After an outpouring of opposition from residents, the SLO City Council backed off from its proposal to move $640,000 out of a fund earmarked for acquiring parkland in the North Broad neighborhood on June 1.

The council voted unanimously to keep a majority of the $900,000 fund intact, with $160,000 getting moved to pay for an update to the Parks and Recreation Element.

Residents of the neighborhood lobbied the City Council last year to put some funds toward a new park because North Broad currently doesn't have one. North Broad is the neighborhood between Highway 101, Foothill Boulevard, and Santa Rosa Street.

With the council's direction, city staff will begin reaching out to property owners in the neighborhood to gauge interest in entering land negotiations with the city, SLO Parks and Recreation Director Shelly Stanwyck said.

"We'll be looking and talking to any large-property owners to see if they have an interest in either a sale or lease," Stanwyck told New Times.

In addition to keeping the parkland fund intact, the City Council was also able to fund the projects it had proposed to use the parkland money for—Safe Routes to School and the Broad Street Bike Boulevard—thanks to freshly available state transportation funds.