Michelle Shoresman Michelle Shoresman

Together for a Stronger SLO

Together, we can help SLO thrive by creating diverse neighborhoods with access to nearby parks and services. We can build safe routes to schools for students who walk and bike and make housing more affordable so families that work in SLO can afford to live in SLO. We can expand open space and protect our environment by increasing access to affordable clean energy solutions. Together, we can make San Luis Obispo the best it can be.

The last few years have been tough on everyone. Homelessness has worsened during the pandemic. I’ll continue and improve collaboration within our region and among Central Coast communities to create more very-low income, emergency, and supportive housing for our hardest to serve neighbors. We can do this…if we do it together.

INCLUSIVITY

Our community’s ability to thrive depends on embracing differences and creating spaces that support diverse cultures, family structures, gender identities, abilities and religious beliefs. Inclusivity is essential to resiliency, and it encourages economic growth and social success.

In my 24-year career with the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department, I have learned the importance of inclusive and equitable access to services in creating a thriving community. It is well-documented that individuals without easy access to child care, healthy foods, transportation and exercise also suffer economically. For these reasons, in my time on council, I have voted in support of:

  • Funding cultural events and public art that represent and celebrate gender and cultural differences.
  • Changes in zoning requirements and other initiatives to make child care more accessible, and close to home and work sites.
  • Partnerships within the city to expand and support minority-owned businesses.
  • Expanded outreach with groups and individuals that have historically been underrepresented in policy-making conversations.
  • Efforts to build healing relationships between law enforcement and communities of color.
  • Expanded voter education and registration.
  • Increased funding to help low-income residents receive discounted utility service.

OPEN SPACE & THE ENVIRONMENT

San Luis Obispo is known for its clean air, hiking trails and conservation of beautiful open spaces. Our city is also a leader in environmental protection, as one of the first in the nation to embrace bold goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

As a mother, I want my son to inherit a San Luis Obispo that continues to preserve open space, reduce carbon emissions and build people-centric infrastructure and healthy neighborhoods where families can thrive. I believe active and mass transportation should be a priority so that people can walk, roll, ride or take the bus to basic services, child care and work. As a council member and former city planning commissioner, I have furthered these goals by:

  • Voting to dedicate millions in funding for new ADA curb ramps and traffic calming measures.
  • Advocating for increased funding for bikeways and pedestrian route connectivity as well as safe routes to schools.
  • Directing staff to dedicate $800,000 for Broad Street Corridor improvements to calm traffic and improve safety for bikers and pedestrians.
  • Ensuring that all new, approved developments include easy, safe and plentiful bike parking and access to charging for ebikes and cars.
  • Supporting the conversion of the city’s bus fleet from gas-powered to electric buses and installing the charging infrastructure to support this conversion long-term.
  • Approving the city’s newest open space conservation plan and trail network at Righetti Hill.
  • Voting to adopt the San Luis Obispo Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Plan.

SAFE & AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Everyone who works in San Luis Obispo should be able to live in San Luis Obispo. This means increasing the housing supply for residents at all income levels, whether you are looking to rent or own a home. It also means we need to diversify our housing stock and neighborhoods to include multi-family units, apartments and homes for working professionals as well as aging adults. Everyone deserves an affordable place that’s right for them and their stage of life.

Not only should housing be affordable for all residents, but everyone should feel safe and stable in their homes and neighborhoods. Roughly 62% of SLO residents are renters. Stability can feel questionable in a competitive, expensive market where it is well documented that wages do not keep up with housing costs.

As a planning commissioner and council member, I have voted to:

  • Recommend objective design standards to help streamline the building permitting process.
  • Approve the construction of deed-restricted affordable housing projects, including Maxine Lewis Grove, Broad Street Place, Tiburon Place, Palm Street Studios and over 150 units in San Luis Ranch and on Bridge Street.
  • Approve funding for the preservation of the historic Anderson Hotel.
  • Approve “missing middle,” deed-restricted and mixed-use developments that put housing and services within walking distance of each other.
  • Approve a flexible density program to increase the availability of small, lower cost housing units in the downtown core.
  • Direct staff to provide council policy options that support increasing local information about our rental stock and how to ensure it’s safe for residents. (ie. rental registry, safe housing policies, mediation programs, etc.)
  • Support the pursuit and receipt of grant funds to help those in mobile home parks retrofit their homes with low-cost, energy-efficient appliances.

HOMELESSNESS

Housing the unhoused is a regional problem that demands regional solutions. From 2023 through 2026, I have served as chair of the county’s Homeless Services Oversight Council (HSOC) and worked on the front lines with regional and county partners to expand the range of housing opportunities for SLO’s unhoused residents, including safe parking, shelters, tiny homes and other types of housing for very low-income people.

Keeping people housed requires more than physical structures, however. In addition to housing, we must collaborate regionally to provide more mental health care, addiction treatment, dementia care, in-home assistance and help with other daily needs.

In my job with the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department, I have worked in partnership with agencies like CAPSLO, Five Cities Homeless Coalition, El Camino Homelessness Organization (ECHO) and Transitions Mental Health Association to provide health care assistance to unhoused people in need. I will continue to bring these connections and collaborations to the community in a second term on the SLO City Council.

As Chair of the HSOC and as a council member, I have also:

  • Overseen the implementation of new, annual, countywide listening sessions, where community members can share their opinions on how county funding should be distributed to best address gaps in services.
  • Advocated for expanded use of data in decision-making and defining efficiency measures to determine which programs to support with limited funding.
  • Voted to approve state grant funds for the renovation of a Motel 6 on Calle Joaquin to be converted to low-income transitional and permanent housing for homeless individuals.
  • Proposed language to the City’s Legislative Action Platform related to homeless services, a document used to guide advocacy at state and national levels for things the city needs.
  • Approved the creation of a strategic plan for homelessness response within the City of San Luis Obispo.
  • Voted to use the city’s Opioid Settlement Funds to support full-time psychiatric technicians to work with homeless individuals on our Police Department Community Action Teams and Fire Department Mobile Crisis Unit.