Change is on the horizon for the Baywood Park community near Los Osos, much to the dismay of a throng of longtime residents. But they aren’t willing to give in just yet.
Many locals believe a proposed two-story mixed use structure clashes with the surrounding old-school buildings in downtown Baywood and takes away from the area’s “small-town feel.”
“We believe the proposed structure looks like a strip mall from Orange County!” Baywood Park resident Larry Sullivan said. “We ask for meaningful attention to the building’s size and appearance, the loss of public parking, and the future of our weekly market. This is our home. Our concern comes from years of loving it, showing up for it, and sharing in its everyday life.”
Sullivan isn’t alone in his thinking. The community filed six hearing requests in April when it found out that the San Luis Obispo County Planning Department scheduled the coastal development permit for the project as a consent agenda item. The subsequent public hearing concluded with the Planning Department approving the permit.
That month, residents Vincent Devine and Linda and Richard Riedel appealed the Planning Commission decision to the Board of Supervisors. They backed their appeal with a petition signed by 300 Baywood Park residents opposing the project layout.
Despite vocal opposition at the Sept. 1 appeal hearing, the Board of Supervisors unanimously upheld the Planning Commission’s permit approval. Devine appealed that decision to the California Coastal Commission, which was slated to review the matter on Nov. 4.
“We’re still very seriously in search of understanding how they make these decisions and how they’re leaving this community not knowing [if] …we have water,” Devine told New Times. “Is safe water pressure volume getting to those buildings that they’re building down there and adding to our little downtown? How are they going to manage the farmers market, which is historical?”
‘We ask for meaningful attention to the building’s size and appearance, the loss of public parking, and the future of our weekly market. This is our home.’
—Larry Sullivan, Baywood Park resident
Devine and Sullivan’s coalition insists it’s not rooted in “NIMBYism,” but a challenge grounded in a thorough review of public records.
Apart from the proposed building’s compatibility with Baywood, they worry that the structure at 2nd Street and Santa Maria Avenue would alter the Monday farmers market.
With more than 3,000 square feet of commercial space, almost 2,000 square feet set aside for residential use, six on-site parking spaces, and seven street parking spots, the project is anticipated to encroach upon vendor and pedestrian space.
“For many of us, the market is part of the rhythm of life in Baywood,” Sullivan said. “It is where we buy fresh food, support local growers and vendors, run into friends, and stop to talk with neighbors we might otherwise miss. … Any disruption to the market, combined with the loss of nearby parking, could make it harder for people to attend and for vendors to serve their customers.”
At the Sept. 1 Board of Supervisors meeting, 2nd District Supervisor Bruce Gibson said it’s likely the farmers market would have to relocate. The resident coalition said it’s still in the dark about future of the market.
“Last I heard, the farmers market folks were looking closely at the layout for moving onto 2nd Street,” Gibson told New Times.“The county is happy to coordinate, but the request has to come from them. They can continue in the present location until there’s some reason to move.”
Credit: PHOTO COURTESY OF LARRY SULLIVAN
The supervisor added that he voted to approve the project because it was consistent with the Los Osos Community Plan. He believes the project is a positive addition to Baywood Park for its residential units alone.
“The project was developed consistent with county land use regulations and the Los Osos Community Plan, which lays out the community’s vision for future development and was approved a couple years ago,” Gibson said. “The premise of that plan is to guide development in ways that would benefit the community.”
The most contested part of the Baywood Park project is the long-running debate that runs through the coastal community: whether the Los Osos Valley Groundwater Basin is in overdraft.
In December 2025, the supervisors deviated from the Los Osos Basin Management Committee’s recommendation to set the 2026 growth rate cap at zero percent.
The committee—comprising three water purveyors S&T Mutual Water Company, Golden State Water Company, and Los Osos Community Services District—made the recommendation based on findings from a reworked model of the water usage that showed recent pumping levels continued to cause overdraft and seawater intrusion.
Yet, the Board of Supervisors approved the growth rate at 0.4 percent.
“These [concerns] are ones that we have heard many times with any development coming forward in Los Osos,” Gibson said at the meeting. “We’ve gone through extensively the condition of the Los Osos groundwater basin, and, despite assertions to the contrary, it is not in overdraft.”
In its staff report about the coalition’s appeal, the California Coastal Commission also found no substantial issue with the project. Commission staff said that the project has a will-serve letter from a water provider and must participate in the county’s water retrofit program to offset its expected demand.
“The commission has repeatedly found that there is adequate water to serve some new development in Los Osos, including because the best available science shows the groundwater basin to be within its safe extraction yield, which is the LCP [local coastal plan] test for this community,” the staff report said.
Gibson told New Times that the Coastal Commission usually agrees with its staff when they make the “no substantial issue” finding.
But members of the resident coalition believe the project would jeopardize the limited water supply, especially Bob Rice who has focused on impacts to the Los Osos aquifer.
“As we drive up and down LOVR and around town, we see a lot more agriculture, a lot more watering going on,” Rice said. “We’re guessing that the unmetered pumping is probably going up. … One [Basin Management Committee] director actually said on the record in the meeting if that unmetered pumping, which is estimated only, is incorrect, we’re probably in an overdraft condition right now.”
The group hopes some Coastal Commissioners will pause the project from going forward and ask decision-makers to dedicate another year to take a deeper look.
Project applicant Alex Benson, who previously built three two-story buildings in the block by the farmers market didn’t respond to New Times’ requests for comment.
The Baywood Inn owner told supervisors at the Sept. 1 meeting that like his other properties, the project under consideration would benefit tourists and prospective residents alike.
“It provided access to the coast for people that can’t afford to purchase a home, and that’s the same thing these 31 bedrooms will do,” Benson said. “My neighbors are very serious about what they say. But I think they all have to learn to share. There’s only so much coastline, and we have to share it with everybody. We can’t just keep people away because we like the way it feels today.” ∆
Reach Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal at brajagopal@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Nov 5-12, 2026.
