More trees could sprout up in San Miguel after the Community Services District (CSD) opted to develop a downtown landscaping plan.
On Dec. 19, the San Miguel CSD board voted unanimously to request proposals from local developers to update its current water and wastewater master plan and develop a new master plan for streetlighting and landscaping.
Former board director Anthony Kalvans, who stepped back from the board in November after serving three terms, told New Times that developing a streetlighting and landscaping master plan would be a “small step” in the right direction toward his yearslong goal of planting more trees in San Miguel.
“When you look at the hills around our town, quite frankly, they’re barren, and most of the time of the year they are brown. Summers reach up to be 120 degrees,” he said. “So, I know that by having more trees in our community, we can then actually help protect our community against rising temperatures and also provide a little more shade to residents, especially in places like the downtown area.”
Kalvans said the inspiration for such a goal started in 2007 when SLO County provided some plants and trees downtown. The county was responsible for planting them, however, and the district struggled to figure out who would pay for and maintain the landscaping.
An 80-year-old resident took on the responsibility of maintaining the area until 2020, when Kalvans said the district was able to expand its services for landscaping by using its extra streetlighting funds, as allowed under state law.
“This was an opportunity for us because we had surpluses in that department to make this happen,” he said.
Now that the board gave the green light for developing a streetlight and landscaping master plan, visions include identifying and planting low-maintenance and long-lasting trees along roadways and in abandoned and barren lots of land—like on 15th Street and along Mission Street—and incorporating more streetlights as needed, according to a meeting agenda from 2023.
Kalvans said he hopes these improvements will enhance the beauty of San Miguel.
“When people come off of our freeways or go into our communities, they can then see more trees instead of weeds, tumbleweeds, trash, you know, things like that,” he said.
In a community with potential for growth, he said he believes the trees are an investment in the district’s future.
“We are growing rapidly. There’s 3,000 people in San Miguel, and obviously, with the effects of climate change and an affordability crisis, there’s going to be more people up there. And hopefully they’ll be able to create a community that’s nice and doesn’t have to suffer from those brutal summers,” he said.
This isn’t the first time the district has asked for master plan proposals. It didn’t receive any proposals to update its 2020 water and wastewater master plan—a project intended to enable production of recycled water, according to District Manager Kelly Dodds.
Dodds said at the Dec. 19 meeting that the district hadn’t received any proposals in 2022 because developers didn’t have the time to submit them. However, this year he hopes it will be different.
Board President Ashley Sangster made a couple of suggestions at the meeting for requesting proposals, including extending the deadline and establishing better relationships with developers.
“I found that the response is exponentially better than zero,” Sangster said at the meeting. “Perhaps that would be something beneficial.”
Dodds confirmed with New Times via email that proposals are due at the end of January and will be presented to the board in February. Δ
This article appears in Volunteers 2025.