The ROCK Takes on the Coastal Commission

Posted on 20. Jan, 2010 by Aaron in The ROCK

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.

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.

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