Pismo Beach City Council held a special meeting on Sept. 29 to discuss a fresh resolution to rename South Palisades Park after sitting Councilmember Mary Ann Reiss.
The 4-0 approval, with Reiss abstaining, mirrored a vote that took place nearly a month ago when the City Council first deliberated renaming the park. The second look on Sept. 29 came after resident Rosemary Wrenn alerted the city about a possible Brown Act violation.
“The agenda item, report, and resolution did not match the location of the park in the vote,” Wrenn wrote to the City Council in a Sept. 24 cure and correct request. “Residents and visitors to the Beachcomber portion of South Palisades Park had no notice that their park was being considered to be renamed.”
On Sept. 1, the City Council originally considered naming Palisades Park on Florin Street after Reiss in honor of her serving the city in elected office for 30 consecutive years.
Though the resolution before City Council that night specified the name change was for Palisades Park, Councilmember Scott Newton proposed South Palisades Park for renaming during discussion after the public comment period. The council voted to do just that.
According to Wrenn, that action was not in compliance with the Brown Act because the city allegedly didn’t provide adequate notice to the public on the posted agenda for the meeting.
“There was no finding of fact made by the Pismo Beach City Council that urgent action was necessary on a matter unforeseen at the time the agenda was posted,” she wrote to the city. “I demand that the Pismo Beach City Council cure and correct the illegally taken action as follows: the formal and explicit withdrawal from the park renaming, accompanied by the full opportunity for informed comment on the actual park to be renamed by members of the public at the same meeting, notice of which is properly included on the posted agenda.”
Wrenn added that she would seek “judicial invalidation” of the decision if the city didn’t cure and correct it within 30 days of her notification.
The city didn’t say whether the new resolution to rename South Palisades Park was a result of Wrenn’s correspondence.
“While the city maintains there was no Brown Act violation, the city’s intent is to always operate as transparently as possible; therefore, out of an abundance of caution, the matter was re-agendized with proper noticing by the City Council on Sept. 29, 2026,” Assistant City Manager Silas Clarke said.
In an email obtained by New Times, City Attorney Dean Pucci toldWrenn on Sept. 29 that the “matter has been ‘cured’” with the City Council’s approval of the name change.
“Your attention to civic responsibility is appreciated and this matter, and your formal request, is now deemed closed,” Pucci wrote to Wrenn. “We at the city look forward to moving on with this matter to now implement the council direction which is the opportunity to honor a long-standing public servant in this community.” ∆
This article appears in Oct 1-8, 2026.
