COLAB SAN LUIS OBISPO WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 23 - 29, 2018 THIS WEEK NO BOS MEETING PLANNING COMMISSION BACK IN ACTION SOME INTERESTING DEVELOPMENTS LAST WEEK BACKLOG OF MARIJUANA PERMIT APPS. AND ILLEGAL GROW VIOLATIONS SLOWING OTHER PLANNING DEPARTMENT WORK THE BOARD APPROVED A NEW $730,000 PER YEAR UNIT USE OF CONTRACTOR TO DO IT FASTER AND CHEAPER NOT CONSIDERED BOS ADOPTS PRIVATIZATION OF PUBLIC SAFETY MEDICAL SERVICES PUBLIC FACILITIES FEES REVIEW PERFUNCTORY REVIEW ANESTHETIZES BOS REGIONAL WATER BOARD MEETING ON AG WATER RUNOFF ON SEPT. 20 & 21 LAFCO CANCELLED 1 SLO COLAB IN DEPTH SEE PAGE 11 ARE WE ON THE VERGE OF CIVIL WAR? By VICTOR DAVIS HANSON THE ALINSKY-IZATION OF BRETT KAVANAUGH By Rich Logis THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS No Board of Supervisors Meeting on Tuesday, September 25, 2018 (Not Scheduled) September 25th is a 4th Tuesday, when the Board does not typically meet. San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District APCD Meeting of Wednesday, September 26, 2018 (Scheduled) Item A-8: Request For Proposal For Legal Counsel. Contract District Counsel Ray Biering has announced his retirement. The SLOCOG Board will be considering the content of Request for Proposals (RFP) for a new attorney. He will also be retiring from the SLO County Solid Waste Authority, where there is an unraveling scandal over allegations of fraud, misuse of public funds, and cronyism. He is also apparently retiring as LAFCO’s contract attorney. LAFCO has issued a request for proposals for a new contract attorney. It is not known if his sudden retirement is related to the mess at the Waste Authority or not. Last year he reported that he needed to spend time with a family member who had been diagnosed with and was receiving treatment for a serious illness. 2 Item B-2: Closed Session. The meeting includes the issue of recruiting a new legal counsel as noted above. It also contains labor negotiations and performance evaluation of the Air Pollution Control Officer (executive director). Planning Commission Meeting of Thursday, September 27, 2018 (Scheduled) In General: For this meeting, while business has picked up, and except for Item 10 below, there are no major policy change items on the agenda. Items of interest include: Item 6 - Request by Craig Stoller for a third time extension of previously approved Minor Use Permit DRC2013-00014 to allow for the phased construction of a production winery consisting of two buildings and totaling 13,525 square feet at build out. The project does not include public tasting or special events. The project will result in the disturbance of approximately 2.5 acres of a 114-acre parcel. The proposed project is within the Agriculture land use category and is located in the northwest quadrant of the South El Pomar Road and Almond Drive intersection, approximately 7 miles east of the community of Templeton. The site is in the El Pomar/Estrella sub area of the North County planning area. Also to be considered is the environmental determination. Staff recommends approval. Item 7 - A continued hearing to consider a request by Ralph Goehring/Templeton Tennis Ranch to allow for a modification of their previously approved Vesting Tentative Tract Map and Conditional Use Permit (SUB2004-00227) for the construction of a 4,320 sq. ft. multi-purpose building and for 58 temporary events with 24 events up to 100 guests, 22 events up to 150 guests and 12 events up to 250 guests. Amplified music is proposed. The existing uses include a 10,086 sq. ft. tennis club facility with 6 tennis/paddle courts. The project is within the Residential Rural land use category and is located on the west side of Theater Drive, approximately 1,000 feet south of the intersection of Main Street, in the community of Templeton, in the Salinas River Sub Area of the North County Planning Area. Staff recommends approval. Some neighbors are unhappy. Item 8 - A request by Bill Lee for a Minor Use Permit/Coastal Development Permit to allow encroachments (as-built) into the road right-of-way of First Street including: 20 feet of landscaping along the length of the eastern portion of the road, and the extension of an approximately 86 foot long (5 feet wide) coastal access boardwalk (connecting to the boardwalk which fronts the bay front at the Back Bay Inn). The project will result in a disturbance of approximately 6000 square feet of First Street (an 80 foot wide right-of-way). The project is located on First Street, south of Santa Maria Avenue extending to Morro Bay, in the Estero planning area in the community of Los Osos. Also to be considered is the environmental 3 determination that the project is categorically exempt under CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(2). Staff recommends approval. There is some opposition. Others are in support. Item 9 - Hearing to consider processing of a land use ordinance amendment to Section 22.94.070 of the County Land Use Ordinance (Nacimiento Sub-Area Standards) and Chapter III of the Inland Area Plan Section 6.2.8 (North County Area Plan – Combining Designations – Flood Hazard). The amendments would allow reconstruction of homes destroyed in the 2016 Chimney Fire below the 825-foot elevation line of Lake Nacimiento (subject to approval by the Monterey County Water Resources Agency). The subject site is within the Recreational land use category in the North County planning area. Also to be considered is the environmental determination that the project is exempt under CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), General Rule Exemption. The Environmental Coordinator has determined that it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the proposed project may have a significant adverse effect on the environment. The staff recommends approval. The green line on the aerial view below delineates the elevation below which development is prohibited today. The exemption is being granted for properties destroyed in the fire. 4 Item 10 - Hearing to consider a request by Ormonde Properties for a Land Use Ordinance Amendment to County Land Use Ordinance Section 22.94.082.D.1, modifying the Wellsona Road Commercial Service Area Plan Standards in the Salinas River Area Plan to allow ‘Vehicle Service and Repair’ and ‘Vehicle Retail Sales’ as allowable uses. The purpose of the amendment is to allow for the future consideration of a Minor Use Permit to relocate and develop a truck sales and service business (Paso Robles Truck Center) within the Wellsona Road Commercial Services area. The Wellsona Road Commercial Services Area surrounds the intersection of Wellsona Road and US 101 and consists of multiple parcels totaling 48 acres within the Commercial Service land use category. Also to be considered is the approval of the environmental document. A Mitigated Negative Declaration has been issued on August 20, 2018 for this project. Mitigation measures are proposed to address Air Quality, Biological Resources, Public Services/Utilities and Transportation/Circulation; and are included as conditions of approval. The item is complicated because the Wellsona Road/Highway 101 intersection has continuously experienced deadly traffic collisions. Cal Trans expects to construct a fully controlled access interchange in 2022 to alleviate the problem. It is not known if that project is dependent on the continuation of SB-1 funds. In the meantime staff recommends approval of the development with numerous conditions. It is not clear if the applicant agrees. 5 LAST WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS Board of Supervisors Meeting of Tuesday, September 18, 2018 (Completed) Item 13 - Addition of More Staff Planning Department For Marijuana Permitting and Enforcement. A new unit with more staff was unanimously approved for the Planning and Building Department to manage marijuana permitting and enforcement activities. As we have noted in past Updates, the County has a huge backlog of permit applications and illegal grow violations. Background: The estimated work hours for catch-up are noted below: 6 Some questions which were not discussed or considered in public or perhaps not considered at all: a. How long will it take to staff up the unit? b. On the code enforcement side, how many inspections per day does each inspector do on average, and how long do they take per inspection? c. Could one of the private sector facilitator firms in the area do this cheaper, better, and faster while avoiding the addition of long-term pension liability? How much is the accumulated projected actuarial cost of Planner III who works for the County for the next 30 years? d. How much money has the County collected so far in permitting fees and fines? e. Will there be a lag in revenue vis-a-vis the expenditures due to the backlog? Will the General Fund have to assist to backfill this? We will probably see at the time of the 3rd Quarter Financial Report in May 2019. f. Will the County be in compliance with the permit streamlining act? g. How long will it take to eliminate the backlog? h. Do the permitting fees and fines in sequence constitute a violation of the 8th Amendment to the Constitution? Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. For example, a person has a grow and is registered under the interim ordinance. The permitting fees under the permanent ordinance for a minor use permit end up costing $10,000 (all in with the base fee, inspections, other departments, etc.). The person can’t afford to pay them, is found in violation for the current crop and is fined $1000 per day, and loses the property for default on a loan.