for the City of San Luis Obispo through a partnership between the Promotional Coordinating Committee and the Tourism Business Improvement District. In this role, the SLO Chamber has managed the responsive and proactive public relations efforts to showcase the best of San Luis Obispo and entice visitors and locals to explore our city.
We are the boots-on-the-ground local expert working in partnership with the TBID’s national public relations agency, DCI. Over the past two years, we have supported DCI’s national pitching and media relationships as well as proactively pitched the TBID pillars and promotions for consideration to media partners throughout the state. Serving both the TBID and the PCC’s goals, our proactive work this past year has mainly focused on sustainability efforts, DEI work, the culinary and beverage scenes, and placing SLO as the hub of the County and a destination that has something for everyone.
As part of this focus, contract elements include pitching story ideas, inviting writers to experience the destination and coordinating those trips, sending out media releases, responding to media inquiries, use of the SLO Chamber’s photography library for editorial requests and developing customized media kits. We do all this public relations work for just one client – San Luis Obispo.
This focused effort is paying off; even in this past year we contributed to dozens of media placements that highlight San Luis Obispo including those in Forbes, Thrillest, AFAR, HuffPost, TripSavvy, MSN, Conde Nast Traveler and Food & Wine.
2023-25 Strategy
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism marketing and public relations have changed drastically.
As the media landscape continues to shift, San Luis Obispo is facing a new normal in tourism and in our community. It is more important than ever to communicate the vitality and character of our community and showcase San Luis Obispo as a friendly and thriving city where people want to live, and visitors want to vacation.
The public relations program will remain up to speed on PR and tourism marketing trends as well as share the story of the unique offerings San Luis Obispo has for both residents and visitors by highlighting the character of the community and why locals love to call SLO home. This includes the promotion of community initiatives and the sharing of distinctive experiences which set the San Luis Obispo community apart from other destinations.
Objectives:
a) Promote San Luis Obispo as a destination to live, play and stay, driving visitation and delivering economic impact.
b) Build consumer awareness serving as the voice of SLO by amplifying the destination brand and reaching audiences locally, regionally and nationally.
May 2023
8 c) Communicate the vitality and character of San Luis Obispo and the community.
Target audiences:
Our promotional efforts will target two audience groups:
1) Potential visitors ranging from millennials to baby boomers, in defined key drive markets (Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego), as well as those with special interests such as food and wine, outdoor activities, sustainable travel or arts and culture. 2) Central Coast residents looking to rediscover what is in their backyard or within their community.
Strategies to reach target audiences:
Specific to the Promotional Coordinating Committee
Championing a vibrant economy
Small businesses are the lifeblood of our community and help shape the diverse economy in San Luis Obispo. There are many unique and unearthed stories to be shared within the community, and highlighting the character and faces of San Luis Obispo is an important piece of our success.
The stories of creativity and innovation among families, students, small business owners and professionals are waiting to be told, and sharing these stories will encourage further connection amongst neighbors and enhance the intrinsic feeling of joy felt when entering our community.
Uniquely SLO
Every inch of San Luis Obispo has its own unique history, with innovation and creativity around every corner. These stories continue to be at the forefront, and we will build upon this past year’s work to amplify this message to the community through continued strategic partnerships, working with local and regional media, and promoting community programs and campaigns.
Additionally, we will continue promoting our sustainability and DEI focuses — not only booming trends in travel tourism, but core pillars of SLO’s identity.
Public Art
With more than 100 public art pieces and a bustling arts and culture scene, San Luis Obispo is positioned uniquely as a small town that packs a big punch for art lovers. Focus on public art will continue to be highlighted and uplifted as a key characteristic of San Luis Obispo’s charm.
Neighborhoods
With the upcoming completion of three more neighborhood maps highlighting the unique corridors of San Luis Obispo and the businesses that reside within them, the story of SLO’s character and history will continue to be told with an emphasis on exploring off the beaten path.
May 2023
9 Specific to the Tourism Business Improvement District Telling the right story in the right place
The tourism industry is a vital part of San Luis Obispo and in our partnership with the TBID’s Noble and DCI, we will continue to amplify our voice and reach, operating as the boots-on-theground local expert. We will work together to position San Luis Obispo as the ideal destination for visitors, taking into consideration how the city fits into wider travel trends.
Press visits & FAMs
There is no substitute for experiencing San Luis Obispo firsthand. Press trips play a major role in generating editorial placements that tell the San Luis Obispo story and showcase our key messages. These placements inspire travel and educate consumers on the destination. This year we will be:
● working with key partners to craft and host individual and FAM visits based on existing relationships and responsive leads
● crafting and hosting individual media visits as a result of DCI’s proactive outreach Foster Key Relationships:
It continues to be vital to work with our community partners to strengthen our collective message. With less resources and more obstacles as we look to encourage people to explore our city, the SLO Chamber will proactively work with other organizations to cross market through public relations initiatives as well as grow strategic alliances. In the upcoming year we are excited to further deepen our collaboration with strategic partners that contribute to the region’s cultural vibrancy.
Visit California: We will leverage the large international megaphone that belongs to Visit California by participating in its PR programs. Key opportunities include submitting content to Visit California’s editorial board, participating in Visit California-led press trips, sharing content on Visit California’s social media channels, and potentially attending domestic media marketplaces.
Central Coast Tourism Council: We will leverage the Central Coast Tourism Council’s growing reach by participating in its PR efforts and positioning the destination as the heart of the Central Coast.
Visit SLO CAL: We will leverage the national and international reach of Visit SLO CAL by partnering closely with their PR team and participating in their programs. As the hub of SLO CAL, SLO is poised to lead Visit SLO CAL-led press trips and ensure that SLO CAL understands our key messages and the city as a productive partner in promoting our region.
SLO Coast Wine Collective: Understanding that our wine region is a flourishing aspect of our destination, SLO will work with SLO Coast Wine’s team on telling that story and publicizing the destination together.
May 2023
10 Cal Poly: Cal Poly is not only one of the community’s largest economic drivers, but also a huge draw for visitors whether they be families of students or those seeking the university’s many cultural offerings. Through our built-in relationship with Cal Poly, we can work with them to get in front of additional audiences like alumni, staff recruits and other key stakeholders.
SLO Lodging Properties: We will work with the city’s lodging partners and any PR teams to lead the destination portion of any hosted media or FAMS. As there is a shared interest for success in both promoting the hotels and the destination, this partnership is natural but also tactical in its approach.
Scope of work:
The scope of work within this proposal includes:
o In partnership with DCI agency:
o Developing the 2023-24 PR strategy and editorial calendar o Sourcing ideas and content for responsive leads
o Building custom itineraries and hosting travel writers on individual and FAM trips throughout the year
o Maintaining VisitSLO.com media center
o Participation in and pitching of TBID coordinated special promotions such as The Midweekend
o Working in coordination on the comprehensive marketing plan to increase brand awareness across all platforms
o Continued independently:
o Fulfilling all media requests
o Tying in with Visit California, Visit SLO CAL & CCTC’s public relations efforts to enhance visibility and sync messaging
o Partnering with neighboring destinations on tourism initiatives o Working with community partners on additional hosting opportunities o Sourcing, building custom itineraries and hosting travel writers on individual and FAM trips throughout the year with key partners
o Sourcing, building custom itineraries and hosting digital influencers with key partners
o Participation in and pitching of City coordinated campaigns such as Support Local to regional media and influencers
o Participating in potential out-of-area promotional trips including preparation, media coordination and staff travel
$100,000 a year for PR Services for the next two years, jointly funded by the TBID and PCC In 2022-23, the TBID and the PCC funded the contract 50/50 Media Monitoring
In 2023-24, we propose a continuation of the media monitoring contract with Cision which allows the TBID & PCC to see the impact of public relations work, gives our PR team access to contact information for outlets, freelancers and influencers, and allows for whitelisted
May 2023
11 distribution of media releases. This is a pass-through contract, and because of the Chamber’s nonprofit status, the service is available at a significant discount. This year, we propose the TBID and PCC once again jointly fund the media monitoring service to ensure the SLO Chamber has the tools they need to complete their work and measure results. $7,425 a year jointly funded by the TBID and PCC
Summary
Guest Services & Visitor Center for 2023-25 $173,250 a year* *jointly funded by the PCC and TBID
San Luis Obispo City Tear-Off & Neighborhood Maps $7,500 GIA Marketing Support $30,000 a year
Public Relations Services for 2023-25 $100,000 a year*
*jointly funded by the PCC and TBID
Media Monitoring Service 2023-24 $7,425 a year
Item 6h
Department: Administration
Cost Center: 1021
For Agenda of: 7/11/2023
Placement: Consent
Estimated Time: N/A
FROM: Greg Hermann, Deputy City Manager
Prepared By: Kevin Christian, Deputy City Clerk
SUBJECT: ADVISORY BODY APPOINTMENT TO THE MASS TRANSPORTATION
COMMITTEE
RECOMMENDATION
Confirm the appointment of Ryan Meller to the Mass Transportation Committee (MTC).
POLICY CONTEXT
The Advisory Body Handbook, last adopted by City Council in September 2021, outlines the recruitment procedures, membership requirements, and term limits for all City advisory bodies. Additionally, the City Council Policies and Procedures Manual, last updated May 2023, describes the “Appointment Procedure” and “Process” for Advisory Body appointments. Recruitment and appointment recommendations were performed in conformance with all recruitment procedures, processes, and bylaws found in these resources.
California Government Code Section 54972, Local Appointments List (Maddy Act), requires that on or before December 31st of each year, each legislative body shall prepare an appointments list for their boards, commissions, and committees whose members serve at the pleasure of the legislative body. This obligation was met and is ongoing.
DISCUSSION
The vacant MTC position is for the Cal Poly Associated Students Inc. (ASI) representative. This position requires that the individual be a registered Cal Poly student and that they have an endorsement from ASI to represent the group. It does not require residency in the City of San Luis Obispo. The past-appointed representative for this position resigned as he was graduating and leaving the area, creating this unscheduled vacancy.
Per the Advisory Body bylaws, appointments for this two-year term position are usually made in September to coincide with the start of the Fall term. However, as the ASI President was able to provide an endorsement for a qualified candidate at this time, the Council Liaison Subcommittee assigned for the MTC, Councilmembers Francis, and Shoresman, recommend Ryan Meller to fill the unscheduled vacancy through August 2023, and additionally, to a two-year term beginning in September 2023.
Item 6h
Public Engagement
Notices that the City was accepting applications for City Advisory Bodies Annual Recruitment were placed on the City’s website and “e-notification” service, listed in the annual Local Appointments List (Maddy Act Notice – GC 54972) on the City Website and City Information kiosk, and distributed via City social media outlets, in November 2022. A notice that the City was specifically recruiting for the current unscheduled vacancy was posted in the City Information kiosk outside City Hall and on the Advisory Body Vacancies page of the City website on May 16, 2023, following Maddy Act guidelines. Additionally, notification of the vacancy was sent to the ASI via email on May 16, 2023.
CONCURRENCE
The Council liaisons for the MTC concur with the recommendation.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The California Environmental Quality Act does not apply to the recommended action in this report, because the action does not constitute a “Project” under CEQA Guidelines Sec. 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
Budgeted: N/A Budget Year: 2023-24
Funding Identified: *N/A
Fiscal Analysis:
Funding
Sources
Total Budget
Available
Current
Funding
Request
Remaining
Balance
Annual
Ongoing
Cost
General Fund $ $ $ $
State
Federal
Fees
Other:
Total $ $ $ $
*Advisory body members serve as volunteers and donate their time. The costs related to recruitment are accounted for in the annual budget appropriation in the City Clerk program.
Item 6h
ALTERNATIVES
Council could recommend changes to the subcommittee’s recommended appointments or direct staff to re-open recruitment for additional candidates. This is not recommended as the applicant has been endorsed by the ASI and the Council Liaisons for the committee have interviewed the recommended candidate and feel that they have been quite thorough in their consideration of the applicant and the Council’s needs in their selection process.
ATTACHMENTS
The candidate application is available in the City Clerk’s office.
Item 7a
Department: Community Development
Cost Center: 4008
For Agenda of: 7/11/2023
Placement: Business
Estimated Time: 30 minutes
FROM: Derek Johnson, City Manager
Prepared By: Teresa McClish, Housing Policy and Programs Manager SUBJECT: REGIONAL HOUSING AND INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council provide support and receive and file Regional Housing and Infrastructure Plan (HIP) as an ongoing commitment to be engaged in the 2020 San Luis Obispo Countywide Regional Compact previously referenced as part of the City’s General Plan 6th Cycle Housing Element.
REPORT-IN-BRIEF
The Regional Housing and Infrastructure Plan (HIP) (Attachment A, Summary; Attachment B, Full Text) is intended to help accelerate housing development where it makes the most sense given regional conditions and community readiness. The HIP creates an inventory of infrastructure projects needed to enable housing, identifies funding opportunities to implement infrastructure priorities, studies housing affordability in the region, and develops foundational information for the future 2027 Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) and other future regional programs. The HIP is the next necessary collaborative action between the seven Cities, County and SLOCOG along the region’s path to addressing the region’s growing housing and infrastructure needs.
POLICY CONTEXT
The proposed Regional Housing Infrastructure Plan (HIP) is in alignment with the City’s Major City Goal for Housing and Homelessness in that it promotes accessibly connected housing production and the expansion of housing options:
Housing and Homelessness - Support the expansion of housing options for all, and continue to facilitate the production of housing, including the necessary supporting infrastructure, with an emphasis on affordable and workforce housing as well as accessibly connected development.
Collaborate with local non-profit partners, non-governmental agencies, the county, the state, and federal governments to advocate for increased funding and implementation of comprehensive and effective strategies to prevent and reduce homelessness.
Item 7a
Additionally, chapter four of the City’s 6th Cycle General Plan Housing Element includes the San Luis Obispo Countywide Regional Compact adopted by each jurisdiction in the county in 2020. It includes a series of regional goals to unlock potential for an adequate supply of housing and infrastructure that supports economic prosperity of the region.
The regional compact (also included in Attachment B4) includes eight policies from which to choose to support the Regional Compact vision and goals in a way that works for its jurisdiction and community:
R-1: Promote awareness and support of regional efforts that further housing and infrastructure resiliency by utilizing community engagement, and consistent and transparent communication.
R-2: Encourage an adequate housing supply and resilient infrastructure, services, and resources to improve the balance of jobs and housing throughout the Region.
R-3: Develop inter-agency partnerships as appropriate to implement goals and policies related to housing and infrastructure.
R-4: Coordinate State, Federal, and other funding opportunities for housing and infrastructure development throughout the Region.
R-5: Encourage developers to sell newly constructed housing units to individuals residing or employed within the area of the development (a city or the County) first before selling to individuals from outside the County, to promote local preference.
R-6: Encourage rental units be prioritized for long term residents rather than short term users or vacation rentals.
R-7: Support housing development that is located within existing communities and strategically planned areas.
R-8: Encourage regional collaboration on a menu of housing types, models, and efforts to support streamlined approvals for such developments (i.e. Accessory Dwelling Units, etc.).
The HIP is intended to signify another milestone on a path to regional collaboration and fulfilling the Regional Compact that’s included in the City’s General Plan 6th Cycle Housing Element.
DISCUSSION
Item 7a
Background
Meeting the housing needs of the San Luis Obispo region is a challenge shared by all eight local land use jurisdictions (the seven Cities and County of San Luis Obispo (County), San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG), organizations who develop and build housing, as well as local community members. This challenge is larger than any one entity can solve alone and will require the collective actions of all local partners. With this great challenge also comes an opportunity for regional collaboration.
Regional partners recognized the need to work collaboratively to solve the critical shortage of infrastructure resources and housing attainability in the region. And so, in 2019, the County allocated resources to launch a new regional collaborative initiative.
Since its inception, the Regional Housing & Infrastructure Plan (HIP) has been part of a phased approach intended to address three major goals:
● Foster regional collaboration (action taken in 2020); ● Align land use planning documents that support the City’s General Plan (action taken in 2020); and
● Create the HIP (draft under review via today’s item).
Components of the Reginal Housing Infrastructure Plan (HIP) The full summary of the process and components of the HIP are included in Attachments A and B. Table 1 below includes what each component is and potential uses for agencies depending on individualized budgets and goals. The HIP data included in components 1-4 in Attachments A and B, include Housing Highlights, Project Inventories, a mapping tool and Housing Efficiency Analysis, and demonstrate that for the City of San Luis Obispo, significant progress in housing projection continues, balancing access, and water and wastewater capacity for the community and in satisfying state RHNA goals.
Table 1 HIP Components
HIP Components What Each Component Is Possible Individual Agency Use
1. Housing Highlights
Communication tool:
Understanding the need for
housing, affordability, and
opportunities
Voluntary use of a
communication tool to
convey housing challenge
and community call to action
2. Data and Project
Inventory
Infrastructure barriers to
housing
Recognizes community’s
needs and connects to
regional inventory
3. HIP Mapping Tool
Living strategic analysis
tool used to show the
interrelation between
housing and infrastructure
Visual tool connecting each
community’s plans to overall
regional scale
Item 7a
HIP Components What Each Component Is Possible Individual Agency Use
4. Housing Efficiency
Analysis
Housing Efficient Areas in
HIP
Recognizes community’s
plans and serves as
leverage for future
infrastructure funding
sources
5. Infrastructure
Prioritization
Region’s highest priority
projects to unlock housing
Identify importance of
community’s needs in
supporting regional housing
supply
6. Funding Strategies
Assessment
Funding the region could
pursue for priority
infrastructure projects
Identifies possible funding
sources that each
community or partners could
pursue to cover funding gaps
7. Affordable-by-Design
Study
Menu of possible policies to
increase housing
attainability
Voluntary use of menu of
options for possible policies
to implement
Significantly, HIP Component 5 provides a comprehensive prioritization of regional infrastructure projects (transportation and water and wastewater capacity projects) that would accelerate new housing development. Eighty infrastructure projects are identified and ranked as high, medium or low priority throughout the region based on three factors:
1) If the project is needed for new housing;
2) Benefit/cost (i.e., investment cost per additional potential housing units served); 3) Whether there are significant barriers to development.
Notably, a total of 26 projects are included and ranked for the City of San Luis Obispo to promote housing supply: 23 projects are prioritized as High, and an additional 3 projects are ranked as Medium given the regional criteria as shown in Attachment B1. None of the City’s listed projects are ranked as Low. All of the projects are transportation related except for one water/wastewater project ranked High: addressing capacity constraints on sewer conveyance network, additional water storage tanks and water transmission main needed.
HIP component 6 describes a funding strategies assessment underway that would identify funding sources that would reasonably implement the prioritized projects.
Agencies are encouraged to review the assessment and consider the project’s benefit for housing production and contribution to regional housing efforts.
Item 7a
Finally, HIP component 7 includes preliminary findings of an Affordable-by-Design study that was undertaken to evaluate housing affordability characteristics for each of the seven cities and unincorporated areas to identify the persistent and prevalent question if units can be built to meet low or moderate income categories without being income or rentrestricted.
Initial findings from the study include:
● Design helps, but does not guarantee affordability.
● Market rate rental housing is close to affordability targets in some areas, but regulatory changes are necessary for most areas of the county. ● Only manufactured housing met target price points for new for-sale housing. ● Factors that make for-sale housing more affordable in other areas may not translate to this region’s current market.
Each component is described in more detail in Attachments A and B.
It should be noted that while each agency can plan for housing and remove housing barriers, agencies do not build or develop housing. Nothing in the HIP mandates action by any of the jurisdictions or commits a jurisdiction to change its General Plan. However, voluntary opportunities for action that could accelerate the development of needed housing in the regional are discussed and identified, some examples of which are included below. The City, through previous and continuing implementation of the major city goal for housing and homelessness has implemented many of the actions identified and through continuing work programs (including those for missing middle housing) and the capital improvement program, additional progress is anticipated. ● Agency(ies) may consider pursuing funding opportunities (i.e. grants) identified for a priority infrastructure project to cover funding gaps. ● Agency(ies) may consider implementation of affordable-by-design policies appropriate to each unique community and its needs.
● Agency(ies) may consider programmatic changes to improve approval process timelines such as directing staff to identify ways to improve response time for housing project approval or coordinating with other agencies to align and streamline processes.
● Agency(ies) may consider updating its analysis approach to prioritizing the community’s needed infrastructure projects in order to most impactfully increase housing supply.
● Agency(ies) may consider using the HIP to help justify the benefit of a community’s priority infrastructure project towards increasing the region’s future housing supply, making it more competitive in a number of State and Federal funding programs. ● SLOCOG and agencies may consider using the HIP as a foundation for negotiating where the region’s housing needs are best met (e.g. future RHNA cycle allocations).
Item 7a
Importantly, the last two bullets listed above relate to use of the HIP for increasing the competitiveness of projects for state and federal funding, and in proactively planning for the next RHNA allocations that will start in the next couple of years. In this way, the acknowledgement of City progress to date as well as high prioritization ranking of many projects in the City, is considered beneficial going forward as the City continues to implement City goals for housing and homelessness in response to the housing crisis.
Previous Council or Advisory Body Action
On March 17, 2000, City Council adopted Resolution No. 11100 (2020 Series) endorsing the San Luis Obispo Countywide Regional Compact.
On November 17, 2020, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 11190 (2020 Series) approving and adopting a Negative Declaration of Environmental Impact and the General Plan 6th Cycle Housing Element.
Public Engagement
Public Engagement for the HIP is described in detail in Attachment C that describes the Stakeholder Process implemented for the HIP.
CONCURRENCE
On June 13, 2023, a presentation was made by the REACH/Koble Collaborative, Inc. team to the City’s staff leadership team who received the presentation, who had the opportunity to ask questions and make comments on the plan. While staff assessment of the HIP, including the currently ranked projects, is underway, Public Works, Parks and Recreation Community Development and Utilities staff concur with recommending City Council’s support of the HIP and its objectives.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The California Environmental Quality Act does not apply to the recommended action in this report because the action does not constitute a “Project” under CEQA Guidelines Sec. 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
Budgeted: Yes/No Budget Year: 2023-24
Funding Identified: Yes/No
Item 7a
Fiscal Analysis:
Funding
Sources
Total Budget
Available
Current
Funding
Request
Remaining
Balance
Annual
Ongoing
Cost
General Fund $ $ $ $
State
Federal
Fees
Other:
Total $0 $0 $0 $0
There is no fiscal impact for stating support of the HIP. As noted above, the City has already taken action to accelerate the production of housing. Further actions by the City may have financial impacts, and those will be considered and described in future agenda reports, as necessary.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Receive presentation and provide comments supporting the Regional Housing and Infrastructure Plan as a recommitment to the 2020 San Luis Obispo Countywide Regional Compact, and direct staff to return to the Council in the fall of 2023 to discuss implementation of components of the plan.
2. Receive presentation and provide comments not in support of the Regional Housing and Infrastructure Plan.
ATTACHMENTS
A - Summary of Regional Housing and Infrastructure Plan B - Draft Regional Housing and Infrastructure Plan (HIP) B1 – HIP Appendix A: Draft List of HIP Infrastructure Priorities B2 – HIP Appendix B: Affordable-by-Design Study Preliminary Information B3 – HIP Appendix C: Funding Strategies Assessment Preliminary Information B4 – HIP Appendix D: Regional Compact and Housing Element Regional Chapter C - HIP Stakeholder Process
ATTACHMENT A – SUMMARY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTYWIDE
REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN (HIP)
This staff report is organized into three main sections:
1. Prior Actions to Formalize Regional Collaboration for Housing
2. Creation of the Regional Housing and Infrastructure Plan
3. Today’s Action & Future Growth Steps
Section 1. Prior Actions to Formalize Regional Collaboration for Housing
1.1. Fostering Regional Collaboration: Regional Compact (2020) The seven Cities, County and SLOCOG adopted the San Luis Obispo Countywide Regional Compact in early 2020 (see Appendix A4). The Regional Compact is an aspirational document that sets goals for future recommended plans and actions among the local agencies. It “establishes a united regional framework to unlock the potential to develop an adequate supply of housing and resilient infrastructure that support our economic prosperity.” By adopting the Regional Compact, the seven Cities, County and SLOCOG embraced six shared regional goals listed below and supported aligning resources and policies to make progress towards acting on them.
Table 1. Regional Compact Goals
Goal 1. Strengthen
Community Quality of
Life
We believe that our Region’s quality of life depends on four cornerstones to foster a stable and healthy economy for all:
resilient infrastructure and resources, adequate housing supply, business opportunities, and educational pathways.
Goal 2. Share
Regional Prosperity
We believe that our Region should share the impacts and benefits of achieving enduring quality of life among all people, sectors and interests.
Goal 3. Create
Balanced
Communities
We believe that our Region should encourage new
development that helps to improve the balance of jobs and housing throughout the Region, providing more opportunities to residents to live and work in the same community.
Goal 4. Value
Agriculture & Natural
We believe that our Region’s unique agricultural resources, open space, and natural environments play a vital role in
Resources sustaining healthy local communities and a healthy economy, and therefore should be purposefully protected.
Goal 5. Support
Equitable
Opportunities
We believe that our Region should support policies, actions, and incentives that increase housing development of all types, available to people at all income levels.
Goal 6. Foster
Accelerated Housing
Production
We believe that our Region must achieve efficient planning and production of housing and focus on strategies that
produce the greatest impact.
These six regional goals created a path for compatibility among the eight local land use planning agencies’ Housing Elements, built a basis for the HIP, and drove future recommendations for collaborative actions. Signatories to the Regional Compact committed to acting as partners in aligning actions with these regional goals and agreed to develop the first HIP. By taking collaborative actions to further these goals, this region can solve critical issues and become a statewide leader in sustaining vibrant communities.
1.2 Aligning Land Use Planning Documents: Housing Elements (2020) The eight local land use planning agencies (the seven Cities and County) were each required to update their jurisdiction's Housing Elements to reflect how local communities are planning for the State’s 6th Cycle Regional Housing Needs Allocations (2020 - 2028).
The Housing Elements were submitted to the Housing and Community Development (HCD) by December 2020. As a step towards the regional goal of aligning land use planning documents, each agency’s Housing Element included a regional chapter that included an initial list of aspirational regional policies that, if implemented, could further the Regional Compact goals (see Appendix A4). The regional chapter also recognized the importance of ongoing collaboration moving forward and pointed to future collaborative efforts to be identified in the HIP. It was the first time all eight land use planning agencies included a regional chapter in the Housing Elements–an important step for aligning land use planning documents.
Section 2. Creation of the Regional Housing and Infrastructure Plan The final goal of the regional collaborative initiative was developing the HIP. Due to emergency response needs, the County put the HIP on hold during the COVID-19 Pandemic. In June 2022, the HIP was revived with the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding between the County and SLOCOG, under which SLOCOG took over as the project manager of the effort and sub-recipient of the County’s Senate Bill 2
Planning Grant Program funding award for HIP development. With Senate Bill 2 grant funding sunsetting in September 2023, the HIP needed to move at an accelerated pace.
Making progress on the region’s strategic goals for addressing housing and infrastructure needs can only be achieved through the actions of many stakeholders; therefore, communication and stakeholder engagement were critical pieces of the HIP development.
SLOCOG contracted with REACH and Koble Collaborative, Inc. to conduct the HIP’s communications and stakeholder engagement. The primary outreach goals were:
● Foster ongoing collaboration and buy-in among private and public stakeholders ● Remind government of the Regional Compact, laying the groundwork for HIP effort ● Build public sentiment in support of solutions and regional planning efforts The stakeholder groups and meetings were designed to convene diverse perspectives and have honest conversations about what each organization can and needs to do to realize those goals, across sectors and industries. Key stakeholder groups included:
Regional
Managers /
Key Staff
Housing
Action Team
Builders &
Developers
Housing
Advocacy
Group
City & County
Elected Officials
30 attendees,
3 meetings
15-20
attendees,
monthly
meetings
20-35
attendees,
3 meetings
15-20
attendees,
2 meetings
40 elected
officials
1 meeting per
agency
County of SLO,
7 Cities (+
Santa Maria),
SLOCOG
Leadership
County of SLO,
7 Cities,
SLOCOG
Planning/Com
m Dvpmt. Staff
Builders,
Engineers,
Developers,
Econ. Dvpmt.,
Architects,
Real Estate,
etc.
Nonprofit
builders,
Home Builders
Assoc,
Chambers,
etc.
Seven City
Councils
County of SLO
Board
SLOCOG Board
HIP Steering Committee
10 attendees, 3 meetings
City Manager, Elected Officials, County Regional Planner, Developer, Low Income Lender, Architect, Engineer, Advocate, Water Resources and Cal Poly met collaboratively to consider ways to integrate feedback from all stakeholder perspectives
These stakeholder groups helped to review and shape the HIP. On May 19, 2023, SLOCOG published the Draft Regional HIP, including Appendices (Attachments A and A1-A4) and a Draft HIP Mapping Tool. There are seven major components of the HIP (listed in Table 2 and further described below). These components intertwine and build upon one another. As with each prior phase of the regional collaborative efforts to address the housing and infrastructure shortage, stakeholder engagement was key.
Table 2. HIP Components
HIP Components What Each Component Is Possible Individual Agency Use
1. Housing Highlights
Communication tool:
Understanding the need for
housing, affordability, and
opportunities
Voluntary use of a
communication tool to
convey housing challenge
and community call to action
2. Data and Project
Inventory
Infrastructure barriers to
housing
Recognizes community’s
needs and connects to
regional inventory
3. HIP Mapping Tool
Living strategic analysis
tool used to show the
interrelation between
housing and infrastructure
Visual tool connecting each
community’s plans to overall
regional scale
4. Housing Efficiency
Analysis
Housing Efficient Areas in
HIP
Recognizes community’s
plans and serves as
leverage for future
infrastructure funding
sources
5. Infrastructure
Prioritization
Region’s highest priority
projects to unlock housing
Identify importance of
community’s needs in
supporting regional housing
supply
6. Funding Strategies
Assessment
Funding the region could
pursue for priority
Identifies possible funding
sources that each
community or partners could
HIP Components What Each Component Is Possible Individual Agency Use
infrastructure projects pursue to cover funding gaps
7. Affordable-by-Design
Study
Menu of possible policies to
increase housing
attainability
Voluntary use of menu of
options for possible policies
to implement
2.1 HIP Component 1–Housing Highlights
A communication tool designed to unify the region’s focus on the challenges and successes that local agencies, the building and development community and other stakeholders face related to the housing supply needs. This document will serve to reinforce the commitment to the Regional Compact and expand on opportunities each stakeholder has to address housing needs within their area of control and span of influence. The draft Housing Highlight document will be available by June 28, 2023. The final document will be included with the final HIP in July 2023.
2.2 HIP Component 2–Data and Project Inventory
The HIP analyzes the transportation, water and wastewater infrastructure barriers to housing development. This HIP element included compiling infrastructure and housing data from across individual agencies as briefly described in Table 3 below:
Table 3. Major HIP Inputs
Housing
Data
Proposed residential developments of all income categories were collected from Planning and Community Development staff of the seven Cities and the County in 2021. This data includes specific plans, proposed residential and mixed-use projects projected to be built between now and 2045. Residential development that has been completed or is near completion was removed from the HIP analysis.
Transportati
on Data
The 2023 Regional Transportation Plan included a list of 350+ transportation investments submitted by Public Works staff of the seven Cities and County and transit providers. Transportation infrastructure was studied using the Transportation Efficiency Analysis (TEA). The TEA identified transportation barriers to housing production and was used in the HIP analysis.
Water/
Wastewater
Data
The HIP inventory is based on responses from 44 water and wastewater agencies, local capital improvement project lists, 2021 Regional Water Infrastructure Resiliency Plan findings, and information from the County’s Water Resources team. Available, detailed GIS based data was limited. However, to the extent needs are known, key infrastructure projects, estimated costs and timing were included in the HIP analysis.
Additional
Contextual
Data
The HIP analysis provides the data that connects infrastructure and housing on a regional scale for the first-time. When planning for housing, land conditions are carefully considered. To provide a fuller picture, flood risk, sensitive habitat, open space, prime farmland, and fire risk were all included as additional reference information.
However, these additional datasets were not used to remove or prioritize infrastructure projects from the HIP list, but simply to provide additional context.
The HIP is a living tool and can adapt as new information becomes available. Future updates to the HIP may incorporate two key datasets:
● Water data update: The County’s Master Water Report update is underway, which may be leveraged to provide updated water capacity information for a future HIP update.
● Economic data: It is anticipated that a future HIP update will incorporate economic data. A concurrent effort, led by REACH, is underway which may be leveraged to provide economic/jobs information for a future HIP update.
2.3 HIP Component 3–HIP Mapping Tool
The HIP Mapping Tool was created to display the GIS analysis and foster future collaboration. It is an interactive tool, compiling the complex data and inventoried projects from across the region. The mapping tool makes it easier to visualize connections between infrastructure and housing, see project priorities, and quickly access more information about each community’s priority projects and housing efficient areas, within a regional context. This component is completed and included in the draft HIP.
2.4 HIP Component 4–Housing Efficiency Analysis
The Housing Efficiency Analysis looks at three efficiency factors: (1) transportation access, (2) water capacity and (3) wastewater capacity. By analyzing these efficiency factors, housing efficient areas were identified as efficient, potential or limited. Any infrastructure projects located in an area deemed “efficient” or “potential” moved on to the Infrastructure Prioritization element. All projects located in areas deemed “limited”
housing efficiency were removed from further analysis. There were 440 infrastructure projects collected as part of the data inventory. Of those, 18% (80 projects) were located within Housing Efficient Areas (i.e. areas deemed “efficient” or “potential”). This component is completed and included in the draft HIP.
2.5 HIP Component 5–Infrastructure Prioritization
The premise of the HIP is to help accelerate new housing development, so the current prioritization factors relate solely to the amount of proposed housing that benefits from a community’s infrastructure project. The 80 infrastructure projects identified through the processes described in HIP Components 2-4 were ranked as high, medium or low priority based on three factors: (1) if the project is needed for new housing, (2) benefit/cost (i.e. investment cost per additional potential housing units served), and (3) whether there are significant barriers to development. The total estimated cost for all 80 HIP projects is over $1 billion, as shown in Table 4.
Table 4: Draft HIP Priority Projects Summary
Estimate
($ Millions)
Projects
Estimate for all HIP Projects $ 1,015 80
High $ 348 54
Medium $ 385 10
Low $ 281 16
This component is completed and included in the draft HIP. Details of each community’s infrastructure priorities can be found in the HIP’s Appendix A (Attachment A1). Table 5 includes a summary of infrastructure priority projects summarized by sub-region.
Table 5. Priority Projects by Subregion
2.6 HIP Component 6–Funding Strategies Assessment
SLOCOG contracted with BKF Engineers to conduct a Funding Strategies Assessment.
The Funding Strategies Assessment is currently underway and seeks to identify funding sources that can reasonably implement water, wastewater and transportation infrastructure priorities included in the HIP (for all high, medium and low priorities). This component is underway, but not completed yet. The HIP’s Appendix C (Attachment A3) includes preliminary information; however, the draft assessment is expected in July 2023 will include a project-by-project detailed breakdown covering funding requirements, potential funding sources, projected grant funding, and residual funding gap.
Local agencies will be encouraged to review the assessment and pursue funding opportunities for priority infrastructure projects in order to voluntarily contribute to the regional housing effort in a manner that best fits within their agency’s goals.
2.7 HIP Component 7–Affordable-by-Design Study
SLOCOG contracted with ECONorthwest to conduct the Affordable-by-Design (ABD) Study. The ABD Study is currently underway and will evaluate housing affordability characteristics for the seven Cities as well as unincorporated areas. The intent is to identify whether housing units in this region can be built to meet low to moderate income RHNA categories (as rentals or for-purchase) without being income- or rent-restricted.
Initial findings include:
● Design helps, but does not guarantee affordability.
● Market rate rental housing is close to affordability targets in some areas, but regulatory changes are necessary for most areas of the county. ● Only manufactured housing met target price points for new for-sale housing. ● Factors that make for-sale housing more affordable in other areas may not translate to this region’s current market.
The ABD Study notes that there are generally four factors that come together in the housing market to produce lower-cost housing, including: (1) simple design with lowerPage 350 of 467 cost materials, (2) lower cost locations, (3) efficient production, and (4) smaller units with higher density. Due to the limited findings of housing affordability, the ABD Study includes development of a simple menu of policy options that could help to incentivise ABD units in the region. This component is underway, but not completed. The HIP’s Appendix B (Attachment A2) includes preliminary information; however, the draft study is expected in July 2023.
Recognizing that there is no single solution to the challenge of affordability, the forthcoming menu of policy options will be provided for each local agency to consider.
Local agencies will be encouraged to adopt what fits their community’s needs in order to voluntarily contribute to the regional housing effort in a manner that best fits within their agency’s goals.
Section 3. Today’s Action & Future Growth Steps
On June 7, 2023, the SLOCOG Board of Directors directed SLOCOG staff (via the HIP engagement consultant team, REACH and Koble Collaborative, Inc.) to present this item to member jurisdictions for comment and seek general support of regional collaboration moving forward. The seven City Councils and County Board of Supervisors will receive a presentation on the HIP and provided an opportunity to support the HIP between June 27 - August 8, 2023. SLOCOG Board of Directors will consider adoption of the HIP on August 2, 2023.
3.1 Recommended Action
Today’s recommended action signifies a recommitment to the Regional Compact by taking the next step in its implementation, creation of the HIP. Pending discussion today, it is recommended that the City Council support the HIP.
It is worth emphasizing that the recommended action recognizes that there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to this region’s planning and that while local agencies plan for housing, they do not build or develop housing. Therefore, nothing in the HIP mandates action by any of the Cities or the County, it simply offers voluntary opportunities for action that could accelerate the development of needed housing in the region. Implementation relies on each agency’s voluntary actions moving forward, such as:
● Agency(ies) may consider pursuing funding opportunities identified for a priority infrastructure project to cover funding gaps.
● Agency(ies) may consider implementation of affordable-by-design policies appropriate to each unique community and its needs.
● Agency may consider programmatic changes to improve approval process timelines such as directing staff to identify ways to improve response time for housing project approval or coordinating with other agencies to align and streamline processes.
● Agency may consider updating its analysis approach to prioritizing the community’s needed infrastructure projects in order to most impactfully increase housing supply.
● Agency may consider using the HIP to help justify the benefit of a community’s priority infrastructure project towards increasing the region’s future housing supply, making it more competitive in a number of State and Federal funding programs. ● SLOCOG and agencies may consider using the HIP as a foundation for negotiating where the region’s housing needs are best met (e.g future RHNA cycle allocations).
3.2 Future of the HIP
Since 2019, this region’s stakeholders have taken incremental steps to build a strategic, unified regional collaboration to address housing and infrastructure needs. These incremental steps led to the draft HIP before the City Council today.
As stated before, the housing, infrastructure and economic challenges that the region faces are larger than any one entity can solve alone and will require the collective actions of all local partners. The HIP is the first of its kind, and it is intended to be a living document. The HIP’s future implementation and use are wholly dependent on the voluntary actions of many–the seven Cities, County, SLOCOG, organizations who develop and build housing, as well as local community members.
Pending adoption of the HIP, SLOCOG is committed to: updating the data in the HIP Mapping Tool in sync with the Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Community Strategies development’s public processes; using the HIP as a factor in future grant programming cycles; and leveraging the HIP as a foundational tool during the next RHNA cycle.
As stated throughout Section 2, the HIP offers tools and information related to strategic actions and priorities that can make the largest impact on accelerating housing supply.
The City of San Luis Obispo City Council is encouraged to take voluntary actions aligned
with the HIP, considering what will best fit their unique community’s vision and this agency’s goals. Through these voluntary actions, this agency, along with other key stakeholders, can voluntarily contribute to fulfilling the Regional Compact goals and creating a more vibrant and livable region.
1 | H I P
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PAGE
2 | H I P
CONTENTS
HIP Summary.................................................................................................................................................... 4 Data and Project Inventory ........................................................................................................................... 6 Housing ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 Water & Wastewater .............................................................................................................................. 7 Transportation ......................................................................................................................................... 7 Bonus Layers............................................................................................................................................ 8 Housing Efficiency Analysis............................................................................................................................ 8 Infrastructure Prioritization........................................................................................................................... 8 Findings........................................................................................................................................................ 10 Future Data Considerations................................................................................................................ 12 HIP Mapping Tool .......................................................................................................................................... 14 Affordable-By-Design Study ........................................................................................................................ 15 Rental Preliminary Findings ................................................................................................................ 16 For-Sale Preliminary Findings ............................................................................................................. 18 Market Conditions................................................................................................................................. 19 Funding Strategies Assessment................................................................................................................. 20 Housing Highlights ........................................................................................................................................ 21 Stakeholder Engagement Strategy........................................................................................................ 21 Regional Housing Success Stories......................................................................................................... 23 Next Steps ....................................................................................................................................................... 23 Appendix.......................................................................................................................................................... 23 Appendix A: Draft List of HIP Infrastructure Priorities........................................................................ 23 Appendix B: Affordable-by-Design Study Preliminary Information................................................ 23 Appendix C: Funding Strategies Assessment Preliminary Information ........................................ 23 Appendix D: Regional Compact & Housing Element Regional Chapter ....................................... 23 Appendix E: Additional Housing Data July 2023 ................................................................................. 23
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FIGURES
Figure 1: HIP Elements ................................................................................................................................... 5 Figure 2: Draft HIP Priority Projects Summary.......................................................................................... 5 Figure 3: Data Inventory Sources................................................................................................................. 6 Figure 4: HIP Mapping Process .................................................................................................................... 8 Figure 5: HIP Analysis Process ...................................................................................................................... 9 Figure 6: Draft HIP List Summary............................................................................................................... 10 Figure 7: Priority Projects by Community................................................................................................. 11 Figure 8: Multijurisdictional Projects by Priority ..................................................................................... 11 Figure 9: Priority Projects by Subregion................................................................................................... 12 Figure 10: Future Data Considerations by Community ........................................................................ 13 Figure 11: Future Data Considerations by Subregion........................................................................... 13 Figure 12: San Luis Obispo County’s Rent and Sale Price Limits (May 2022).................................. 15 Figure 13: Feasibility of Rental Prototypes by Subregion..................................................................... 17 Figure 14: Key Takeaways from Financial Feasibility Analysis (Rental) .............................................. 17 Figure 15: Market Conditions for Lower-Cost Housing ........................................................................ 19 Figure 16: Public Sector and ABD Market Conditions ............................................................................ 20 Figure 17: HIP Stakeholder Process........................................................................................................... 22
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HIP SUMMARY
The Regional Housing & Infrastructure Plan (HIP) is a collaborative action plan between nine local jurisdictions in response to the San Luis Obispo region’s growing housing and infrastructure shortage. The HIP is intended to help accelerate housing development where it makes the most sense given regional conditions and readiness. The HIP inventories infrastructure barriers to housing, identifies funding to implement infrastructure needs, and develops foundational information for the future 2027 Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA).
In 2018, the County of San Luis Obispo recognized the need to work regionally in solving the critical shortage of infrastructure resources and housing attainability in San Luis Obispo County. This challenge is larger than any one jurisdiction can solve alone. In January 2019 the County Board of Supervisors approved the kick off of this effort. Since inception, the HIP has always been a phased approach with the goals of regional collaboration, strategic action planning, and aligning land use planning documents.
The Regional Compact (April 2020)
The County, seven Cities, and San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) approved the first major milestone of the HIP - the San Luis Obispo Countywide Regional Compact. The Regional Compact is an aspirational document that sets the tone and goals for future recommended plans and actions among the local agencies. It establishes a united regional framework to unlock the potential to develop an adequate supply of housing and resilient infrastructure that support our economic prosperity. It recognizes that people, water, transportation, connectivity, and housing form the foundation of the San Luis Obispo region’s healthy, livable communities and thriving economic opportunity.
Housing Element Alignment (June 2020)
The County and the seven Cities were each required to update their jurisdiction's Housing Elements to reflect how local communities are planning for the State’s 6 th Cycle Regional
Housing Needs Allocations through 2028. The Housing Elements were submitted to the Housing and Community Development (HCD) in December 2020. As part of the Housing Element update process, the regional approach section was developed to showcase the ongoing commitment of each agency to the HIP collaboration. This section presents a regional vision and policies focused specifically on fostering regional collaboration to plan and develop housing and supportive infrastructure. It was the first time all seven jurisdictions included a regional approach chapter in their required housing elements.
Regional Housing and Infrastructure Plan (2022-2023)
Put on hold during the Pandemic, the HIP was revived in June 2022 with the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding between the County of San Luis Obispo and SLOCOG.
SLOCOG became the project manager of the effort. With Senate Bill 2 funding sunsetting in September 2023, the HIP began moving at an accelerated pace. There are seven elements of
5 | H I P
the HIP and they are listed in Figure 1: HIP Elements. These elements intertwine and build upon one another.
Figure 1: HIP Elements
HIP Element Informs
Data and Project Inventory Infrastructure barriers to housing Housing Efficiency Analysis Housing Efficient Areas in HIP Infrastructure Prioritization Region’s highest priority projects to unlock housing HIP Mapping Tool Living strategic analysis tool used to show the interrelation between housing and infrastructure
Affordable-by-Design Study Menu of possible policies to increase housing attainability Funding Strategies Assessment Funding the region could pursue for priority infrastructure Housing Highlights Communication tool: Understanding the need for housing, affordability, and opportunities
There were 430 infrastructure projects collected as part of the data inventory. Of those, 18% (78 projects) were located within Housing Efficient Areas. The 78 projects were ranked using a three-tiered prioritization process based on potential new housing units served. The estimated cost for all 78 HIP projects is a little under one billion dollars. About one third of the projects are water related with the remaining being transportation improvements. The estimates for each prioritized category are relatively similar around $300 million.
Figure 2: Draft HIP Priority Projects Summary
Estimate
($ Millions) Projects
Estimate for all HIP Projects $ 919 78
High $ 323 53
Medium $ 315 9
Low $ 281 16
HIP 2023+
The HIP is the first of its kind, and it is intended to be a living document. For the last five years, collaboration has continued to build, and these incremental steps have allowed the region to make progress in addressing the monumental challenges of the housing and infrastructure shortage. Next steps to follow stakeholder guidance during Summer 2023 Outreach.
6 | H I P
DATA AND PROJECT INVENTORY
The HIP analyzes the transportation, water, and wastewater infrastructure barriers to housing development. Figure 3: Data Inventory Sources, provides the source details on the data used in the HIP analysis.
Figure 3: Data Inventory Sources
Data Inputs
Transportation
Housing
Water &
Wastewater
Flood Risk
Sensitive Habitat
Open Space
Prime Farmland
Fire Risk
7 Cities & County Planning Staff (Land Use
Model, 2022 Transportation Efficiency Analysis
(TEA), 2020 Housing Elements, Developer
Updates
Data Sources
44 water & wastewater entities surveyed,
Community Improvement Plans reviewed
7 Cities & County Public Works Staff, 2023 RTP
Projects List, 2022 TEA
Federal Emergency Management Agency’s
“Flood Insurance Rate” map
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
“Biogeographic Information Observation
System (BIOS)”
California Protected Areas Database and the
California Conservation Easement Database,
2023
Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program
(FMMP) 2018
CALFIRE High Fire Hazard Severity Zones
(2023), Local Jurisdictions GIS teams
7 | H I P
Housing
Proposed residential developments within the seven cities and unincorporated county were collected from planning staff in 2021. This data includes specific plans, proposed residential and mixed-use projects projected for to be built between now and 2045. Residential development that has been completed or near completion was removed from the HIP analysis.
Water & Wastewater
In early January 2023, SLOCOG staff contacted the 44 water and wastewater agencies found in the 2021 Regional Water Infrastructure Resiliency Plan. Five initial questions were asked to the agencies:
1. Is your agency fulfilling its water/wastewater service demand?
2. Do you have capacity to serve additional housing units?
3. Is your agency experiencing any infrastructure limitations or does it have any infrastructure needs?
4. Have they been planned for?
5. Is there a cost estimate for these improvements?
The data collected includes the findings of the 2021 Regional Water Infrastructure Resiliency Plan, agency responses, local capital improvement project lists, and information from the County of San Luis Obispo’s Water Team. Water and wastewater service districts were used as water boundaries. Detailed GIS based data from these agencies is limited and water capacity data will be informed by the County’s Master Water Report Update. However, infrastructure projects, estimated costs, and timing were all collected. In 2023, forty-five water and wastewater projects were collected from the agencies.
Transportation
Transportation infrastructure was studied in the Transportation Efficiency Analysis (TEA) which the SLOCOG Board approved in April 2022. The TEA identified transportation barriers to housing production which resulted in a list of transportation projects that were prioritized as either land use necessitated or land use beneficial. Land use necessitated projects were transportation projects required for new housing development. These projects are considered TEA priority projects because they are needed to accelerate housing development. Land use beneficial projects are transportation projects that are not required for housing development but improve the transportation efficiency of an area. Of the 350+ transportation investments contained within in the 2023 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), 64 transportation investments were identified as TEA projects. The San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority (RTA) provided details on transit projects and additional improvements needed to best serve additional housing development. The transportation infrastructure list was further refined in the HIP analysis and prioritized differently.
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Bonus Layers
The HIP analysis provides the data that connects infrastructure and housing on a regional scale for the first-time. The 2023 effort is also the first phase of the analysis. When planning for housing, land conditions carefully considered. To provide a fuller picture, flood risk, sensitive habitat, open space, prime farmland, and fire risk were all included as additional reference information. These were not used to remove infrastructure projects from the HIP list but are there to provide additional context.
HOUSING EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS
The HIP Infrastructure Analysis looks at three efficiency factors: transportation access, water capacity, and wastewater capacity. By combining the three efficiency factors, housing efficient areas were identified. This is graphically represented in Figure 4: HIP Mapping Process. Any infrastructure projects located in the “efficient” or “potential” mapped areas moved on to the prioritization phase. All areas and projects that were considered “limited” were removed from further analysis. The Communities of Shandon, Avila Beach, and Cambria were removed from HIP analysis since they did not meet the efficiency criteria.
Figure 4: HIP Mapping Process
There were 430 infrastructure projects collected as part of the data inventory. Of those, 18% (78 projects) were located within a Housing Efficient Area. The 78 projects moved on to the prioritization phase. The flow of the analysis can be seen in Figure 5: HIP Analysis Process
INFRASTRUCTURE PRIORITIZATION
After stakeholder outreach in February and March 2023, a three-tiered approach was selected to prioritize projects. Projects were labeled as high, medium, or low depending on three factors: if the project supports new housing, the benefit/cost (project cost per total potential
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housing units within community), and barriers to development. Barriers to development include instances such as a building moratorium. These barriers are outside the controls of the HIP and slow housing development. The entire analysis and prioritization process can be seen in Figure 5.
Figure 5: HIP Analysis Process
LIMITED
Missing 2 of the 3
efficiency factors –
limited capacity for
housing acceleration
Located in Job Cluster
Include any Infrastructure
Needs in HIP
Future Add-ins:
• Job clusters data
• Master Water Report data
• Transportation
Access Factors:
• 1 mile from
interchange
• ½ mile from a bike way
• ½ mile from bus stop
• Has water capacity
• Has wastewater
capacity
EFFICIENT POTENTIAL
Future Add-ins:
• Job clusters data
• Master Water Report
data
Missing 1 of the 3
efficiency factors
High Medium
Needed to support
new housing
Limited barriers to
development
Low
Outside barriers to
development that
would likely delay or
prohibit
development
Low Benefit/Cost
Needed to support
new housing
Limited barriers to
development
Located in Jobs Cluster
Housing Efficient Areas (HEA) Analysis
Considers 3 efficiency factors: (1) transportation access, (2) water capacity, (3) wastewater capacity High Benefit/Cost Moderate Benefit/Cost
Needed to support
new housing
Combine HIP Projects from Efficient & Potential HEA
into one list and prioritize
HIP Project Prioritization
Considers: (1) if project is needed for new housing, (2) Benefit/Cost (investment cost per additional potential housing units served), (3) barriers to development Include any
infrastructure needs
that would help make
area efficient
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WATER
$296M
TRANSPORTATION
$618M
Infrastructure projects were divided into two lists, water and transportation, and then prioritized. It was concluded that transportation projects, in general, could be built at various stages of housing development. Whereas, housing cannot be built without adequate water distribution and collection infrastructure. Each list was sorted by highest benefit/cost. The total funding need for the list was divided by three to categorize projects as high, medium, or low.
The premise of the HIP is to help accelerate housing development, so the current prioritization factors relate solely to the total amount of proposed housing. In the future, other factors like jobs-housing balance factors and proposed housing unit type could be considered.
Findings
The draft HIP list contains 78 infrastructure projects with an estimated cost of nearly one billion dollars in need. As seen in Figure 6: Draft HIP List Summary, about one third of the needed infrastructure investments are water-related (supply & wastewater) and two-thirds are transportation-related. Interestingly, each priority category (high, medium, low) are relatively similar at around $300 million. However, the cost of nine medium ranked projects is equivalent to 53 high priority projects.
Figure 6: Draft HIP List Summary
Figure 7: Priority Projects by Community breaks down the total number of HIP priority projects, the total investment needed for each proposed housing unit, and the total estimate investment needed by community. Within the 78 total projects, three are listed as multijurisdictional projects including Central Coast Blue, the Regional Transit Authority Cashless Fare System Conversion, and the North County Transit Charging Facility. In Figure 7, these are listed as a separate row and are not included individually in the "HIP Projects" column for each community. However, multijurisdictional project costs are included in the community's total investment needed. The number of multijurisdictional projects by priority can be seen in Figure 8.
Estimate
($ millions) Projects
Total Estimate $ 919 78
High $ 323 53
Medium $ 315 9
Low $ 281 16
WATER $ 301 19
TRANSPORTATION $ 618 59
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Figure 7: Priority Projects by Community
Community
Total
Proposed
Dwelling
Units
HIP
Projects High Medium Low
Total Investment
needed per
proposed unit
Total Estimated
Investment
Needed ($
millions)
Multijurisdictional* 3 2 1 $ 95
Arroyo Grande 600 1 1 $ 227,254 $ 136
Atascadero 722 2 1 1 $ 23,734 $ 17
Grover Beach 624 4 3 1 $ 85,920 $ 54
Morro Bay 120 1 1 $ 183,368 $ 22
Paso Robles 4,959 17 16 1 $ 37,055 $ 184
Pismo Beach 297 $ 61,179 $ 18
San Luis Obispo 6,171 26 23 3 $ 43,197 $ 267
County 2,221 22 6 3 13 $ 77,286 $ 172
Cayucos 7 2 1 1 $ 1,185,714 $ 8
Los Osos - 3 3 $ - $ 15
Nipomo 1,351 6 4 1 1 $ 25,171 $ 34
Oceano 4 1 1 $ 950,000 $ 4
San Miguel 152 1 1 $ 269,737 $ 41
Santa
Margarita 514 1 1 $ 2,918 $ 2
Templeton 193 7 1 1 5 $ 341,647 $ 66
Cal Poly 2,780 2 2 $ 17,986 $ 50
Total Projects 15,714 78 53 9 16 $ 58,547 $ 920
Priority Category Total Cost Estimate ($
millions) $ 323 $ 315 $ 281
Figure 8: Multijurisdictional Projects by Priority
Community Multijurisdictional HIP
Projects High Medium Low
Arroyo Grande1,2 2 1 1
Atascadero2,3 2 2
Grover Beach1,2 2 1 1
Morro Bay2 1 1
Paso Robles2,3 2 2
Pismo Beach1,2 2 1 2
San Luis Obispo2 1 1
County2,3 2 2
The 3 multijurisdictional projects include the following: Central Coast Blue1, Cashless Fare System Conversion2, North County Charging Facility3
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Ninety-nine percent of the region’s population lives in four out of five subregions: North County, Central County, North Coast, and South County. Both North and Central County have 29 HIP projects. Even though projects in these two regions make up the majority of the HIP list, North County and Central County combined make up 81% of the proposed new housing units in the region.
Figure 9: Priority Projects by Subregion
Subregion Total Proposed
Dwelling Units
HIP
Projects High Medium Low
Total Investment
needed per
proposed unit
Total
Estimated
Investment
Needed
($ millions)
North County 6,540 29 20 3 6 $ 47,401 $ 310
Central County 6,171 29 25 3 1 $ 51,693 $ 319
North Coast 127 6 0 1 5 $ 354,331 $ 45
South County 2,876 13 7 2 4 $ 85,535 $ 246
The draft list can be viewed in Appendix A: HIP Project List.
Future Data Considerations
Creating balanced communities is one of the six 2020 Regional Housing Compact goals. The 2023 Sustainable Communities Strategy defines a jobs-housing balanced community as A community where residents can both live and work. With jobs and housing in close proximity, vehicle trips and commute times reduce and active transportation and transit use increase. These balanced communities also provide a broad mix of housing options to accommodate households with a range of incomes.
As a proactive measure, the jobs-housing balance of communities was analyzed using live/work percentages. A live/work percentage is the total number of employees living and working in the city or community boundaries divided by the total workers living in that boundary. In future iterations of the HIP, jobs-housing balance could be integrated through the live/work percentage and additional job cluster data as mentioned in Figure 5: HIP Analysis Process. The data displayed in
Figure 10 and Figure 11 was not used to prioritize projects in the 2023 HIP. The information is for reference purposes only. This information is included since it relates to goals found in the 2020 Regional Housing Compact, HIP stakeholder interest, and or relates to the 2023 Affordable-by-Design Study. The 2023 Affordable-By-Design Study has shown that units within the multi-family category are more aligned units in the low- and moderately-priced income
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categories. Understanding the proposed multi-family percentage of each community provides better insight on how the region will fulfill the needs of working households.
Figure 10: Future Data Considerations by Community
Community
Number of Total
Proposed
Dwelling Units
% of Multifamily units
proposed
Live Work
Percentage
Arroyo Grande 600 18% 14%
Atascadero 722 75% 21%
Grover Beach 624 81% 9%
Morro Bay 120 47% 21%
Paso Robles 4,959 42% 28%
Pismo Beach 297 30% 12%
San Luis Obispo 6,171 58% 41%
County 2,221 25%
Cayucos 7 0% 13%
Los Osos - 0% 11%
Nipomo 1,351 34% 9%
Oceano 4 100% 4%
San Miguel 152 0% 3%
Santa Margarita 514 10% 2%
Templeton 193 19% 12%
Total 15,714
Source: Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) 2019, SLOCOG GIS Figure 11: Future Data Considerations by Subregion
Subregion
Number of Total
Proposed
Dwelling Units
% of Multi-family
units proposed
Live Work
Percentage
North County 6,540 42% 40%
Central County 6,171 58% 44%
North Coast 127 44% 27%
South County 2,876 41% 27%
Source: Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) 2019, SLOCOG GIS
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HIP MAPPING TOOL
The HIP Mapping Tool was created to display GIS analysis and foster future collaboration. The tool was created using ArcGIS Experience Builder, ArcGIS Online, and ArcGIS Storymaps. Users have the ability to pan around the map in the "Explore" tab and turn map layers on and off.
The "Project List" tab allows the user to browse through HIP projects categorized by transportation or water projects and is color coded by priority category. When a project is selected on the list, the map will zoom to the project. The user may also click on projects from the map to view a pop-up showing the name, description, and estimated cost. The "Story" tab of the tool gives a summary of the HIP and provides the four-step process of how the analysis was carried out in GIS. Individual layers are shown along with project tables.
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AFFORDABLE-BY-DESIGN STUDY
The Affordable-by-Design (ABD) Study evaluates housing affordability characteristics for the seven incorporated Cities and unincorporated San Luis Obispo County. The intention of the ABD study is to show certain units (built without financial assistance or deed restrictions) as either low- or moderate-income units in annual Housing and Community Development RHNA reports. For purposes of the ABD Study, “affordable by design” (ABD) is defined as new housing that is not income- or rent-restricted, but where typical market rents or sales prices would be affordable to low or moderate-income households (earning 50-120% of Area Median Income).
The San Luis Obispo County’s published rent and sale price limits by income level define the rent and price range affordable at this income level as seen in Figure 12.
Figure 12: San Luis Obispo County’s Rent and Sale Price Limits (May 2022)
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The ABD Study includes the following approach:
1. Identify common physical characteristics for ABD housing
2. Interviews with local housing developers
3. Consider whether ABD housing examples from other regions could meet ABD criteria in SLO County’s market
4. Financial feasibility analysis of illustrative “prototypical” development examples
5. Identify regulatory barriers to development to ABD housing
6. Highlight potential policy measures to support ABD housing EcoNorthwest used development “prototypes” to highlight characteristics of housing that could potentially meet the Study’s ABD definition. These are prototypical developments informed by (or extrapolated from) actual development. Each development prototype is a specific combination of key characteristics, such as number of units and configuration (e.g., detached, attached side-byside, stacked), Lot size / density, height, unit size and parking. In May 2023, preliminary findings were presented to five stakeholder groups. The following information provides a brief summary and more preliminary information can be viewed in Appendix B: Affordable-by-Design Study Preliminary Information. The final report will be completed in July for SLOCOG Board consideration in August.
Rental Preliminary Findings
On the rental side of new development (within the last 5 years), some new apartments are affordable at a moderate-income level. This may include some mixed-income buildings but 1- bedroom units are most likely to be affordable whereas no 3-bedroom units are categorized as affordable. Design helps but does not guarantee affordability. Most of the buildings that fit within the ABD definition are 3-story, they have a smaller average unit sizes, but not all small units are affordable to moderate-income households.
EcoNorthwest looked at examples from other housing markets within California, Washington, and Oregon to add a few possibilities to a financial feasibility analysis. These protypes included:
A. 3-story walk-up apartments—standard
• Larger units (~880 sf average)
• Typical density, parking ratio, and landscaping
B. 3-story walk-up apartments—compact
• Smaller units (~620 sf average)
• Higher density, lower parking ratio, less landscaping C. 4-story micro-unit apartments
• Very small units (~300 sf, shared kitchens, individual kitchenettes) • Very high density, no parking, no landscaping
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Figure 13: Feasibility of Rental Prototypes by Subregion The financial feasibility analysis uses a metric called “return on cost” (ROC), which reflects the income potential of the completed development0F
1 divided by the total cost of development.
This ratio is often used as an initial indicator of development feasibility for rental developments, as it provides a preliminary indication of whether the completed property will provide competitive financial returns that could attract investors and meet loan underwriting requirements. More data on the Market Assumptions can be found in Appendix B: Affordableby-Design Study Preliminary Information.
Figure 14: Key Takeaways from Financial Feasibility Analysis (Rental)
1 Net Operating Income (NOI), the revenue after accounting for vacancy and operating expenses.
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For-Sale Preliminary Findings
In the last five years, only manufactured housing in manufactured home parks met target price points for new for-sale housing using County calculations. This does not factor in the lot cost associated with manufactured home parks. There are few small detached homes that came close and could potentially meet the City of San Luis Obispo’s affordability standards since they calculate income limits differently. Looking at examples from other housing markets:
A. Small detached units
• ~350-800 square feet units
• Shared yards with clustered parking
• Smallest units may be affordable at close to 120% of AMI in that market • Affordability: Comparable Units in SLO region exceed target price B. Small condo units
• ~325-600 square feet units
• Little or no on-site parking
• Can be affordable to Moderate Income households in portions of some highcost regions • Feasibility: May not be viable in SLO region’s market C. Simple condo development
• ~600-1000 square feet units
• Little or no on-site parking with few shared amenities • Can be affordable to Moderate Income households in portions of some highcost regions. • Feasibility: May not be viable in SLO region’s market D. Smaller townhouse units
• ~1,000-1,600 square feet units
• Can be affordable to Moderate Income households in portions of some highcost regions • Affordability: Comparable units in SLO region exceed target price E. Smaller single-detached homes
• 3BR, ~1200-1500 square feet units
• Can be affordable to moderate-income households in moderate-cost areas (e.g., Central Valley)
• Affordability: Comparable units in SLO region exceed target price San Luis Obispo’s regional market conditions do not support new for-sale housing at prices affordable to moderate-income households, with the possible exception of manufactured homes in housing parks. A few developments have attempted to produce ABD for-sale housing, but even with very small homes, prices are still too high for the moderate-income target price range. Factors that make for-sale housing more affordable in other areas may not translate to the SLO County market (lower land cost, no parking, few amenities, micro units).
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Market Conditions
In summary, the rental market is close and regulatory change could help with smaller units in cost-effective developments. The market is not close in the for-sale side and a longer-term approach is needed. Increasing the housing production overall can help bring supply and demand into balance and make ABD achievable over the longer term. These preliminary findings are not surprising but sobering. Looking at a wide-angle view, ECONorthwest looked at what conditions make for lower-cost housing.
Figure 15: Market Conditions for Lower-Cost Housing
As seen in Figure 15: Market Conditions for Lower-Cost Housing, there are four factors that have to come together in the housing market to product lower-cost housing including simple design with lower-cost materials, lower cost locations, efficient production, and smaller units with a higher density.
A primary deliverable for the ABD Study is to create a menu of policy change options that will incentivize ABD units in the region. Figure 16 depicts how the public sector impacts the conditions for ABD. ECONorthwest interviewed six developers that work within the San Luis Obispo Region. Those interviews provided four market barrier themes to ABD Development including land cost, demand for high-end housing, construction costs, and demand for parking.
They also identified six regulatory barrier themes to ABD development including: discretionary review, density caps, minimum unit sizes, parking requirements that exceed market demand, impact fees and inclusionary zoning, and required infrastructure improvements. More of these details will be made available in July.
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Figure 16: Public Sector and ABD Market Conditions
In coordination with HIP stakeholders, ECONorthwest identified potential policies and incentives that local governments in the region could implement to support ABD housing development. In the next few months, the consultant will identify relevant case studies from jurisdictions that have implemented programs or policies similar to the relevant incentives, and, where possible, the impact they have had on housing production for ABD housing.
FUNDING STRATEGIES ASSESSMENT
The Funding Strategies Assessment seeks to identify funding and financing sources that can reasonably implement the water, wastewater, and transportation infrastructure needs of the HIP. BKF Engineering has drafted a grant inventory that connects each specific HIP project to various public sources of funding. They also include a grant glossary with factors such as eligibility requirements, deadlines, funding amounts available. These draft pieces can be reviewed in Appendix C: Funding Strategies Assessment Preliminary Information.
A Gap Analysis is currently being conducted which aims to determine the difference between the required funding for the projects and the potential funding that can be secured through grants and other funding sources. The Gap Analysis approach includes:
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1. Assessing the Projects & Determining Funding Requirements:
2. Identifying Potential Funding Sources
3. Estimating Potential Grant Funding
4. Calculating the Funding Gap
5. Proposing Strategies to Bridge the Funding Gap
The Funding Strategies Assessment will include a detailed breakdown on a project-by-project basis, covering funding requirements, corresponding funding sources, projected grant funding, and the residual funding gap, including shortfalls and match requirements. An actionable timeline and a roadmap, along with recommendations for implementing the proposed strategies aimed to maximize the probability of securing the requisite funds for HIP projects.
The complete Funding Strategies Assessment will be available in July/August.
HOUSING HIGHLIGHTS
Stakeholder Engagement Strategy
The HIP engagement strategy established four outreach objectives:
• Foster ongoing collaboration and buy-in among private and public stakeholders. • Remind government/elected officials of the Regional Compact and the motives behind it to lay groundwork for their commitment to the 2023 regional HIP. • Build public sentiment in support of solutions and regional planning efforts related to HIP.
• Support effective coordination with and communication among SLOCOG, HIP consultants and the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) teams.
The San Luis Obispo region has strategic goals for the future of housing and infrastructure, but they can only be achieved through the decisions and actions of organizations and stakeholders.
The stakeholder meetings are designed to have honest conversations about what each organization can and needs to do to realize those goals. The December 2022 Regional Managers Retreat guided the stakeholder engagement process which is depicted in Figure 17: HIP Stakeholder Process.
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Figure 17: HIP Stakeholder Process
The following list are the key stakeholder groups engaged – totaling approximately 100 individuals that participated during the HIP development process in January - June 2023:
Regional Managers/ Key Staff: A key driving force behind developing this plan has been regional leadership, including eight City Managers, County Administrative Officer, SLOCOG Executive Director (and key directors from their organizations).
Elected Officials: Two City Council Members with knowledge of regional differences bring the various perspectives and concerns voiced by their respective constituents for this Steering Committee. The full 40 elected officials within the region will have an opportunity to hear about the plan through public updates to SLOCOG Board as well as through presentations of the recommended HIP to their Councils and Boards in Summer 2023.
Building & Development Cluster: Leaders in the building and development industry that convene quarterly with the goal of regional coordination focused on aligning housing and infrastructure needs to create a strong local economy.
Housing Advocacy Group: Organizations and individuals that have significant influence in the community, with representation from the non-profit builders, local chambers of commerce and various advocate organizations.
Housing Action Team: Existing work group made up of planning/ community development staff from Cities, County, and SLOCOG.
Community Stakeholders: The broader community will be engaged in partnership with the SLO Chamber of Commerce Housing Summit in Spring 2023. Feedback from this event will be brought to the HIP Steering Committee to discuss and adjust the communications plan accordingly.
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HIP Steering Committee: Formed to oversee the vision for the HIP Outreach Strategy and to bring leaders in each of these areas together, aligning and integrating the various interests that will lead to action on the region’s priorities.
A HIP Steering Committee was selected to represent broader interests and to allow for crosssector collaboration and cohesion. It is a small group of representatives with a balance of public and private backgrounds and a variety of expertise in issues related to development around the region. The HIP Steering Committee guided the development of a balanced plan, and helped to identify paths for the plan’s successful adoption and implementation. The HIP Steering Committee includes Matthew Bronson (Grover Beach), Mayor Heather Moreno (Atascadero), Councilmember Andy Pease (SLO City), Trevor Keith (County of SLO), Aaryn Abbott (Abbott | Reed), Lenny Grant (RRM), Jeff Eckles (SLOCHTF), Courtney Howard (SLO Flood Control & Water Conservation District), Anthony Palazzo (Cal Poly), and Jorge Aguilar (Wallace Group).
Regional Housing Success Stories
Available following Summer 2023 Outreach
NEXT STEPS
Available following Summer 2023 Outreach
APPENDIX
Appendix A: Draft List of HIP Infrastructure Priorities Appendix B: Affordable-by-Design Study Preliminary Information Appendix C: Funding Strategies Assessment Preliminary
Information
Appendix D: Regional Compact & Housing Element Regional Chapter
Appendix E: Additional Housing Data July 2023
Community
Number of Total
Proposed Dwelling
Units
% of Multifamily units
proposed
Live Work
Percentage
Arroyo Grande 600 18% 14%
Atascadero 722 75% 21%
Grover Beach 624 81% 9%
Morro Bay 120 47% 21%
Paso Robles 4,959 42% 28%
Pismo Beach 297 30% 12%
San Luis Obispo 6,171 58% 41%
County 2,221 25%
Cayucos 7 0% 13%
Los Osos - 0% 11%
Nipomo 1,351 34% 9%
Oceano 4 100% 4%
San Miguel 152 0% 3%
Santa Margarita 514 10% 2%
Templeton 193 19% 12%
Total 15,714
Subregion
Number of Total
Proposed Dwelling
Units
% of Multifamily units
proposed
Live Work
Percentage
North County 6,540 42% 40%
Central County 6,171 58% 44%
North Coast 127 44% 27%
South County 2,876 41% 27%
Community Total Proposed
Dwelling Units
HIP
Projects High Medium Low
Total Investment
needed per proposed
unit
Total Estimated
Investment
Needed ($
millions)
Multijurisdictional* 3 2 1 $ 95
Arroyo Grande 600 1 1 $ 227,254 $ 136
Atascadero 722 2 1 1 $ 23,734 $ 17
Grover Beach 624 4 3 1 $ 85,920 $ 54
Morro Bay 120 1 1 $ 183,368 $ 22
Paso Robles 4,959 17 16 1 $ 37,055 $ 184
Pismo Beach 297 $ 61,179 $ 18
San Luis Obispo 6,171 26 23 3 $ 43,197 $ 267
County 2,221 22 6 3 13 $ 77,286 $ 172
Cayucos 7 2 1 1 $ 1,185,714 $ 8
Los Osos - 3 3 $ - $ 15
Nipomo 1,351 6 4 1 1 $ 25,171 $ 34
Oceano 4 1 1 $ 950,000 $ 4
San Miguel 152 1 1 $ 269,737 $ 41
Santa Margarita 514 1 1 $ 2,918 $ 2
Templeton 193 7 1 1 5 $ 341,647 $ 66
Cal Poly 2,780 2 2 $ 17,986 $ 50
Total Projects 15,714 78 53 9 16 $ 58,547 $ 920
$ 323 $ 315 $ 281
Subregion Total Proposed
Dwelling Units
HIP
Projects High Medium Low
Total Investment
needed per proposed
unit
Total Estimated
Investment
Needed ($
millions)
North County 6,540 29 20 3 6 $ 47,401 $ 310
Central County 6,171 29 25 3 1 $ 51,693 $ 319
North Coast 127 6 0 1 5 $ 354,331 $ 45
South County 2,876 13 7 2 4 $ 85,535 $ 246
$ 920
Community Multijurisdicti High Medi Low Low
Arroyo 2 1 1
Atascadero2,3 2 2
Grover Beach1,2 2 1 1
Morro Bay2 1 1
Paso Robles2,3 2 2 Central Coast Blue1
Pismo Beach1,2 2 1 2 Cashless Fare System Conversion2
Priority Category Total Cost Estimate ($ millions)
*Multijurisdictional projects are listed as a separate row and are not included individually in the "HIP Projects" Column for each community. However,
multijurisdictional project costs are included in the
The 3 multijurisdictional projects include
the following:
San Luis Obispo2 1 1 North County Charging Facility3
County2,3 2 2
Priority
Supports
new
housing
Benefit/
Cost
Proposed Units
within
Community
Outside
Barriers
Live Work
Percenta
ge
Project Type Community Project Name Project Description 2023 Cost Estimate 2023 Time Horizon High Y 74 $ 1,351 9% Wastewater Nipomo CSA 1 Nipomo Capital Improvement Projects $ next 5 years 100,000 High Y 2,083 $ 2,780 41% Water/Wastewater San Luis Obispo Cal Poly
Increase water storage capacity for campus domestic use and fire suppression $ by 2026 15,000,000
High Y 2,884 $ 4,959 28% Wastewater Paso Robles Paso Robles City wastewater There are some areas of the City’s wastewater collection (sewer) system that must be upsized in conjunction with new development $ next 10 years 14,300,000
High Y 2,884 $ 4,959 28% Water Paso Robles Paso Robles City water some portions of water system experiencing infrastructure constraints $ next 10 years 14,300,000High Y 2,917 $ 6,171 41% Water/Wastewater San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (City)
capacity constraints on sewer conveyance network, additional water storage tanks and water transmission main needed $ n/a 18,000,000
High Y 2,918 $ 514 2% Water Santa Margarita CSA 23- Santa Margarita undersized pipelines, pipeline loops $ n/a 1,500,000 High Y 4,861 $ 7,200 41% Water/Wastewater San Luis Obispo Cal Poly plans to build on-campus Water Reclamation Facility $ by 2026 35,000,000High Y 13,850 $ 722 21% Wastewater Atascadero Atascadero Mutual Water Company treatment facility to remove PFAS (planning stages) $ next 2 years 10,000,000 High Y 1 $ 624 9% Transit Grover Beach Grover Beach Service Addition South County Transit provide service to Urban Reserve (Strawberry Field) High Y 1 $ 1,351 9% Transit Nipomo Nipomo Service Addition RTA provide service to Dana Reserve *working with developer High Y 1 $ 4,959 28% Transit Paso Robles Paso Robles Service Addition Paso Express provide service to Beechwood development High Y 1 $ 4,959 28% Transit Paso Robles Paso Robles Service Addition Paso Express provide service to Olsen/South Chandler developmentHigh Y 1 $ 6,171 41% Transit San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo Service Addition SLO Transit provide an additional stop along Board or Tank Farm High Y 1 $ 6,171 41% Transit San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo Service Addition SLO Transit provide access between Broad and South Higuera in the Margarita Area High Y $ 35 15,714 100% Transit Countywide Cashless Fare System Conversion (further study is required) $ 550,000 High Y 72 $ 624 9% Active Transportation Grover Beach S. 4th St. bike lanes: Grand Ave. to city limits Restripe to provide Class II/Class IV bike lanes $ Unconstrained 45,000High Y 149 $ 624 9% Active Transportation Grover Beach The Pike Complete Street Improvements striping, bike lanes $ By 2035 93,225 High Y 151 $ 6,171 41% Active Transportation San Luis Obispo Froom Ranch Frontage & Streetscape Improvements Install sidewalks on west side and median between Irish Hill Plaza and Calle Joaquin. $ By 2028 932,250 High Y 153 $ 6,540 40% Transit North County North County Charging Facility Charging facility at 1735 Paso Robles St., Paso Robles $ 1,000,000 High Y 162 $ 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo Los Osos Valley Rd/Auto Park Wy Intersection Improvements Install traffic signal, median refuges, hi-viscrosswalks and bicycle protected intersection element $ By 2028 1,000,000
High Y 248 $ 6,171 41% Active Transportation San Luis Obispo Tank Farm Road Complete Street Convert from 5-lane to 3-lane, add Class IVbikeways, landscaped medians, and pedestrian crossings $ By 2045 1,533,000
High Y 302 $ 6,171 41% Active Transportation San Luis Obispo Madonna Rd. - Class IV - Madonna Inn to Higuera Ave. On Madonna Ave. install Class IV from Madonna Inn to Higuera Ave. $ By 2035 1,864,500High Y 322 $ 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo Buckley Rd. widening: Thread Ln. to Buttonwood Wy.
Widen Buckley Rd. to provide paved shoulders, center left turn lane and to flatten existing horizontal curve $ By 2035 1,988,800
High Y 343 $ 4,959 28% Transit Paso Robles Paso Robles New Route Paso Express provide service to North Chandler Ranch* $700,000 yearly operating $ 1,700,000
High Y 373 $ 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo Broad St/Tank Farm Rd Intersection Improvements Add NB right turn lane, WB right turn lane, and ped/bike crossing enhancements. $ By 2045 2,299,500High Y 496 $ 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo Orcutt Rd. widening: Johnson Ave. to Tank Farm Rd. (Phase 1) Widen road to three lanes with Class II bike lanes and sidewalks $ By 2035 3,057,780 *When working with development early, stop can be added with minimal cost. *When working with development early, stop can be added with *When working with development early, stop can be added with *When working with development early, stop can be added with *When working with development early, stop can be added with *When working with development early, stop can be added with
High Y 497 $ 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo Johnson Ave/Orcutt Rd Roundabout Install roundabout $ After 2045 3,066,000 High Y 501 $ 4,959 28% Non-Highway Paso Robles South River Rd. / Charolais Rd. roundabout Construct roundabout $ By 2035 2,486,000High Y 514 $ 6,171 41% Active Transportation San Luis Obispo Broad St. Median Improvements Install landscaped medians on Broad St. north of Tank Farm Rd. $ By 2035 3,169,650High Y 514 $ 6,171 41% Active Transportation San Luis Obispo Railroad Safety Trail (Phase 7): Bike connection south of Tank FarmConstruct Class I bike path and ped/bike bridge over Tank Farm $ By 2035 3,169,650 High Y 608 $ 6,171 41% Active Transportation San Luis Obispo Los Osos Valley Road Protected Bike Lanes Install Class IV bike lanes along LOVR between Diablo and S. Higuera $ By 2028 3,750,250High Y 618 $ 4,959 28% Non-Highway Paso Robles Airport Road extension North Chandler Ranch Extend Airport Road as 2-lane arterial from Linne Rd. to Union Rd. $ by 2045 3,066,000High Y 619 $ 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo Santa Fe Rd. extension: Santa Fe Rd. to Tank Farm Rd.
Extend Santa Fe Rd north w/ new bridge over creek and roundabout intersection at Tank Farm/Santa Fe $ By 2035 3,822,225
High Y 633 $ 6,171 41% Active Transportation San Luis Obispo Railroad Safety Trail: bike bridge crossing at Industrial Way Construct bike bridge across UPRR tracks at Industrial Wy. to the RRST $ By 2045 3,909,150High Y 648 $ 4,959 28% Active Transportation Paso Robles N. River Rd. Class I trail multi-use paved trail from 13th St. to SR46 along river trail $ By 2028 3,214,500High Y 726 $ 4,959 28% Active Transportation Paso Robles Creekside Bike Path: Phase 1 and 2 Construct path: Nicklaus to Old S. River Rd. $ Unconstrained 3,600,000High Y 745 $ 6,171 41% Active Transportation San Luis Obispo South of Broad St. and Santa Barbara Ave. Protected Bike Lanes Install Class IV bikeway on Santa Barbara(Upham to Broad) and Broad from Santa Barbara to Farmhouse $ By 2045 4,599,000
High Y 870 $ 4,959 28% Non-Highway Paso Robles Creston Rd.: Niblick Rd. to Meadowlark Dr. (Phase 3) Install traffic-calming and intersection improvements- roadway diet and signals $ By 2035 4,313,210High Y 1,242 $ 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo Horizon Lane Extension Extend Horizon Ln between Buckley and Tank Farm as commercial collector w/ roundabout at Tank Farm $ by 2045 7,665,000
High Y 1,429 $ 6,171 41% Active Transportation San Luis Obispo Higuera Protected Bike Lanes Install Class IV bikeways along Higuera from Marsh to southern City Limits $ By 2045 8,817,000 High Y 1,577 $ 4,959 28% Active Transportation Paso Robles Huer Huero Creek Trail Construct Class II bike lanes $ by 2045 7,818,300High Y 1,615 $ 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo Buckley Rd. widening: Vachell Ln. to Broad St. Widen to three lanes between Hoover St. and Broad St. $ By 2045 9,964,500 High Y 1,945 $ 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo Prado Rd. Bridge Replacement & Multimodal Corridor Enhancements Replace SLO Creek bridge w/ 6-lane bridge (2 each direction + turn lanes), sidewalks, Class IV bike lanes & construct 2nd NB turn lane from S. Higuera to Prado and a bicycle protected intersection $ By 2028 12,000,000
High Y 2,014 $ 6,171 41% Highway San Luis Obispo US 101 / Prado Rd. I/C Improvements (Phase 2) Construct SB off ramp and on ramp; SB auxiliary lane btw Madonna Rd. to Prado Rd. $ By 2035 12,430,000
High Y 2,017 $ 4,959 28% Non-Highway Paso Robles Creston Rd.: South River Rd. to Niblick Rd. Streetscape enhancements and pedestrian crossing improvements $ By 2028 10,000,000 High Y 2,024 $ 1,351 9% Highway Nipomo Interchange Improvements at Willow Rd US 101 NB & SB ramp signalization $ By 2035 2,734,600 High Y 2,256 $ 4,959 28% Active Transportation Paso Robles Paso Robles Eastside Grand Loop Complete gaps in the Grand Loop Bikeway Route on the eastside of town, not already completed by Olsen, Chandler, Beachwood, North River Rd., and Huer Huero Creek to complete a connected orbital Class I network. $ By 2035 11,187,000
High Y 2,484 $ 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo Santa Fe Rd. extension: south of Tank Farm Rd. Realign and extend Santa Fe Rd. from Hoover Ave. to Tank Farm $ by 2045 15,330,000 High Y 2,837 $ 1,351 9% Non-Highway Nipomo Roadway Extension of Hetrick Rd Extend Hetrick Rd from Glenhaven Place to Pomeroy Rd to two travel lanes and 8' shoulder $ After 2045 3,832,500
High Y 3,091 $ 4,959 28% Highway Paso Robles SR 46E / Union Rd. improvements (Phase 2) Construct Phase 2 improvements: new interchange $ by 2045 15,330,000 High Y 3,480 $ 4,959 28% Active Transportation Paso Robles Niblick Rd. Corridor enhancements, operational improvements, Complete Streets Transportation demand management improvements $ By 2035 17,257,000 High Y 4,186 $ 193 12% Non-Highway Templeton Las Tablas Rd. at Florence St. Improvements Traffic signal, ADA ramps, and left-turn lane at Las Tablas Rd. at Florence St. $ By 2035 807,950 High Y 4,386 $ 4,959 28% Highway Paso Robles US 101 / SR 46W I/C construct two roundabouts Operational improvements: modify interchange, EB and WB roundabouts (Phase 3) $ By 2035 21,752,500
Medium Y 41,451 $ 193 12% Water/Wastewater Templeton
Templeton Community Services District
new sewer force main needed; water supply availability is a limitation and a Nacimiento Recharge and Retrieval Project is needed to add water to the District water system (will include a new pipeline turnout, recharge basin, water filtration and two new wells) $ 2027 or later 8,000,000
Medium Y 42,857 $ 7 13% Wastewater Cayucos Cayucos Sanitary District (wastewater) Capital Improvement Projects 300,000 $ 1 year Medium Y 61,144 $ 1,521 25% Water/Wastewater Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Pismo Beach Central Coast Blue: GB, AG, PB Water Supply & Sewer Main Regional Recycled water project (PB,
GB, AG); Phase 1-pipe treated
wastewater from Pismo Beach’s
Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP)
to a new advanced treatment facility
located in Grover Beach. Phase 2 -
expand to treat wastewater from
South San Luis Obispo County
Sanitation District’s WWTP.
$ next 5 years 93,000,000
Medium Y 4,583 $ 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo Tank Farm Rd. widening: Higuera St. to Broad St.
Widen to five lanes with Class II bike lanes
& Class I paths between Horizon and Santa Fe
$ After 2045 28,283,850
Medium Y 7,360 $ 1,351 9% Non-Highway Nipomo Roadway Extension of North Frontage Rd Extend North Frontage from Sandydale Dr to Willow Rd $ By 2035 9,944,000 Medium Y 8,418 $ 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo Prado Rd. extension: South Higuera St. to Broad St.
Construct extension as 4-lane road (plus median/LT lane), Class I shared-use paths, and new intersection at Broad St. & Prado Rd. $ By 2045 51,948,771
Medium Y 9,695 $ 722 21% Highway Atascadero US 101 / Del Rio Rd. I/C modifications Construct interchange improvements in association with developments $ By 2028 7,000,000 Medium Y 10,331 $ 6,171 41% Highway San Luis Obispo US 101 / Prado Rd. I/C and NB auxiliary lane (Phase 1) Construct Prado Rd. overcrossing; NB auxiliary lane. Extend Prado Rd. east to Froom Ranch Way; construct bike lanes, sidewalks. $ By 2028 63,750,000
Medium Y 10,587 $ 4,959 28% Highway Paso Robles SR 46E / Union Rd. improvements (Phase 1) Construct overcrossing; realignment, vertical sight distance improvements, channelization & bike lanes/sidewalks on Union Road from Ardmore Road to Barney Schwartz Park $ by 2028 52,500,000
Low Y 183,333 $ 120 21% Water/Wastewater Morro Bay Morro Bay (City) Fire flow limitations; aging infrastructure 22,000,000 $ next 10 years Low Y 269,737 $ 152 3% Water/Wastewater San Miguel
San Miguel CSD
water pumping capacity, wastewater sewer treatment capacity, and water water treatment plant expansion $ 1 to 10 years 41,000,000
Low Y 950,000 $ 4 4% Water/Wastewater Oceano
Oceano CSD
Water Resource Reliability Program (capital improvements), and upgrade of water mains $ next 10 years 3,800,000
Low Y 1,142,857 $ 7 13% Water Cayucos CSA 10/10A- Cayucos (Cayucos Water Treatment Plant) water line loops and replacements $ next 5 years 8,000,000 Low Y - - ding Moratori 11% Water Los Osos
S&T Mutual Water Company
pipeline to secure a secondary water source, which would run between their water system and the Los Osos CSD, Shared Bike path Easement $ next 5 years 2,900,000
Low Y - - ding Moratori 11% Water Los Osos S&T Mutual Water Company North Water Tank 2,500,000 $ next 5 years Low Y - - ding Moratori 11% Water/Wastewater Los Osos Los Osos CSD infrastructure to import supplemental water $ next 5 years 10,000,000 Low Y - - 41% Wastewater San Luis Obispo County CSA 18 Los Ranchos Sewer Rehabilitation 1,500,000 $ next 10years Low Y 12,875 $ 1,351 9% Non-Highway Nipomo North Frontage Rd. extension: Sandydale Rd. to Summit Station Rd. Extend North Frontage Rd. from Sandydale Rd. to Summit Station Rd. $ By 2045 17,394,568Low Y 15,855 $ 193 12% Active Transportation Templeton Las Tablas Rd. Class II bike lanes: US 101 to Old County Rd. Construct Class II bike lanes $ Unconstrained 3,060,000 Low Y 16,101 $ 193 12% Highway Templeton Las Tablas Rd Interchange Improvements On Las Tablas Rd from Bennett Way to US 101, widen US 101 SB off-ramp and add westbound lane $ By 2035 3,107,500
Low Y 24,519 $ 624 9% Active Transportation Grover Beach Beach Cities Trail: Boardwalk Dune Trail Construct bike/ped trail $ Unconstrained 15,300,000 Low Y 28,982 $ 193 12% Non-Highway Templeton Bennett Way connection/ frontage road: Templeton Hills Rd. to Vineyard Dr. Connect Bennett Way between Templeton Hills Road and Vineyard Drive $ By 2035 5,593,500
Low Y 115,927 $ 193 12% Highway Templeton US 101 / Main St. I/C improvements Reconstruct interchange and widen Main St. from US 101 to Creekside Ranch Rd. $ By 2035 22,374,000 Low Y 119,145 $ 193 12% Highway Templeton Interchange Improvements at Las Tablas Rd Phase 3 Widening to 5 lanes (Bridge Removal and replacement) or Roundabouts $ By 2045 22,995,000
Low Y 166,075 $ 600 14% Highway Arroyo Grande US 101 Traffic Way/El Campo Interchange Closure of SB Fair Oaks off-ramp & Traffic Way NB & SB ramps, and all at-grade access points between Traffic Way and Los Berros Road and construct new interchange in the vicinity of El Campo/Traffic Way. $ By 2045 99,645,000
Estimate Projects
Estimate for all HIP Projects $ 78 919,252,229
High $ 53 323,000,000Medium $ 9 315,000,000Low $ 16 281,000,000Water/Wastewater $ 301,000,000Transportation $ 618,000,000Total Purposed Units 15,714Total Investment needed per purposed uni 58,499 $ Total HIP Projects 78 Estimate ($ Projects
Estimate for all HIP Projects $ 78 919High $ 53 323Medium $ 9 315Low $ 16 281
Priority Supports new housing Benefit/ Cost Proposed Units within Community Outside Barriers Live Work Percentage Project Type Community OBJECTID RTP ID # Project Name Project Description Project Type 2019 RTP Unescalated Cost 2019 RTP Time Horizon 2021 Cost Estimate 2023 Cost Estimate 2023 Time Horizon Jurisdiction Notes Community Buffer Name Jurisdiction High Y $ 1 6,171 41% Transit San Luis Obispo BI
San Luis Obispo Service Addition
SLO Transit provide an additional stop along Board or Tank Farm *When working with development early, stop can be added with minimal cost.
High Y $ 1 6,171 41% Transit San Luis Obispo BJ
San Luis Obispo Service Addition
SLO Transit provide access between Broad and South Higuera in the Margarita Area *When working with development early, stop can be added with minimal cost.
High Y $ 151 6,171 41% Active Transportation San Luis Obispo M CEN-ATP-2324 Froom Ranch Frontage & Streetscape Improvements
Install
sidewalks on west side and median between Irish Hill Plaza and Calle Joaquin.
Safety $ 750,000 $ 932,250 By 2028 Froom Ranch De San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo High Y $ 162 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo Y CEN-RORS-2345 Los Osos Valley Rd/Auto Park Wy Intersection Improvements Install trafficsignal, median refuges, hi-vis crosswalks and bicycle protected intersection element $ 1,000,000 $ 1,000,000 By 2028 Froom Ranch De San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo High Y $ 248 6,171 41% Active Transportation San Luis Obispo BF CEN-ATP-2313 Tank Farm Road Complete Street
Convert from 5-
lane to 3-lane, add Class IV bikeways, landscaped medians, and pedestrian crossings
Class IV $ 1,000,000 $ 1,533,000 By 2045 Active Transport San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo High Y $ 302 6,171 41% Active Transportation San Luis Obispo BH CEN-ATP-2318 Madonna Rd. - Class IV - Madonna Inn to Higuera Ave.
On Madonna Ave. install Class IV from Madonna Inn to Higuera Ave.
Class IV $ 5,000,000 $ 1,864,500 By 2035 Active Transport San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo High Y $ 322 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo BK CEN-RORS-1407 Buckley Rd. widening: Thread Ln. to Buttonwood Wy.
Widen BuckleyRd. to provide paved shoulders, center left turn lane and to flatten existing horizontal curve $ 1,211,550 $ 1,600,000 $ 1,988,800 By 2035 Rural Central Co San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo High Y $ 373 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo W CEN-RORS-2343 Broad St/Tank Farm Rd Intersection Improvements
Add NB right turn lane, WB right turn lane, and ped/bike crossing enhancements. $ 1,500,000 $ 2,299,500 By 2045 660 Tank Farm DSan Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo High Y $ 496 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo R CEN-RORS-1004 Orcutt Rd. widening: Johnson Ave. to Tank Farm Rd.
(Phase 1)
Widen road to three lanes withClass II bike lanes and sidewalks $ 2,460,000 $ 3,057,780 By 2035 All widening by pSan Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo High Y $ 497 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo X CEN-RORS-2344 Johnson Ave/Orcutt Rd Roundabout
Install roundabout $ 2,000,000 $ 3,066,000 After 2045 Significant ROW San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo High Y $ 514 6,171 41% Active Transportation San Luis Obispo BB CEN-AT3-1006 Broad St. Median Improvements
Install landscaped medians on Broad St. north of Tank Farm Rd.
Livability $ 2,550,000 By 2030 $ 3,169,650 By 2035 City is only fundi San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo High Y $ 514 6,171 41% Active Transportation San Luis Obispo BC CEN-AT1-1012 Railroad Safety Trail (Phase 7): Bike connection south of Tank Farm Rd.
Construct Class I bike path and ped/bike bridge over Tank Farm Class I $ 2,550,000 By 2030 $ 3,169,650 By 2035 Active Transport San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo High Y $ 608 6,171 41% Active Transportation San Luis Obispo N CEN-ATP-2309 Los Osos Valley Road Protected Bike Lanes Install Class IV bike lanes along
LOVR between Diablo and S. Higuera
Class IV $ 3,500,000 $ 3,750,250 By 2028 Froom Ranch devSan Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo High Y $ 619 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo Z CEN-RORS-1009 Santa Fe Rd. extension: Santa Fe Rd. to Tank Farm Rd.
Extend Santa FeRd north w/ new bridge over creek and roundabout intersection at Tank Farm/Santa Fe $ 3,075,000 $ 3,822,225 By 2035 Bridge is in Caltr San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo
High Y $ 633 6,171 41% Active Transportation San Luis Obispo BD CEN-AT1-1016 Railroad Safety Trail: bike bridge crossing at Industrial Way Construct bike bridge across UPRR tracks at Industrial Wy. to the RRST Class I $ 2,550,000 By 2025 $ 3,909,150 By 2045 San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo High Y $ 745 6,171 41% Active Transportation San Luis Obispo BE CEN-ATP-2312 South of Broad St. and Santa Barbara Ave. Protected Bike Lanes Install Class IV bikeway on Santa Barbara (Upham to Broad) and Broad from Santa Barbara to Farmhouse Class IV $ 3,000,000 $ 4,599,000 By 2045 Active Transport San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo High Y $ 1,242 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo V CEN-RORS-2339 Horizon Lane Extension Extend HorizonLn between Buckley and Tank Farm as commercial collector w/ roundabout at Tank Farm $ 5,000,000 $ 7,665,000 by 2045 Portions to be coSan Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo High Y $ 1,429 6,171 41% Active Transportation San Luis Obispo O CEN-ATP-2316 Higuera Protected Bike Lanes Install Class IV bikeways along Higuera from Marsh to southern City Limits Class IV $ 4,000,000 $ 8,817,000 By 2045 Active Transport San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo High Y $ 1,615 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo P CEN-RORS-1012 Buckley Rd. widening: Vachell Ln. to Broad St.
Widen to three lanes between Hoover St. and Broad St.
$ 6,500,000 $ 9,964,500 By 2045 Buckley Rd Wide Rural Central Co San Luis Obispo County High Y $ 1,945 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo U CEN-RORS-1002 Prado Rd. Bridge Replacement & Multimodal Corridor Enhancements Replace SLO Creek bridge w/ 6-lane bridge (2 each direction + turn lanes), sidewalks, Class IV bike lanes & construct 2nd NB turn lane from S. Higuera to Prado and a bicycle protected intersection $ 6,765,000 $ 12,000,000 $ 12,000,000 By 2028 Current construcSan Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo High Y $ 2,014 6,171 41% Highway San Luis Obispo AB CEN-MHWY- 1904 US 101 / Prado Rd. I/C Improvements (Phase 2)
Construct SB off ramp and on ramp; SB auxiliary lane btw Madonna Rd. to Prado Rd. $ 10,000,000 By 2045 $ 12,430,000 By 2035 May end up withSan Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo High Y $ 2,484 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo T CEN-RORS-1901 Santa Fe Rd. extension: south of Tank Farm Rd.
Realign and extend Santa Fe Rd. from Hoover Ave. to Tank Farm $ - $ 15,330,000 by 2045 San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo High Y $ 2,917 6,171 41% Water/Wastewa ter San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo (City)
capacity constraints on sewer conveyance network, additional water storage tanks and watertransmission main needed $ 18,000,000 n/a San Luis Obispo
Medium Y $ 4,583 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo Q CEN-RORS-1011 Tank Farm Rd. widening: Higuera St. to Broad St.
Widen to five
lanes with Class II bike lanes & Class I paths between Horizon and Santa Fe
$ 18,450,000 $ 28,283,850 After 2045 Requires ROW fr San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo Medium Y $ 8,418 6,171 41% Non-Highway San Luis Obispo S CEN-RORS-1003 Prado Rd. extension: South Higuera St. to Broad St.
Construct extension as 4-lane road (plus median/LT lane), Class I shared-use paths, and new intersection at Broad St. & Prado Rd $ 23,370,000 $ 33,887,000 $ 51,948,771 By 2045 Costs include newSan Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo
Medium Y $ 10,331 6,171 41% Highway San Luis Obispo AA CEN-MHWY- 1402 US 101 / Prado Rd. I/C and NB auxiliary lane (Phase 1)
Construct Prado Rd. overcrossing; NB auxiliary lane. Extend Prado Rd. east to Froom Ranch Way; construct bike lanes, sidewalks. $ 31,200,000 By 2025 $ 56,700,000 $ 63,750,000 By 2028 Costs include sofSan Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo High Y $ 35 6,171 100% Transit San Luis Obispo
Cashless Fare
System
Conversion
(further study
is required)
$ 215,985 Countywide
$ 266,566,861$ 43,196.70
26 TOTAL
Total Investment needed per
proposed unit
Community Specific Projects
* Multijurisdictional Project Cost Estimate = Total
Benefit/Cost per unit * number of proposed units
within community
ECONorthwest | Portland | Seattle | Los Angeles | Eugene | Bend | Boise | econw.com 1 DATE: May 5, 2023
TO: Regional Housing and Infrastructure Plan (HIP) Members FROM: Becky Hewitt and Emmanuel Lopez (ECONorthwest)
SUBJECT: SLOCOG Affordable-by-Design Market Assumptions As part of the Affordable-by-Design project, ECONorthwest is testing financial feasibility of various prototypical multifamily developments across four submarkets in San Luis Obispo (SLO) County. This memo outlines our assumptions regarding the physical characteristics of the prototypes, estimated development costs, and market rents.
Key Market and Financial Assumptions
The four market areas are:
North Coast
North County
South County
Central County
We did not include East County in our analysis because there is little development or development opportunity in that area.
ECONorthwest 2
Development Prototypes
Our analysis focuses on multifamily development that could potentially be affordable to moderate-income households. We used built examples from SLO County and elsewhere to inform the unit size, unit mix, and other physical characteristics of the developments. The prototypes tested are summarized in brief below:
3-story walk-up apartments—standard
Larger units (~880 sf average)
Typical density, parking ratio, and landscaping
3-story walk-up apartments—compact
Smaller units (~620 sf average)
Higher density, lower parking ratio, less landscaping 4-story micro-unit apartments
Very small units (~300 sf, shared kitchens, individual kitchenettes) Very high density, no parking, no landscaping
The table below provides additional detail of the assumptions for each prototype.
Note the estimated construction “hard cost” includes all vertical and horizontal development costs on-site, divided by the total gross square footage (GSF) of the building.
ECONorthwest 3
Estimated Market Rents by Market Area
The estimated market rents for each prototype in each market were estimated based on comparable developments (in markets with comparable development) and adjusted to reflect differences between market rents in the different areas. The market rents for our analysis were estimated for 2023 dollars with an estimated 3% annual escalation prior to opening.
ECONorthwest 4
Other Development Costs and Return Expectations by Market Area Impact and permit fees were developed by taking housing element development fee estimates for multifamily and aggregating them at the sub-regional level.
Land costs are estimated based on developer interviews as well as review of land value data for selected example developments and land sales transactions in SLO County. Land values are highly variable, but the assumptions are intended to reflect the rough market cost of unimproved residential land in each area.
Return Metrics by Market Area
The financial feasibility analysis uses a metric called “return on cost” (ROC), which reflects the income potential of the completed development1 divided by the total cost of development. This ratio is often used as an initial indicator of development feasibility for rental developments, as it provides a preliminary indication of whether the completed property will provide competitive financial returns that could attract investors and meet loan underwriting requirements. Because both lenders and investors will expect higher returns for riskier investments, market areas that have stronger demand fundamentals will likely have a lower threshold for ROC to make development viable. The estimated return requirements (Target ROC) for each market area are summarized below.
1 Net Operating Income (NOI), the revenue after accounting for vacancy and operating expenses.
San Luis Obispo County
Affordable-by-Design Study
May 2023
Study Overview
For purposes of study:
▪ Market-rate housing, no public subsidy
▪ Market rents or sales prices affordable to Low or Moderate Income households
▪ <120% of Median Family Income (MFI)
▪ Market conditions vary within the County; affordability criteria do not What do we mean by Affordable by Design?
Source: SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND BUILDING, Affordable Housing Standards, May 2022 7 (https://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Departments/Planning-Building/Forms-Documents/Housing-Forms-and-Documents/Informational-Documents/Affordable-Housing-Standard-(Post-2009).pdf)
What do we mean by Affordable by Design?
Source: SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND BUILDING, Affordable Housing Standards, May 2022 8 (https://www.slocounty.ca.gov/Departments/Planning-Building/Forms-Documents/Housing-Forms-and-Documents/Informational-Documents/AffordableHousing-Standard-(Post-2009).pdf)
Highlight potential policy measures to support ABD housing Identify regulatory barriers to development to ABD housing Financial feasibility analysis of illustrative “prototypical” development examples Consider whether ABD housing examples from other regions could meet ABD criteria in SLO County’s market Interviews with local housing developers
Identify common physical characteristics for ABD housing Identify recently built housing in SLO County that meets Affordable by Design (ABD) criteria Approach
9
This week’s meetings:
• Feedback on our findings to date
• Feedback on potential policy measures of greatest interest Deeper dive on selected policy measures
Recommendations to support ABD in SLO
County
What’s Next?
10
ABD Rental Housing
Recently Built ABD Rental Housing in SLO
County
Connect SLO La Plaza
Ramona Gardens Laurel Lane
The Junction
Source: ECONorthwest analysis of CoStar data, February 2023. Data is limited.
Connect
SLO La Plaza Laurel Lane Ramona Gardens
The
Junction
Jurisdiction San Luis
Obispo
Atascader
o
San Luis
Obispo
Grover
Beach
San Luis
Obispo
Land Area
(AC)
Not
Available 1.83 Not Available 0.51 1.58
# Units 78 42 22 19 69
# Stories 3 3 3 3 3
Studio
Affordability
Above
Moderate Moderate N/A Moderate Above Moderate
Studio Unit
Size 477 sf 534 sf N/A 400 sf 531 sf
1 BR
Affordability Moderate* Moderate Low/ Moderate* Moderate Moderate* 1 BR Unit
Size 664 sf 721 sf 514 sf 800 sf 568 sf
2 BR
Affordability
Above
Moderate
Above
Moderate Moderate* Moderate Above Moderate
2 BR Unit
Size 1,032 sf 1,537 sf 877 sf 800 sf 799 sf
3 BR
Affordability N/A Above Moderate
Above
Moderate N/A N/A
*CoStar does not
isolate market rents in
mixed-income
buildings. Reported
average rents may be
artificially low due to
some units being
below market rate,
particularly where
inclusionary housing
regulations apply.
Unit Size vs. Rent and Affordability for Newer
Apartments
13 Source: ECONorthwest analysis of CoStar data, February 2023. Data is limited.
Findings from SLO County Recent Development
(Rental)
14 • May include some mixed-income
buildings
• 1BR units most likely to be affordable
• No 3BR units affordable
Some new
apartments
affordable at
Moderate Income
• Mostly 3 story buildings
• Mostly smaller average unit sizes
• Not all small units are affordable to
Moderate Income households
Design helps, but
does not
guarantee
affordability
Micro Units
▪ ~150-350 sf
▪ Individual kitchenettes, shared
kitchens
▪ No parking, bike storage
▪ Generally 4+ stories, high density,
minimal setbacks/landscaping
▪ Highly walkable and desirable
locations
▪ Typically affordable to Moderate
Income households in respective
region
Examples from Other Housing Markets
15 Image credit: Alcove PDX (https://pdxalcove.com)
Image credit: Stenberg Hart
(https://www.steinberghart.com/
design/projects/mccadden-place
-micro-units/)
Development “Prototypes”
Financial Feasibility Analysis
16 A. 3-story walk-up apartments—standard
▪ Larger units (~880 sf average)
▪ Typical density, parking ratio, and landscaping
B. 3-story walk-up apartments—compact
▪ Smaller units (~620 sf average)
▪ Higher density, lower parking ratio, less landscaping C. 4-story micro-unit apartments
▪ Very small units (~300 sf, shared kitchens, individual kitchenettes)
▪ Very high density, no parking, no landscaping
Market Rent Affordability by Market Area
Financial Feasibility Analysis
17
Results
Financial Feasibility Analysis
18 PRELIMINAR
Y
Summary of
Results by
Market Area
Financial Feasibility Analysis
19
Key Takeaways
Financial Feasibility Analysis
20 Central County
• Smaller units
help achieve
affordability
• Market likely
to support
feasibility
North Coast
• Market rents
provide
affordability
• Feasibility is
difficult
North County
• Market rents
likely
affordable
except for
largest units
• Market likely
to support,
except for the
smallest units
South County
• Market rents
likely
affordable
except for
largest units
• Market
support is
borderline
ABD For-Sale Housing
Recently Built ABD For-Sale Housing in SLO
County
Only manufactured housing in manufactured home parks met target price points for new for-sale housing using County calculations Images and sales data from Redfin
Recently Built ABD For-Sale Housing in SLO
County
A few small detached homes came close, and potentially could meet City of SLO affordability standards.
Images and sales data from Redfin
Small detached units
▪ ~350-800 sf units
▪ Shared yards
▪ Clustered parking
▪ Smallest units may be affordable at close
to 120% of AMI in that market
▪ Comparable units in SLO region exceed
target price
Examples from Other Housing Markets
24 Image credit: South Park Cottages
(https://southparkcottages.com/)
Image credit: Connect Architecture
(https://www.connectarchitecture.us/posh-pockets)
https://www.redfin.com/OR/Bend/61301-Benham-Rd-9
7702/unit-1/home/167021238
Small condo units
▪ ~325-600 sf
▪ Little or no on-site parking
▪ Can be affordable to
Moderate Income
households in portions of
some high-cost regions
▪ May not be viable in SLO
region’s market
Examples from Other Housing Markets
25 Image Credit:
https://www.portlandsbestrealestate.com/division-43-studio-c ondo
https://www.redfin.com/OR/Portland/7360-N-Atlantic-Ave-97 217/unit-3/home/185141446
Simple condo development
▪ ~600-1000 sf
▪ Little or no on-site parking
▪ Few shared amenities
▪ Can be affordable to Moderate Income
households in portions of some
high-cost regions
▪ May not be viable in SLO region’s
market
Examples from Other Housing Markets
26 https://www.redfin.com/OR/Portland/5025-N-Minne
sota-Ave-97217/unit-102/home/185246763
https://www.redfin.com/OR/Portland/1801-N-Rosa-Parks-Way-9 7217/unit-303/home/172577477
https://www.redfin.com/CO/Federal-Heights/1401-W-85th-Ave-8 0260/unit-B101/home/176995897