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 permit and coastal development permit for a two‑story residence at 2831 Alamo Drive (Mueller); (2) a minor use permit/CDP to regularize a long‑standing hotel/motel with restaurant use at Second Street (Katie Lee); (3) a minor use permit/CDP to regularize a three‑unit motel with laundry at 1315 Second Street (Katie Lee); and (4) a minor use permit/CDP for a single‑family residence at 200 Madera Street (Purewall). Staff said the sites lie inside the Urban Services Line or Urban Reserve Line, do not require extension of public sewer, and are subject to the county’s Title 19 retrofit/offset program. The Planning Department recommended adoption of a Mitigated Negative Declaration where required and approval of the entitlements with standard conditions, including Title 19 offsets.

Appellants focused on chloride (salt) trends and technical critiques of the groundwater model and urged the board to deny the permits until a new transient groundwater model and an uncertainty analysis are finished. Planning supervisors and county counsel pointed to the Basin Management Committee’s technical review and to the Coastal Commission’s prior certification of the Los Osos Community Plan and LCP amendments, saying that, as conditioned, the projects comply with Public Works Policy 1 and coastal standards. Planning staff cited the June 2023 Los Osos water‑offset study, which estimated available residential savings and concluded the proposed single‑family uses could be offset under Title 19.

Supervisor Bruce Gibson moved to deny the appeals and approve the four projects with revised findings and conditions (including an indemnification edit added to the conditions). The motions were seconded and carried on roll calls in which all five supervisors voted yes (Gibson; James Paulding; Supervisor Pashong; Supervisor Moreno; Chairperson Ortiz Lake). The transcript records the motions and roll calls as unanimous for each of the four appeals.

The board did not alter county policy on basin management. Several supervisors and staff said the technical issues raised by the appellants are under active review by the Basin Management Committee and by outside technical consultants and that a transient model is expected to be completed and reviewed in the future. Appellants said they will continue to press the technical concerns at the Basin Management Committee and to the Coastal Commission, which had received related filings.

Votes and formal actions are in the record for each permit; staff advised each approval included the Title 19 retrofit/offset requirements where applicable and the projects were found consistent with the county’s Local Coastal Program and applicable Coastal Zone Land Use Ordinance sections.

Ending: The board’s approvals enable the Planning Department to issue the entitlements as conditioned. Appellants reiterated they will continue to contest basin sustainability calculations in other forums.