In compliance with social distancing, the City Council, staff, and the public participated via conference call. The public was given the opportunity to view a livestream of the meeting at www.prcity.com/youtube,  invited to call into the meeting at 805-865-PASO (7276), and to email public comment to cityclerk@prcity.com prior to the meeting.
 
Highlights from the Regular City Council meeting, held on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 to address time critical items, are as follows. The City Council took the following actions:
 
Received Update on COVID-19. There are over 514,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in California, 1,926 in the County, and 501 in the Paso Robles area zip code. Of the 317 active cases in the county, approximately 60% are in the Paso Robles zip code area.  Given a significant increase in cases in the Paso area over the last few weeks, community members are being asked to heed public health guidelines to protect themselves and their community members, by wearing face coverings while in public, maintaining at least six feet of distance from non-household members, practicing frequent hand washing, and abstaining from gathering in groups.
 
Approved a Visitor Center Agreement with the Chamber of Commerce.  Council approved a contract for $37,500 for the Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce to operate the Visitor Center from July through December 2020.
 
Held the Second Reading and Adoption of an Ordinance to Place a One-Cent Sales Tax Measure on the November Ballot. Voters will have the ability to decide on November 3^rd whether to enact a one-cent sales tax, expiring in 12 years unless ended sooner by voters. Council approved a Resolution on July 21^st stating that if a general tax measure is approved by voters, priority areas for spending will include fire and emergency services, police services, and streets repair and maintenance. 
 
Reviewed the Draft Housing Element Update in a Joint Meeting with the Planning Commission.  The Housing Element is a mandatory General Plan element. It identifies ways in which the housing needs of existing and future residents can be met. State law requires that all cities adopt a Housing Element and describes in detail the necessary content.  The City’s must submit the Update for the 2020-28 reporting period for certification by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) by December. The City has a State mandated Regional Housing Needs Allocation of 1,446 residential units for the 2020-28 period, meaning that the City must have available sites, zoning, and policies to facilitate the private sector’s ability to develop that quantity of housing. The draft Housing Element has identified residential development opportunities with sufficient capacity to meet and exceed the identified housing need. The Housing Element outlines several programs and potential policy changes to further accommodate and facilitate this housing production by reducing constraints on housing development. Housing units that are under construction or approved are anticipated to fully meet housing needs at the moderate and above moderate-income levels. Additional housing projects will be needed to fully meet the RHNA for very-low and low-income households. The Planning Commission and City Council provided direction to staff to refine the Draft Housing Element Update and submit it to HCD for review. The final document will come back to the Planning Commission and City Council for public hearings and adoption this fall. 
 
Approved the Submittal of a Grant Application for CARES Act Funs for a Fiber Network. Council approved the submittal of a FY 2020 Economic Development Administration CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant application to install optical fiber cable in key City corridors. If approved, the City would receive approximately $2.4 million in federal funds, which would be matched by approximately $0.6 million in local funds (much or all of which would come from existing capital improvement budgets) to install conduit and fiber on over 13 linear miles of City roads. This would facilitate broader access to high-speed internet and foster competition in the marketplace, possibly resulting in lower-cost access for residents and businesses. This would facilitate the advancement of Council’s economic development goal by facilitating job retention and creation, business attraction, and telecommuting. In addition, it could facilitate distance learning for students while schools are closed, virtual job training, and telehealth options, which are increasingly important in the pandemic context.
 
The agenda can be found at https://www.prcity.com/agendacenter and the livestream from the meeting can be found at www.prcity.com/youtube.  The minutes will be available as part of the packet for the City Council’s next regular meeting. 
 
The next regular City Council meeting takes place on Tuesday, August 18^th at 6:30 pm via livestream at www.prcity.com/youtube.  Public comment can be made during the meeting by 805-865-PASO (7276) or provided prior to the meeting by emailing cityclerk@prcity.com.