SLO County supervisors change priorities, policy directions 

San Luis Obispo County's new Board of Supervisors majority wasted no time on Jan. 24 making its imprint on the future of county policies and priorities.

In a series of 3-2 votes made during its first regular business meeting of 2023, the Board of Supervisors set in motion a new agenda that seeks to undo several of the prior board's most impactful decisions.

Included in that direction: discarding the Patten redistricting map; repealing the new Paso Robles planting ordinance; evaluating the potential for joining Central Coast Community Energy and rejoining the Integrated Waste Management Authority (IWMA); and reforming the county's campaign finance regulations.

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• File Photo By Jayson Mellom
• NEW AGENDA The new SLO County Board of Supervisors majority of Bruce Gibson, Jimmy Paulding, and Dawn Ortiz-Legg (left to right) set a new direction for county priorities on Jan. 24.

Fourth District Supervisor Jimmy Paulding characterized the proposed changes—discussed as part of an agenda item on next year's budget priorities—as "correcting course on misguided past partisan board decisions."

"I'm just going to lay it out there," Paulding said at the meeting, as he ran through a list.

Paulding found common ground on his proposals with 2nd District Supervisor Bruce Gibson and 3rd District Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg.

Gibson said he felt a sense of urgency around the Paso planting ordinance, which takes effect in March. The ordinance—crafted by the prior board and opposed by organized agriculture—overhauled Paso's groundwater regulations. He made a motion to schedule a special meeting on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 10 a.m., to notice a repeal hearing that will be held on Feb. 7.

Discussing the possibility of becoming a member of Central Coast Community Energy and rejoining the IWMA, Paulding said his aim is to make regional collaboration a priority for the county.

"It will not only result in lower garbage rates," Paulding claimed about rejoining the IWMA, "but signal to the cities and CSDs that we as a county pride ourselves on regionalism and good governance and we want to work with partner agencies."

Paulding also spoke about redistricting—announcing that he would like to see a new map replace the county's 2021-adopted Patten map.

A few hours later, after a closed session meeting, County Counsel Rita Neal reported out that she received board direction by 3-2 vote to enter into settlement negotiations in the litigation challenging the Patten map.

In each of the 3-2 votes on Jan. 24, it was 1st District Supervisor John Peschong and 5th District Supervisor Debbie Arnold who dissented.

"I just don't think all of this ... any of it I don't want to see happen," Arnold said during the roll call vote on the Paso basin ordinance repeal, "to deconstruct something that our past board worked hard on and spent money on."

In addition to changing course on various prior policies, the new board majority also set new budget priorities.

Led by Gibson, the board voted 3-2 to have two tiers of top priorities. The first tier included homelessness, behavioral health, and housing; and the second tier included water resiliency, storm recovery, and economic development.

Arnold, who dissented, expressed dismay that the board removed "road maintenance" from the priority list.

"It took me five years to get roads as a priority put on this chart," Arnold said. "I've run for supervisor in this county four times and always the public, it's all about potholes. It's half the time a joke, but it's not a joke. ... I'm so sad and sorry we're doing this."