The Razor – Sharp Political and Social Commentary from the Editors of The ROCK

Gibson’s Costly Arrogance

Posted on 25. Jan, 2010 by Aaron.

In a Tribune viewpoint penned by SLO County Supervisor Bruce Gibson on Jan. 25, Gibson had a mixed reaction to the California Coastal Commission’s overriding 7-5 vote to dismiss staff recommendation, calling their vote “disappointing and encouraging.” Those mixed messages require some translation to get at the root meaning of his Viewpoint comments:

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Sewer Costs Will Be Unbearable

Posted on 23. Jan, 2010 by Aaron.

New article from The ROCK

Los Osos Affordability Report: Sewer Costs to Lower-Income Residents Will Be ‘Unbearable’

There is no escaping it. No topic in the far-flung Los Osos Wastewater Project universe remains on more residents’ minds than affordability. Yet the word and what it stands for – thousands of people forced to leave Los Osos because of the looming $250 a month sewer bills — has all but disappeared from the public dialogue, as if the issue never existed in the first place. To document the ongoing ground-level reality of this overriding issue in Los Osos, Sherry Fuller and Mimi Whitney last year co-authored a “white paper” on the potential sewer project costs to lower income residents of Los Osos. Their “Affordability Report” of January 2009 used census data from the year 2000 that had been projected to the year 2008 by a leading computer modeling firm (ESRI) that is widely used by both government and industry. “With the new Census being prepared now, we should see updated figures next year that will most likely be even worse that what I reported last year,” co-author Mimi Whitney recently told The Rock. “Consider the effects of our current recession on Los Osos residents: unemployment, bankruptcy, the housing market…We will do an updated ‘white paper’ after we have the new census data to work with. Stay tuned for the really bad news.”

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http://www.rockofthecoast.com/news/local/860-los-osos-affordability-report-sewer-costs-to-lower-income-residents-will-be-unbearable

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Short List of Substantial Issues

Posted on 20. Jan, 2010 by Aaron.

Here are three of the most substantial issues that were raised by the commissioners of the California Coastal Commission regarding the Los Osos wastewater project permit (in no particular order). They will be the limited focus of the Commission’s de novo hearing in April:

1. “Double dipping” at the Broderson site. The Broderson site used 72 acres as mitigation of impacts for the original site (Tri-W) and plan in 2004, but there are nine acres that impact environmentally sensitive habitat area (ESHA). This ESHA is reserved for conservation of the Morro manzanita, Monterey spineflower, Blochman leaf daisy, Morro shoulderband snail, Morro Bay kangaroo rat and the monarch butterfly. County staff did not set aside land for mitigation of that ESHA since the County intends to use all of the 72 acres for the wastewater project. Failure to address the “double dipping” will result in enforcement. Even if it were to go to enforcement, by the time the County completes work on the Broderson site, there will be no acreage left to mitigate ESHA. Additionally, if the language was left unmodified, the burden to mitigate the ESHA would fall on nearby property owners.

2. Questionable application of wetland delineation. Wetland delineation is defined as a determination of the landward extent of a wetland. The County’s EIR analyzed the wetlands strictly as jurisdictional wetlands (in accordance to Section 404 of the Clean Water act) but the County did not specify whether some of the wetlands sampled were wetlands as defined by the Coastal Act (as specified in 14 CCR §13577). The Coastal Act applies a one parameter definition for delineating wetlands. Only one of  the three criteria needs to be met for soil, vegetation and hydrology to determine wetland conditions.  It’s possible that the County data is compliant with the Coastal Act’s standards, but if it’s not, it’s also possible that the County underestimated the number and extent of wetlands on the Giacomazzi site, which would indicate the project could not avoid facility development on wetlands.

3. No implementation of specific water conservation plan. The County did not specify how and when their water conservation plan would be implemented. Since there are no specifics to follow, there is no feasible way to bring enforcement action. In his October 18, 2009 appeal to the County, Keith Wimer of the Los Osos Sustainability Group (LOSG) recommended a basin-wide management plan to be implemented within one year of the project approval in order to aggressively combat saltwater intrusion. Wimer also suggested that the plan include the goal to stop at least 900 acre-feet of water per year (AFY) of pumping from the lower aquifer within two years. However, County staff recommended the motion to deny all appeals, including Wimer’s, which had a prepared remedy for what would later become a substantial issue.

The January 14th California Coastal Commission hearing was all about the County of San Luis Obispo not going far enough to ensure that the project would preserve environmentally sensitive habit and wetlands. It is truly remarkable that a project of such magnitude would have several “fill in the blanks” that would cause significant delay. Since nobody else in Los Osos has had the ability to delay the wastewater project based on three critical flaws that could have been remedied previously within their jurisdiction, by process of elimination, do we now know who the real obstructionists are?

– Aaron Ochs

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The ROCK Takes on the Coastal Commission

Posted on 20. Jan, 2010 by Aaron.

Here are two new articles hot off the presses!

COUNTY’S SEWER PROJECT TIMELINE DELAYED MONTHS

By ED OCHS

As a result of the Coastal Commission’s 7-5 vote last week to hold a limited de novo hearing in April to review finite details of the Los Osos Wastewater Project, the County will have to wait at least four to six months to receive a CDP from the Commission for the $165 million project to be permit-ready. Despite staff and Commission recommendations to find ‘no substantial issue’ with any of the nearly 30 appeals brought before the Commission, and Supervisor Gibson’s warning that a delay might put at risk $80 million in federal stimulus dollars for the project ($64 million of that in the form of a loan), the Commission rejected any attempt to use time or money as an excuse to waive its standards of consistency and rubber stamp the project.

Read More Click Here

http://www.rockofthecoast.com/news/local/858-countys-sewer-project-timeline-delayed-months

County’s Omissions, Gaps and Lies Force Coastal Commission Hearing on Unresolved Sewer Issues

The 2nd District Supervisor had stumped up state and down lobbying the all 12 Coastal Commissioners in their offices, via email and on voice mail to approve the Los Osos Wastewater Project, and when the commissioners voted 7-5 to extend the process and hold a de novo hearing in April for a limited review of project loose ends, Bruce Gibson bowed his head, his ears red. He was joined in defeat by brother San Luis Obispo County Supervisor “Katcho” Kachadjian, who had lobbied from within as both a Coastal Commissioner and County Supervisor, to follow staff’s recommendations and find ‘no substantial issue’ with any of the almost 30 appeals of the project brought before the Commission in Huntington Beach on January 14. But at the end of that long day, after waging what the Tribune called a “week-long lobbying blitz,” Gibson and Kachadjian stood there with the long faces of losers, looking more like the blitzed. It was a most reassuring sight and worth the long trek for several Los Osos appellants who had driven five hours to Huntington Beach to speak to the Commission for five minutes each. It was also a reprieve, no matter how brief, for homeowners and residents back in Los Osos.

Read More Click Here

http://www.rockofthecoast.com/news/local/859-countys-omissions-gaps-and-lies-force-coastal-commission-hearing-on-unresolved-sewer-issues

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Responses to the CCC Hearing on Los Osos (Jan 14)

Posted on 16. Jan, 2010 by Aaron.

After the California Coastal Commission hearing on Jan. 14, there have been a flood of responses from Los Osos residents who reflected on the board’s decision to move forward with a denovo hearing. If you have something to say about it, feel free to contact us here or post a comment.

Here are some of The Razor’s favorite responses from people on SanLuisObispo.com:

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Los Osos/Coastal Commission Analysis (Jan. 14)

Posted on 15. Jan, 2010 by Aaron.

The California Coastal Commission voted 7-5 in favor of having an additional hearing over substantial issues that were raised in the appeals. While anonymous supporters of the County and alleged supporters of Taxpayers Watch have launched an irate barrage of insults directed at the majority of those who voted against the motion to find no substantial issue, others have raised the question: how could the County not take into account these substantial issues? There wasn’t just one substantial issue; not one, not two, not three… There were several substantial issues. The sheer amount of significant issues raised leads some to wonder about the overall competence of County staff.

San Luis Obispo County Public Works Director Paavo Ogren told David Sneed of The Tribune on Thursday the concerns the commission had were “relatively minor,” but the concerns raised were substantial enough to delay the project — beyond the County’s ideal deadline for stimulus funds — in order to move forward with majority approval. As “relatively minor” as these concerns may be — ranging from improper wetlands delineation to not having specific plans pertaining to implementing a water conservation plan — yesterday’s decision by the CCC clearly rebuked Gibson’s smug interpretation of the issues as “assertions.”

As a blow to County opposition, the CCC did not raise substantial issue regarding the lack of feasible site, collection and treatment system alternatives for Los Osos. The upcoming denovo hearing on the Los Osos wastewater project will not revisit those issues. Unless an objectively persuasive lawsuit about alternatives is brought to the foreground, STEP/STEG is dead.

With any expansive public works project that’s been in the making for 30 years, people need to realize that the devil is in the details. There’s so many details and concerns to account for that delay is inevitable but absolutely necessary in order to prevent substantial problems from occurring once the project is online. In reality, the delay for the Los Osos wastewater project stems from County staff for not taking into account the minor things, which is now leading to longer delays. And if people continue to berate — albeit irrationally for the most part — appellants and public comment speakers for raising issue with the project, the project will be delayed even longer.

Spare us the nonsense and let’s focus on the denovo hearing.

– Aaron Ochs

EDIT (12:44 AM): Richard LeGros has posted an announcement, clarifying Taxpayers Watch’s position:

“Taxpayers Watch does not have, or does it promote, ANY official position regarding the County’s waste water project. In fact, Taxpayers Watch remains neutral regarding the appeals pending before the CCC; and is neutral regarding upcoming deNovo hearing too.”

Changes were made to the article in respect to the issued statement.

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Coastal Commission Says “Yes” on Substantial Issues Raised

Posted on 14. Jan, 2010 by Aaron.

The California Coastal Commission voted 7-5 to have another hearing on the Los Osos wastewater project after the majority of commission members said there were several substantial issues that their staff and the County staff did not adequately address.

Details to come…

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New Layout and Changes for 2010

Posted on 13. Jan, 2010 by Aaron.

It’s 2010 and I figured that I should get down to business; say what I mean and mean what I say when I talked about changing things for the better. This year, things are going to be different — starting with this new layout, which has more going for it than the previous one. It’s a lot easier to manage and there’s less hassle for those with browser issues. The site is now compatible with Internet Explorer 8 but I recommend that you download the latest version of Mozilla Firefox, which will allow you to load sites faster overall including The Razor.

Neither our parent site, The ROCK nor The Razor will stop providing sharp commentary, which is something that the small community of Los Osos — for example — has recognized since March 2006. This year, our content will be expanding beyond the scope of Los Osos, California: a town which has generously given us plenty of subject matter to satisfy decades of strong-willed debate. Now, we’re going to tackle a variety of political and social issues. The goal is to ensure that every political and ideological point of view has an easily accessible, thought-provoking medium with topics that appeal to everyone.

Lastly, we figured that we’re doing something right. As of January, we are averaging at 1,200 views a month and we are reaching the milestone of 15,000 views. For a blog site that has exclusively covered events that unfolded in Los Osos, CA, that’s a phenomenal amount of readership. Our drive to create new content outside the purview of the town — we started serving when we were only known as The ROCK only about five years ago — will undoubtedly make the community of independent thinkers grow.

Stay sharp!

– Aaron Ochs

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The Conflict of Interest Conflict

Posted on 03. Jan, 2010 by Aaron.

Several months ago, former Los Osos Community Services Director Lisa Schicker accused SLO County Public Works Director Paavo Ogren of having a conflict of interest with Montgomery Watson Harza (MWH). County Counsel Warren Jensen later shot down the claim, saying there was no evidence to support it. On December 16, Los Osos resident Al Barrow asked Johnathan Bishop, Coastal Planner of the California Coastal Commission about a possible conflict of interest involving SLO County Board of Supervisor Khatchik “Katcho” Achadjian serving as a representative. However, in that case, all voting representatives of the CCC represent a local government in their respective region. Section 30318 of the Coastal Act protects members and representatives’ vote and influence:

Nothing in this division shall preclude or prevent any member or employee of the commission who is also an employee of another public agency, a county supervisor or city councilperson, member of the Association of Bay Area Governments, member of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments, delegate to the Southern California Association of Governments, or member of the San Diego Comprehensive Planning Organization, and who has in that designated capacity voted or acted upon a particular matter, from voting or otherwise acting upon that matter as a member or employee of the commission. Nothing in this section shall exempt any such member or employee of the commission from any other provision of this article.

It begs the question. What is conflict of interest?

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