Los Osos building moratorium one step closer to lifted after commission vote

The California Coastal Commission is meeting this week in Morro Bay. One of the items on the agenda is the Los Osos Community Plan which could move Los Osos one step closer to lifting a decade-long building moratorium.

That's now a reality after a unanimous vote by the coastal commission.

“Very disappointed in the coastal commission for taking a hasty decision,” said Babak Naficy, a land use attorney, at the meeting Thursday.

The building moratorium has been in place in Los Osos for 36 years.

“In a million years I never thought I’d be here before the coastal commission having to talk about this and I’m sorry that I’m emotional but I am,” said Emily Miggins, a Los Osos resident.

Fourteen-thousand four hundred residents and 5,000 single-family homes make up Los Osos. Under the proposed Los Osos Community Plan, the town could grow to around 18,000 people and 6,000 homes.

Now that it is approved it will move onto the county's board of supervisors.

Concerned residents speak out

Dozens of community members and people from out of town were in attendance for Thursday’s meeting at the Inn at Morro Bay.

Chief among the concerns for residents is Los Osos' limited water supply.

“What is my basic message to you? Please don’t do this," one Los Osos resident said. "Our water source is not good enough to take on one percent growth."

Around 200 people are currently on the waitlist to build since the moratorium began in 1988 and, if lifted, will have the first choice on building permits.

“A continuance would be in the best interest of the community, the residents of Los Osos who depend upon the Los Osos groundwater basin as our only source of water,” said Patrick McGibney, Los Osos Sustainability Group chair, which is a group of local homeowners dedicated to sustainability.

Officials with the county say they feel confident they can supply water for new growth.

“Where it is today is such that the water quality that’s being produced from all the extraction wells meets all water quality standards,” said Blaine Reely, SLO County director of groundwater sustainability.

“I want to emphasize that where we are today is the result of a tremendous public process. Dozens of meetings with numerous community groups over those years,” said Supervisor Bruce Gibson.

Some community members want to see growth — but in a sustainable way.

“Los Osos has unfortunately been in a state of limbo for far too long," another Los Osos resident said. "And this community and interested individuals deserve a chance at sustainable growth with responsible measures in place."