Board approves parcel-specific and countywide planning changes; launches $40M rebalancing review and moves cannabis rules to Tier 2 review

San Luis Obispo County supervisors met to consider a range of land‑use and budget items, including approval of a land‑use change to allow school district housing on an Office of Education parcel, adoption of updated mineral resource mapping and rules, and direction to planning staff to pursue a proposal to allow cannabis storefronts in coastal unincorporated areas as a Tier 2 project.

The meeting opened with public comment on items including proposed groundwater governance in the Paso Robles basin and multiple speakers supporting Homekey grant applications and partnerships for supportive housing. Supervisors then heard presentations on crime‑victims services, child‑abuse prevention and early‑childhood programs, a public‑defender annual update, and a multi‑year county budget forecast that frames a proposed “Financial Rebalancing and Resiliency Initiative.”

The county administrative office told the board that departments’ status‑quo budgets produced a roughly $15.3 million general‑fund gap for fiscal year 2025‑26 and that multi‑year structural shortfalls could be much larger. CAO Lisa Howe presented a planning exercise that targets roughly $40 million in general‑fund reductions or offsets over the forecast period as a conservative approach to rebalancing the budget and preserving essential services. The board directed staff to continue the program‑by‑program review and return with recommendations during the recommended‑budget process.

In land‑use business, supervisors approved a Planning Commission recommendation to allow “school district housing” on the Office of Education parcel at 2450 Pennington Creek Road (a site‑specific action that planning staff said could be extended later by board direction). The board also adopted ordinance and general‑plan amendments updating mineral‑resource combining designations to conform…