By Neil Farrell
The City of Morro Bay put an end to one controversy, and awarded two sizable contracts for very different projects — the new sewer plant and new computers to do online permitting — in recent actions taken by the City Council.
The Council voted unanimously to remove the experimental parklet in the 800 block of Main St. The 65-foot long and 8-foot wide, outdoor seating space that sits even with the adjacent sidewalk and takes up some parking spaces — was installed last January as part of its “Local Economic Action Plan” or LEAP efforts.
LEAP was the City Council’s attempt to come up with a strategy for boosting the local economy and the parklet was part of one subgroup’s efforts to spruce up Downtown, making it more pedestrian and bicycle friendly and in turn more prosperous.
But the parklet was controversial from day one, as surprised residents started turning out almost immediately, criticizing the City for not enough public input and a poor location — sitting in the street. Continue reading Parklet Experiment Over, Results Mixed
Efforts continue to draft a ‘Local Economy Action Plan’ (LEAP) in Morro Bay with a second workshop held Jan. 21 at the Vet’s Hall. With local facilitator Don Maruska leading the efforts, numerous citizens business owners and City officials — including the city council — have broken down the City’s potential economic future growth into a short list of topics that include supporting and attracting more events, attracting businesses that pay good wages, providing affordable housing and improving cityscapes [which produced the parklet on Main Street], among others. If readers would like to get involved, see the website at: www.Morro-Bay.ca.us/LEAP for additional information. Send an email to: to be added to the email list. Photos by Neil Farrell
