Oceano nixes water sale 

On Feb. 9, the Oceano Community Services District Board of Directors voted down a proposed sale of water to a developer, a move that most likely will put a crimp in developing properties bordering Pismo Beach.

The board voted 3-2 against the sale, with President Jim Hill casting a surprising “no” vote. Directors Mary K. Lucey and Mathew G. Guerrero also voted against the sale. Directors Lori J. Angello and Carole Hanson voted for the sale. The developer, Larry Persons of Los Robles Del Mar, a development next to Pismo Beach, offered more than $2 million for 100 acre-feet of water—the largest offer the community had received.

Hill had been a vocal advocate for selling water to Persons, but that was before he heard the outcry from a room full of angry residents dead set against the sale. Hill said he favored the project but couldn’t vote for it because “we’re supposed to be representative of what the community wants us to do.”

Oceano water is a crucial element in another proposed development in Price Canyon.

Some directors said publicly that a water sale to Price Canyon was still possible, but unlikely, considering the degree of public resistance.