City Council
AGENDA

Tuesday, January 20, 2026 at 5:30 P.m. - 6:30 P.m.

Council Chambers, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo

AGENDA AMENDED TO ADD CLOSED SESSION

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT:

Public Comment prior to the meeting (must be received 3 hours in advance of the meeting):

Mail - Delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. Address letters to the City Clerk's Office at 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California, 93401.

Email - Submit Public Comments via email to . In the body of your email, please include the date of the meeting and the item number (if applicable). Emails will not be read aloud during the meeting.  

Voicemail - Call [phone] and leave a voicemail. Please state and spell your name, the agenda item number you are calling about, and leave your comment. Verbal comments must be limited to 3 minutes. Voicemails will not be played during the meeting. Voicemails will not be played during the meeting.  

*All correspondence will be archived and distributed to councilmembers, however, submissions received after the deadline may not be processed until the following day.  

Public Comment during the meeting:

Meetings are held in-person. To provide public comment during the meeting, you must be present at the meeting location.

Electronic Visual Aid Presentation. To conform with the City's Network Access and Use Policy, Chapter 1.3.8 of the Council Policies & Procedures Manual, members of the public who desire to utilize electronic visual aids to supplement their oral presentation must provide display-ready material to the City Clerk by 12:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting. Contact the City Clerk's Office at or [phone].

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1.

CLOSED SESSION (4:30 PM - 5:30 PM)

1.a

CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNCIL - EXISTING LITIGATION

Pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of California Government Code Section 54956.9. 

Name of case: Randall Arseneau v. City of San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo Superior Court Case No. 22CV-0121

1.b

ADJOURNMENT

The City Council will hold a Regular Meeting on January 20, 2026 at 5:30 PM in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo.

2.

CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Erica A. Stewart will call the Regular Meeting of the San Luis Obispo City Council to order.

3.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Mayor Erica A. Stewart will lead the Council in the Pledge of Allegiance.

4.

PRESENTATIONS

4.a

CITYWIDE SINGLE VOTE TRANSITION - COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH PLAN

Presentation on the communications and outreach strategy to educate the community about election changes related to the Citywide Single Vote System, effective November 2026.

4.b

CITY MANAGER REPORT

Receive a brief report from City Manager Whitney McDonald.

5.

PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA

Not to exceed 15 minutes. The Council welcomes your input. State law does not allow the Council to discuss or take action on issues not on the agenda, except that members of the Council or staff may briefly respond to statements made or questions posed by persons exercising their public testimony rights (Gov. Code sec. 54954.2). Staff may be asked to follow up on such items.

6.

CONSENT AGENDA

Not to exceed 15 minutes. Matters appearing on the Consent Calendar are expected to be non-controversial and will be acted upon at one time. A member of the public may request the Council to pull an item for discussion. Pulled items shall be heard at the close of the Consent Agenda unless a majority of the Council chooses another time. The public may comment on any and all items on the Consent Agenda within the three-minute time limit.

• Recommendation:

  To approve Consent Calendar Items 5a to 5d.

6.a

WAIVE READING IN FULL OF ALL RESOLUTIONS AND ORDINANCES

Recommendation:
Waive reading of all resolutions and ordinances as appropriate.

6.b

MINUTES REVIEW - JANUARY 13, 2026 COUNCIL MINUTES

Recommendation:
Approve the minutes of the City Council meeting held on January 13, 2026.

6.c

AUTHORIZATION TO APPLY FOR THE 2025 COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS PLAYGROUND GRANT

• Recommendation:
  1. Adopt a Draft Resolution affirming the submittal of a Community Champions Playground Grant application (Attachment A) requesting an award of grant funds toward the purchase of a new playground system for the Vista Lago Park, from GameTime, a PlayCore Company (GameTime); and
  2. Authorize the Assistant City Manager to execute the necessary grant documents and appropriate the grant amount into the Vista Lago Playground Replacement project (CIP No. 2000033-02) budget to support the replacement of the playground equipment upon grant award.

6.d

FINAL ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE NO 1754 (2026 SERIES) IMPLEMENTING CITYWIDE SINGLE VOTE FOR CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS

• Recommendation:

  Adopt Ordinance No. 1754 (2026 Series) adding Chapter 2.38, entitled “Citywide Single Vote Method of Electing City Councilmembers” to the San Luis Obispo Municipal Code, implementing a new method for elections of City Councilmembers and adopting regulations providing for the administration of City Council elections by Citywide Single Vote beginning in November 2026.

7.

PUBLIC HEARING AND BUSINESS ITEMS

7.a

2025 STATE LEGISLATIVE BRIEFING (25 MINUTES)

• Recommendation:
  1. Receive and file a report on the 2025 State Legislative Briefing which summarizes the adopted laws from the 2025 regular session of the California State Legislature (December 2024 through October 2025); and
  2. Consider appointing an ad-hoc committee of the City Council to review the current legislative platform and suggest changes for the 2026 legislative session.

7.b

CONSIDER INVITATION TO JOIN LETTER FROM THE COUNTY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO REQUESTING STATE LEGISLATION RELATED TO DIABLO CANYON POWER PLANT (20 MINUTES)

• Recommendation:

  Receive the County of San Luis Obispo’s invitation to join a request for State legislation related to the Diablo Canyon Power Plant and provide direction to staff regarding participation in the letter drafted by the County.

7.c

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS PRESENTATION ON LOCAL ROADS FIRST PROPOSED BALLOT MEASURE– DRAFT TRANSPORTATION EXPENDITURE PLAN (30 MINUTES)

• Recommendation:

  Receive and comment on a report and presentation by the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) staff regarding a potential Countywide Self-Help Sales Tax Measure and Draft Transportation Expenditure Plan.

8.

LIAISON REPORTS AND COMMUNICATIONS

Not to exceed 15 minutes. Council Members report on subcommittee assignments, listed below, and other City activities. At this time, any Council Member or the City Manager may ask a question for clarification, make an announcement, or report briefly on their activities. In addition, subject to Council Policies and Procedures, they may provide a reference to staff or other resources for factual information, request staff to report back to the Council at a subsequent meeting concerning any matter or take action to direct staff to place a matter of business on a future agenda. (Gov. Code Sec. 54954.2)

Mayor Stewart	Vice Mayor Francis	Council Member Boswell	Council Member Marx	Council Member Shoresman
SLO Council of Governments	Airport Land Use	Community Action Partnership	Air Pollution Control District	Downtown Association Board
Regional Economic Action Coalition	Nacimiento Water Project	SLO Climate Coalition	County Water Resources Advisory Committee	CP Campus Planning Committee
CA Men’s Colony Advisory Committee	Zone 9 Advisory Committee	Local Agency Formation Commission		Homeless Services Oversight Committee
Performing Arts Center Commission				Integrated Waste Management Authority
SLO Regional Transit Authority
Visit SLO County Advisory Committee
Central Coast Clean Energy

 

9.

ADJOURNMENT

The next Regular Meeting of the City Council will be held on February 3, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo.

 

LISTENING ASSISTIVE DEVICES for the hearing impaired - see the Clerk.

The City of San Luis Obispo wishes to make all of its public meetings accessible to the public. Upon request, this agenda will be made available in appropriate alternative formats to persons with disabilities. Any person with a disability who requires a modification or accommodation in order to participate in a meeting should direct such request to the City Clerk’s Office at [phone] at least 48 hours before the meeting, if possible. Telecommunications Device for the Deaf [phone].

City Council meetings are televised live on Charter Channel 20 and the City's YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/CityofSanLuisObispo. Agenda related writings or documents provided to the City Council are available for public inspection in the City Clerk’s Office located at 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California during normal business hours, and on the City’s website https://www.slocity.org/government/mayor-and-city-council/agendas-and-minutes. Persons with questions concerning any agenda item may call the City Clerk’s Office at [phone].