The San Luis Obipso City Council unanimously approved a 10-year, more than $10 million plan Tuesday to restore the city’s rapidly drying lake.
The plan to save Laguna Lake will involve restoring eroding creek banks and shorelines and removing sediment from portions of the lake. A full scale dredging operation may occur, but it would have to clear financial and regulatory hurdles.
Funding for the lake restoration will come only in part from the city’s general fund. The city plans to obtain grant funding for the project and to create an assessment district in the Laguna Lake neighborhood.
The proposed assessment district would include as many as 759 parcels. Lakefront property owners would pay $958 annually, while others in the area would pay $389 in assessments.
As part of the restoration effort, city staff also plan to create a loop trail around the lake, as well as a boardwalk and viewing platforms.
Many residents from the Laguna Lake area showed up to city hall Tuesday in support of the restoration plan. Some opposed the assessment district, though, saying they should not bare the tax burden for a public resource.
