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Board splits Los Osos package, advances Title 26 hearing and defers Habitat Conservation Plan funding
Summary
After weeks of debate, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors agreed Oct. 8 to introduce changes to Title 26 for a hearing Oct. 29 while deferring detailed decisions about the Los Osos Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) funding and mitigation. The motion passed 3–2 after concerns about the HCP’s cost allocation and timing.
The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted Oct. 8 to introduce changes to Title 26 — a step that will be noticed for a hearing on Oct. 29 — while directing staff to separate and delay funding decisions tied to the Los Osos Habitat Conservation Plan.
Planning staff told the board the HCP is a community-wide approach that, if funded, would allow properties in Los Osos to use a fees-and-credits system rather than pursue costly, site-by-site consultations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "The Habitat Conservation Plan really is a strategy to address the habitat concerns in Los Osos holistically," a county planner explained during the meeting.
Supervisor Bruce Gibson moved to modify item 1 so that Title 26 and related local-coastal program actions are introduced for the Oct. 29 hearing while HCP implementation and its mitigation‑cost package would be returned to the board later for individual consideration. The motion passed on a roll-call vote: Gibson, Paulding and Ortiz Legg voted yes; Supervisor Pashong and Chairperson Arnold voted no.
Supporters said the split preserves the legal and procedural timeline for the community-plan and growth-management pieces while giving the board more time to vet HCP financing. Opponents warned the HCP’s mitigation cost estimates are substantial and that shifting mitigation funds between inland and coastal priorities has previously provoked community frustration. "There are a lot of problems with the funding," Chairperson Arnold said, noting past concerns about transfers of mitigation funds out of inland areas.
Planning staff said the Coastal Commission’s modifications require responses within a six‑month window and that separating the Title 26 and local-coastal work from the HCP funding discussion would allow the county to meet those deadlines while continuing deliberations on mitigation funding.
What’s next: Title 26 will be noticed for a public hearing on Oct. 29; the board directed staff to return later with HCP funding details and an appropriate schedule for a hearing on those elements.
