The small community of Oceano is now home to two community advisory councils, an unusual situation that some claim is an attempt to overthrow the area’s original and left-leaning council.
At a meeting on June 8, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted to recognize the Vitality Advisory Council of Oceano, a newly formed community advisory council made up of Oceano residents and business owners that first requested approval from the board in April. The 3-2 vote, with 2nd District Supervisor Bruce Gibson and 3rd District Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg dissenting, came after nearly two hours of contentious public comment from community members, some who complained that the original advisory council had become deeply one-sided and unwilling to consider conservative ideas.
Jonathan Rodriguez, an Oceano resident and founding member of the Vitality Advisory Council, said at the June 8 meeting that as a longtime youth pastor, he’s had the opportunity to build relationships with many Oceano families and community members, many who he said don’t feel represented by the region’s original council, the Oceano Advisory Council.
“Through the past few years I’ve heard this small group of people say they represent Oceano, that they are the voice of Oceano, I’ve heard them say they represent the Latino and underprivileged people of Oceano,” Rodriguez said at the meeting. “Yet their message and their views do not reflect my own or the views of many of the multigenerational families that I have come to know throughout my lifetime.”
The new group’s other founding members include Linda Austin, president of the Oceano Community Services District; Adam Verdin, co-owner of Old Juan’s Cantina; Marios Pougioukas, owner of the Rock and Roll Diner; Barney Foster, a recent failed candidate for the Oceano Community Services District; and resident Gina McMahon. They say members of the original Oceano Advisory Council have long failed to take the needs of Oceano’s businesses into consideration, instead advocating for the closure of the Oceano Airport and the elimination of off-roading in the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA).
But other community members who spoke at the June 8 meeting pointed out that the Oceano Advisory Council has several vacant seats, which those interested could fill. Several said that while opposing views on a single council would make room for healthy debate, the creation of a second council would only sow division in the community.
Arroyo Grande resident Kay Gore called the move 4th District Supervisor Lynn Compton’s “latest petty self-serving ploy” and an attempt to defund the existing council and replace it with one that supports her political agenda.
“Lynn Compton,” Gore said, “have you no shame?”
The Oceano Advisory Council has been meeting regularly since it was officially recognized by the Board of Supervisors in 1996. Community advisory councils don’t have any real voting power, and while most usually receive small amounts of funding from the Board of Supervisors, the board isn’t required to fund them or required to fund each council equally.
In April, the Oceano Advisory Council sent a line-by-line budget request to Supervisor Compton’s office detailing funding needs through December 2022, according to chair Allene Villa. The request, which totaled $4,832, included items like office supplies, website maintenance, and a Zoom contract. The most expensive request was a one-year contract with Survey Monkey—at a cost of $2,700—for a proposed community needs assessment regarding the future of Pier Avenue.
Villa said she never heard back from Compton or her office. Now she worries Compton will choose to fund projects proposed by the new council over those proposed by the Oceano Advisory Council, effectively dismantling the initial group.
At the June 8 meeting, Compton said she had nothing to do with the formation of the Vitality Advisory Council.
“I value everybody’s opinion, whether it’s pro something or against something. The problem is a lot of opinions are being drowned out right now, and you’re getting four to five people that have their opinion being represented as Oceano. And in all honesty, in my opinion, this would never being coming forward if other community members thought their voices were being heard.”
Compton said that while some community advisory councils throughout SLO County choose members through various kinds of election processes, the Oceano Advisory Council does not. The new advisory council in Oceano doesn’t plan to hold member elections at this point either.
A resolution passed by the SLO County Board of Supervisors in 1996 sets out the minimum requirements for an advisory council to be recognized, but it does not require that all councils have a standard election process to choose members, according to County Counsel Rita Neal. The board could standardize that process through the approval of a new or amended resolution.
While Compton said she’d like to address the inconsistency among the county’s advisory councils, she shot down Supervisor Gibson’s repeated attempts to hold off on the formation of the new advisory council.
“I don’t think it’s great to have two advisory councils in all honesty, and I wish—like in some of the comments people said—I wish everybody could be in one council and you could get different viewpoints. However, that’s not, with the current council, how it works,” Compton said. Δ
This article appears in Food & Drink 2021.
The Board of Supervisors ignored the clear deficiencies in VACO’s application, which did not meet several of the County’s compliance criteria in its ANNUAL REPORTING AND FORMATION GUIDELINES FOR COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCILS (https://slocounty.ca.gov/Departments/Planning-Building/Forms-Documents/Community-Advisory-Councils/Community-Advisory-Council-Guidelines.pdf):
“The CAC is situated in and represents a defined community within an established Urban or Village Reserve Line.” The Oceano Dunes SVRA, included in VACO’s boundary as noted in the staff report, is not within an urban or village area.
“Provide an explanation and appropriate data on how the representatives of the new CAC reflect a broad crosssection of the community.” No explanation nor data was provided.
“Provide specific information and examples of how future CAC meetings will be conducted on an open, regular basis, and how the public will be notified in timely manner. Provide an explanation of how meeting notices will comply with requirements of open meeting rules and regulations and include sample notices. Provide a sample of a typical Agenda.” The monthly meeting date and time are stated without specifying a location, and notice will be given by posting in public locations, a method appropriate in 1970 but clearly insufficient in 2021, especially as VACO intends to use Zoom. No sample agenda or notice was provided.
“CAC Bylaws: … Have Conflict of Interest guidelines or policy…” The Bylaws lack any conflict of interest policy despite several members having clear conflicts of interest due to their businesses.
The County should have followed its own rules for recognizing a CAC and rejected VACO’s deficient application. But Republicans have no problem tossing out rules when it suits their agenda.
4th District Supervisor Lynn Compton seems not only disinterested and ill-informed about our town, but is actively hostile toward our effective council. In the several years I was a member of the OAC, she attended exactly one meeting. She once argued with me that Fin’s Restaurant on Grand Avenue is in Oceano when it’s factually in Grover Beach. Recently, she’s been openly derisive of the OAC, which a couple of years ago ceased being an ineffectual and complacent lap dog stocked with her buddies. So now she’s cut off funding to our council and created a new council that will do her bidding, one that will operate with less transparency and allow people with a narrow special interest who don’t live in Oceano to dictate planning recommendations for our town.
Electing advisory council members would be a smart change, but I’m doubtful that Compton has any interest in helping Oceano to implement that now that she has VACO to tell her what she wants to hear. Next year, we should elect a new Supervisor for the 4th District, one who has leadership skills and integrity, and actually cares about Oceano.
One thing is for sure, Lynn Compton is a horrible representative for Oceano. She has hardly ever set foot in the community and every decision related to it that she makes is based on her own personal self interest first and foremost every single time. She has continually failed to be any kind of leader or provide any worthwhile guidance regarding any of the divisive issues in Oceano.
It’s pretty clear that she has very little respect for Océano in general. It’s disgusting. I don’t think there’s ever been a worse representative for a Océano in it’s entire history.
Lynn Compton also did absolutely nothing when arsonist(s) burnt down more than a dozen units of farm worker housing in her own hometown of Nipomo. It remains an unsolved crime with the perpetrators still at large. Lynne Compton didnt even encourage Sheriff Parkinson to investigate the case and track down the arsonist(s). She made no public announcements decrying that domestic terrorism crime in her own district! As far as I could tell, she seemed quite pleased that the farm worker housing was burnt down and never replaced and the whole issue was swept under the carpet as quick as possible. Reprehensible!
No tacos for estranged OCSD Director Cynthia Replogle and her vacated gang of cake thieves – AJ Dury, Alene Villa, Charles Varni, and Kasey Bubnash. Thank you Supervisor Lynn Compton for sharing a slice of cake in Oceano.
Comments to the Board on why they should reject a second Advisory Council for Oceano
A. Item #8 on the BOS June 8 Consent Agenda is much too important and controversial and must be pulled to allow public input and Board discussion
It is unprecedented in County history to have two Advisory Councils for the same area and would disrupt, confuse, and undermine the intent ,function, and capacity of County Advisory Councils. It would be a dangerous and dysfunctional.
It would be very confusing to local citizens and eliminate the spirit or possibility for civil discourse among differently minded individuals. The idea is to work together as a community and find common ground.
County Staff and departments would have two different groups to coordinate with and two groups to be funded.
B. The Oceano Advisory Council is very active in the community, is inclusive, and has been engaged in outreach and recruitment of new members since mid 2020 to the present. We are focusing on many key issues that impact the community and currently are actively working on a vacation rental ordinance; forming a Taskforce on Curbs, Gutters, Sidewalks, and Storm Water; and another Taskforce on a new pedestrian access, public plaza, and parking at the end of Pier Avenue. Here is an excerpt from a notice in Nextdoor: “The OAC is inviting local residents (customers of Oceano Community Services District) to join a Taskforce to investigate new financial resources to construct curbs, gutters, and sidewalks (CGS) on major streets in our community. A 2013 assessment by the County estimated the cost of CGS in Oceano would be approximately $8.7 million.” In 2020 we sponsored, with the League of Women Voters, a candidate forum for OCSD candidates.
C. The OAC is involved in unprecedented outreach to the Latino community and seeking their involvement in community decision making. We are working the City and Regional Planning Department at Cal Poly on a new and comprehensive community needs assessment which will offer opportunity for input from all residents and businesses.
D. The proposed OVAC should be rejected as a partisan, unworkable, and anti-democratic attempt at political manipulation of our community.
1. Two of the founders of the proposed Oceano Vitality Advisory Council (Verdin and Marios) were specifically invited to attend meetings of the Oceano Advisory Council and also apply to be on the Council. They have refused our overtures. Linda Austin resigned from the OAC because her organization did not meet the By-Laws requirements and did not re-apply as a At-Large member as was suggested to her. Additionally, Supervisor Compton has not attended an OAC monthly meeting in more than two years despite being sent monthly a personal invitation and agenda by the Chair.
2. The OVAC is proposing to include the State Park SVRA and Dunes Preserve in their area of representation. Most members are strong proponents of the SVRA and specifically state in their letter of intent that they came together in response to the CCC’s decision to ban OHV’s. This is a solitary special interest group.
3. In the same application they state they are anticipating receiving money from the County to operate. OAC has a budget request on the BOS table and Supervisor Compton has indicated she will not fund OAC. We are almost broke at this point after revising our website.
Maybe you guys would have more credibility if the past president of your Democratic club didn’t falsely accuse one of VACO’s members of being “maybe a sex offender.”
Just saying.
Thank you Aaron Ochs for pointing out their obvious lies – lost among a multitude of other disastrously staged events, accusations and assaults on residents who refuse to be intimidated by hideous creatures like Tacker, Bubnash, Replogle, Storton, Dury, Villa, Ernst, Varni, McConnelly, et el. When minorities, Native Americans, Combat Veterans, disabled, and elderly people peacefully gather to attend and/or speak at public meetings and peaceful events we won’t be threatened nor assaulted nor stalked anymore by Replogle and her gang of transsexuals who brandish taser guns and tear gas canisters. Our political signs won’t be vandalized nor stolen anymore. We won’t be physically assaulted at meetings nor stalked at our personal residences. A diverse group of alienated residents, principal business owners, and almost every silent mayor and silent city counsel majority, and community services district silent majority in South SLO County wrestled their neighborhoods back from a physically dangerous and liblous (costly) lunatic fringe. A silent majority of ethical stakeholders from all socioeconomic and ethnic classes rallied together to defeat bigotry and hate. We have spoken. Thank you silent majority. Thank you Supervisor Lynn “Marsha” Compton for a Slice of The American Pie. No tacos for haters.
Thank you Aaron Ochs for pointing out their obvious lies – lost among a multitude of other disastrously staged events, accusations and assaults on residents who refuse to be intimidated by hideous creatures like Tacker, Bubnash, Replogle, Storton, Dury, Villa, Ernst, Varni, McConnelly, et el. When minorities, Native Americans, Combat Veterans, disabled, and elderly people peacefully gather to attend and/or speak at public meetings and peaceful events we won’t be threatened nor assaulted nor stalked anymore by Replogle and her gang of transsexuals who brandish taser guns and tear gas canisters. Our political signs won’t be vandalized nor stolen anymore. We won’t be physically assaulted at meetings nor stalked at our personal residences. A diverse group of alienated residents, principal business owners, and almost every silent mayor and silent city counsel majority, and community services district silent majority in South SLO County wrestled their neighborhoods back from a physically dangerous and liblous (costly) lunatic fringe. A silent majority of ethical stakeholders from all socioeconomic and ethnic classes rallied together to defeat bigotry and hate. We have spoken. Thank you silent majority. Thank you Supervisor Lynn “Marsha” Compton for a Slice of The American Pie. No tacos for haters.