Los Osos CSD authorizes joint comment letter supporting nexus study for Title 19 in-lieu fee

The Los Osos Community Services District board unanimously authorized staff to submit a joint comment letter to San Luis Obispo County that supports studying a water-resiliency intertie as part of a nexus study tied to the county's Title 19 water-conservation program. The board's action directs the general manager to execute the letter prepared collaboratively by Golden State Water Company, Los Osos CSD and S&T Mutual Water Company.

The draft letter, read aloud by district staff during the meeting, says the county planning department’s proposed in-lieu fee would allow new-development applicants to pay a fee instead of completing 2:1 plumbing-retrofit offsets; fee revenues would then fund projects intended to achieve equal or greater groundwater benefits. "The letter supports the study of the water resiliency intertie project for the nexus study," the general manager said while reading the draft. The letter also asks the nexus study to evaluate whether an in-lieu fee is an appropriate mechanism and states the purveyors reserve judgment on whether an in-lieu fee is warranted until the study concludes.

Board members asked about timing and implementation. Staff said county funding for the nexus study may expire at the end of the current fiscal year and estimated, if the study runs this fiscal year, that board-level consideration of any in-lieu fee could occur several months after the study completes. One board member cautioned that an in-lieu-fee approach is a "fundamental shift" from requiring offsets before development and suggested the county limit the nexus study’s focus to the intertie project.

A director moved to authorize execution of the joint comment letter, another member seconded, and the board voted to approve the motion unanimously.