The former Sunnyside School site in Los Osos is one step closer to becoming a public park, after organizers collected enough signatures to petition a June ballot measure.
The measure would decide whether Los Osos residents will fund the purchase of the Sunnyside Elementary site.
For the measure to be considered, the Sunnyside Park Citizens Coalition needed to collect 1,029 signatures by the Dec. 21 deadline.
“In just 52 days, we have collected 1,465 signatures,” said Deborah Howe, a Sunnyside Park proponent.
Howe said volunteers gathered signatures outside local grocery stores, during Oktoberfest and even by walking in the Christmas parade.
“We’ve been working with the Waldorf School that’s at the site here currently because we want them to stay, and so we’ve been working with them and their parents to sign the petition to keep everything going,” Howe said.
Howe plans to turn the petition in to the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder’s office on Friday, December 19.
“They will go through their process of verifying the signatures as being both registered voters and living within Los Osos,” Howe said.
Los Osos Community Services District (CSD) General Manager Ron Munds said while the CSD has discussed what a potential purchase from the San Luis Coastal Unified School District could look like, the petition has all been the work of the coalition.
“It’ll come back to the CSD then to determine if they’re gonna call for the election because the CSD has to make that determination once the signatures are verified,” Munds said.
Munds said the clerk-recorder’s office usually takes about two weeks to verify signatures.
“They’re anticipating the signatures after the holidays, so we’re anticipating it might take a little bit longer,” he said.
According to Munds, the CSD’s cost for a ballot measure would be about $40,000. The CSD is expected to discuss the fees during its January board of directors meeting, or a special meeting may be called.
If the measure appears on the June ballot and is approved by voters, residents could pay up to $185 per year, or about $15 per month, to help fund the park.
