The California Coastal Commission (CCC) flexed its permit-doling power over San Luis Obispo County’s efforts to renovate the campground at the Oceano airport.
Back in May, the county declared its plan to upgrade the almost 70-year-old airport’s campground with campsites and a lighted footpath with landscape planting among a slew of additions. In order to do so, officials applied for a coastal development permit from the CCC in June. But on July 14, the commission put the application on the back burner for six months until the Department of Airports addresses its 13 areas of concern.
A significant CCC finding was the airport being situated at the confluence of the Arroyo Grande Creek and the Meadow Creek Lagoon complex. That location makes it susceptible to floods from winter storms. The CCC went on to request an engineering report that analyzes the damage potential from floods, storm surge, and stormwater.
“With climate change and sea-level rise at play, it is expected that this location will experience more common flooding events in the future,” the CCC letter stated.
Further, the agency identified some developments undertaken at the airport since 1977 that, according to their records, occurred without permits. The Coastal Commission asked the county to provide details on each construction project and its respective authorization. Other requirements include a transparent analysis of the expected cost of construction and listing how the new campground could better benefit the Oceano community.
The airport campground improvement project also received considerable flak from several members of the public and the Oceano Advisory Council (OAC) because it’s only usable by private pilots and certain emergency service providers, such as the California Highway Patrol and the Sheriff’s Aero Squadron. Those without access to a plane cannot enjoy the proposed amenities like the fire pit and picnic table, and a group barbecue area, according to opponents.
OAC Co-Chair April Dury received a tour of the airport grounds, and informed New Times about an on-site discovery.
“There were things that we didn’t know, like there’s a private residence on the property rented by an airport employee. Their lease agreement gives them a discount on the rent, the current market value that’s assigned to that property is incredibly low and on top of that is that they don’t even pay a 100 percent of the valued amount,” Dury said. “So, there are a lot of things going on at the airport that the average person doesn’t know about, and it’s not serving Oceano the community. It’s serving a small, select, and private group of people.”
The OAC lauded the Coastal Commission’s findings and had coincidently drafted a letter to the commission expressing concerns about the renovations on July 14. Sent the following day, the OAC’s letter cited a survey project on land-use preferences completed by Cal Poly and the Oceano Economic Development Council. “Unreleased data” from this study shows that the majority of Oceano residents want new housing, jobs, and businesses.
“Thus, the continued operation of this small airport for the use of an elite and extremely small number of people versus its use as an economic, housing, business, and tourism resource for the entire community continues a system of institutionalized social, economic, and environmental injustice,” the letter read.
The county needs to address the CCC’s findings by Jan. 14, 2023.
“At this time, staff is reviewing the initial findings and comments,” Courtney Pene, the deputy director at the Department of Airports, told New Times. “The county is committed to providing a modern general aviation airport that is an integral connection to the airports system and serves as a positive impact for the region and its residents.” Δ
This article appears in Jul 21-31, 2022.