The Caballero battery storage project in Nipomo went through San Luis Obispo County’s standard planning and building department processes before it was built. In June 2023, the county Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing on the project, with announcements published in local newspapers and letters mailed to nearby property owners. By his criticism of the county’s handling of the project, I assume that Mr. Verdin is not suggesting that the county develop additional regulations or processing requirements for development projects; that would seem to be inconsistent with his platform goal to “make county processes clear and predictable.”
Bob Vessely
San Luis Obispo
This article appears in Feb 19-26, 2026.