Board denies appeals and approves four Los Osos coastal permits after staff finds basin not in overdraft

The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors on March 11 denied appeals from the Los Osos Sustainability Group and approved four Planning Department land‑use actions for properties in Los Osos, after staff told the board the county and the Los Osos Basin Management Committee do not currently classify the basin as in overdraft.

Appellants, led by Patrick McGibney and represented by Lynette Brooks, argued repeatedly that saltwater intrusion and other data show the Los Osos groundwater basin remains in critical overdraft and that the county should pause new entitlements until a new transient groundwater model and uncertainty analysis are complete. Planning staff and the board said the specific permits under appeal would not increase district water service, are conditioned to provide Title 19 retrofit offsets, and therefore meet local coastal program requirements and county code.

The four appealed matters heard together included: (1) a variance/minor use…