Sophia is your community news reporter covering the North Coast of San Luis Obispo County Changes are planned for Los Osos Valley Road between Los Osos and San Luis Obispo the Los Osos Valley Road (LOVR) Corridor Concept Plan has been in the works for more than a year The corridor extends from Foothill Boulevard all the way through Montaña de Oro State Park “It’s called a corridor because it’s a main access in and out of Los Osos,” said Deborah Howe Los Osos Community Advisory Council (LOCAC) Chair Howe says more than 4,000 public comments were received from people in the community on what they would like to see changed Robert Davis drives along Los Osos Valley Road every day and knows it’s a busy stretch I see a lot of traffic going over there and tourists and stuff,” Davis said Howe says most concerns from the community are related to speeding and the need for sidewalks for pedestrians “I think it’s a good idea because a lot of people walk and walk with their dogs,” Davis said it would be good because those guys like to ride tandem and that’s scary for us drivers,” Davis added “In other areas where there is not enough room to have a separate path there would be wider bike paths that would be attached to the road like you see everywhere but they would be painted so people could see they are bike routes,” Howe said The draft plan also calls for a roundabout at the intersection of Foothill and LOVR I don’t know if everybody can navigate correctly but most of the time it’s not that crowded “LOCAC has asked for a little more time to consolidate our comments and suggestions,” Howe said many federal and state grants could be used to help offset costs it will be presented to the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors for approval Tags: Visit the archives… CA 93401PHONE/805/546-8208 • FAX/805/546-8641 New businesses are moving into a building along Second Street in Los Osos “We have a vision that every single space will give something back to the community in some sort of way We want businesses that are open and thriving and allow people to come inside and interact somehow,” Alecia Teague said Teague moved to Los Osos after graduate school but left with her family in 2011 Teague and her husband purchased the five-unit building on 2nd Street in November It’s located about a block away from High Street Deli and Nautical Bean near the bay “I just knew that Los Osos was the perfect place It’s such an artsy community,” Teague said “We started getting people coming up from Santa Maria and coming from Cambria Everybody kept asking us to open another one down south and in the bay,” she said Located in the newly-purchased shopping center the couple opened their third Central Coast location at the end of February “Our big word with The Pottery is community so we love the idea of a communal space where people come together,” Teague said The Yoga Lab is set to open in one of the other four spaces by the end of the month Teague says discussions involving a local business taking over the corner spot are top secret “It’s really going to be so cool for the community I can’t wait until we finalize everything and everyone can find out about it,” Teague said “Over here we have a unit that is about half the size of The Pottery and this one is for lease and we’re looking for the perfect business to go in there,” Teague said Susan Hedgecock comes to this part of town around five times a week the Merrimaker so we’re really active here,” she said Hedgecock says she is hoping to see more activity in the area “Change is happening and these are some businesses that I think can really bring in the community,” she said The Los Osos Community Services District (CSD) board will soon decide whether to increase water rates for people over the next three years the cost of water services has increased by 3% over the past year two options are recommended to the board: either a 3% inflation rate or a 4% inflation rate going into effect each year over the next three years “For retired people on fixed incomes like myself and a lot of people I know this is a big thing for rate increases,” said Jeff Symonds it would increase the amount to $80 by 2028.  “We’re tired of inflation being used as an excuse," Josh Warn "People have shrugged their shoulders and [are] not coming out and fighting this." which are a system of pricing based on how much water one uses With the 3% inflation rate option in the first year people who fall under tier one will be paying $7.21 on top of the $77 base fee That amount would increase to $8.04 in the third year pushing the 3-year average upward by 4.58% Some do not think it is fair that everyone pays the same flat fee “The same base fees are charged to people with single-family homes that are being charged to large agricultural users,” said Symonds tier one residents could be paying $7.28 in the first year on top of the $77 eventually increasing to $8.18 in the third year The three-year average would increase by 4.92% CSD General Manager Ron Munds said that "the options deal with how much revenue the Board thinks we need to safely operate our water system; it mainly is driven by the amount of maintenance and upgrades we want to do each year.” “It’s easy to complain about it after the fact but there is something we can be doing ahead of this,” Stone said If the board agrees on an option at Thursday’s meeting the CSD will send out a notice under Prop 218 letting residents know of their ability to protest the rate increase by June If community members hold a 50% plus one protest before that June meeting takes place The Los Osos Community Services District is interested in purchasing the former Sunnyside School site The CSD recently received a letter from the San Luis Coastal Unified School District notifying them they have 60 days to decide if they would like to submit an offer Los Osos CSD General Manager Ron Munds describes the 12-acre school site located off Los Osos Valley Road as unique “Right in the middle of town and can be zoned for several uses,” Munds said Deborah Howe would like to see more available open space “We’re all cramped together using this tiny community park that exists here and this Sunnyside location is perfect,” said Deborah Howe the county has expressed interest in purchasing the property but says that due to the cost “The county does want to stay involved and partner in some way What that means hasn’t been worked out yet,” Munds said “I’m hopeful that the combined efforts of this partnership have real promise to realize the vision of an important addition to the community of Los Osos,” said San Luis Obispo County District 2 Supervisor Bruce Gibson Options for the CSD include bringing in stakeholders like recreational leagues “Because there is going to need to be a significant financial contribution from the community to support this purchase,” Munds said The site is currently leased to a preschool “The Waldorf school and daycare is a significant part of this location We are hoping this space can serve many needs,” Howe said KSBY reached out to the preschool’s owner and director and was told she’s hoping to be able to continue leasing her space and providing care to children in the community Our families matter,” said Ashtane Brixler Stepping Stone University Preschool owner and director Munds said that could be a possibility should the CSD move forward with the purchase strong possibility that those uses can continue,” Munds said the CSD has hired a consulting firm to help with initial plans and cost estimates Those results are expected to be available at a town hall meeting next month “We’ll see if we can afford to move forward and it’s really up to the community,” Munds said The town hall meeting will be held on Saturday CAL FIRE said it would move the training center to another location if they do lose their lease KSBY News also reached out to the Wishing Well School for comment but has not heard back Ten new mobile homes could go in at Morro Shores Mobile Home Park in Los Osos along Ramona Avenue “There’s no opposition to having more people come We love sharing it with people,” said Patrick McGibney McGibney says he welcomes people to Los Osos but doesn’t feel the approval of 10 new mobile homes at the park across from Sweet Springs Nature Preserve is in the town’s best interest “It’s the water use that is the concern right now,” McGibney said That concern prompted the Los Osos Sustainability Group to appeal the project to the California Coastal Commission Doug LaRose lives in the 164-unit mobile home park and welcomes the addition “They are only going to add to the quality of this park They want to put in a new dog park and bocce ball [and a] putting green for the golfers,” LaRose said Morro Shores resident Gene Heyer says he isn’t sure he’s fully on board “We’d rather not do it but if the Basin Management Committee and Coastal Commission says it’s okay then I'm fine with it,” Heyer said Los Osos CSD says the three water purveyors pump around 1,000 acre-feet of water each year in the town and that the addition of 10 mobile homes would use about 1.12 acre-feet of water per year McGibney says a local hydrologist wrote a 30-page document on the town’s water basin “Which shows that our basin is not in a sustainable position right now and that we do have seawater intrusion,” McGibney said a Coastal Commission staff report states there is an adequate and sustainable water supply to serve new development in Los Osos and recommends the appeal be denied The project manager says while not a requirement they do plan to upgrade certain appliances in the new homes to help offset water demand “I have no qualms about it at all because as we get older The county approved the project back in 2021 and in a report filed last week the Coastal Commission states water is not an issue “We do not have a sustainable water basin right now That is the only thing we are concerned about right now,” McGibney said "As responsible members of the Los Osos community As suggested by the Los Osos Community Advisory Council we’ve voluntarily committed to a 2:1 water offset—a proactive measure that isn’t required but ensures we save twice the water used by the 10 new homes Through the County’s Plumbing Retrofit-To-Build program we will implement water-savings on-site to directly benefit Morro Shores residents making this a water-positive project that supports both housing and long-term sustainability." The Coastal Commission is expected to hear the appeal on Wednesday The 37th annual Garden Tour in Los Osos and Morro Bay is set to kick off soon and is hosted by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) “It started in 1881 to encourage and support girls and women to go on to higher education,” said Mary Jefferson The garden tour saw 500 people last year and raised $7,000 All 100% of the proceeds go directly to local girls’ education and we had four girls from Morro Bay High who got scholarships to start their first year in college,” Jefferson said “Tech Trek is a really cool science camp where all the 7th grade girls go to during the summer and learn about science Pearce says she enjoyed the robotics portion of the camp “We got to make a little LED lights light up while using a lot of coding and making this machine spin around Heyley Salgado was also among the girls from Los Osos Middle School who went to the Tech Trek camp at UC Santa Cruz last summer We got to build a bunch of robots and test them out and have like a competition,” the now-eighth grader explained we would have a night meeting which would talk about stuff that was happening around our planet and what we would want to see change and that really inspired me to take care of our planet,” Salgado said There are two gardens in Morro Bay and two in Los Osos that you can explore at your own pace “They’ll be able to see different gardens and how people’s personalities are represented in their gardens and the variety that grows in this area is amazing,” Jefferson said The Garden Tour will be held on Sunday, April 27, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information on how to get tickets, click here a quick look at the top stories making headlines across the Central Coast today The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors previously approved the layout for a 98-unit housing development off Pecho Valley Road in Los Osos but a superior court judge has now overturned that ruling The Los Osos Sustainability Group believes in sustainable development and strives to protect resources in the community That’s why the group petitioned supervisors’ approval of the large housing development “We filed it because it was an illegal approval,” said Patrick McGibney A San Luis Obispo County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the appeal last week His decision came down to one factor: The property needed a sewer connection before approval Supervisors did discuss the connections back in 2023 “In the staff report it says the sewer is physically available but not legally available,” said Supervisor Bruce Gibson at the time “There is currently a regulatory prohibition on connection to undeveloped lots,” Jon Ansolabehere “My proposal to not approve this is really based on very easy and clear reading; “The applicant shall not file the final map unless and until a community-wide sewer system has been constructed and is available for the project to connect to,” Gibson said The Los Osos Sustainability Group chair filed the petition more than a year ago The judge also mentioned in the court document that “The court could not find that the county abused its discretion in finding that there is enough water to serve the subdivision.” “There’s always going to be people that are going to benefit from development of one kind or another but our resources can’t support a lot of stuff right now and our basin is not sustainable,” McGibney said The project was slated to go up near Sea Pines Golf Resort Rocky Setting has owned Sea Pines for the past 47 years and says he was shocked to hear the project’s approval was overturned “They spent a lot of time and effort in trying to propose a good housing development for Los Osos Redondo Beach-based company Anastasi Development is behind the project KSBY reached out for comment on the recent ruling and the company’s next steps County counsel says Anastasi still could appeal the decision the county does not plan on appealing the decision; however they will be meeting in a closed session meeting on April 29 to discuss the case UPDATE (1:30 p.m.): A man was taken into custody following a pursuit and standoff in Los Osos Wednesday State Parks reports an officer was out on patrol when they noticed a vehicle coming up behind them at a high rate of speed near 16th Street They say the driver was driving erratically speeding and passed the officer on a double yellow adding that when the officers tried to stop the driver ultimately running into a home in the area of 16th Street and Santa Maria Avenue Other agencies were called in to assist during the standoff State Parks did not have information immediately available on the identity of the man —ORIGINAL STORY: Multiple law enforcement agencies are on scene in Los Osos Wednesday afternoon While information on what prompted the response from a California Highway Patrol helicopter and deputies with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office was not immediately available KSBY is told State Parks is lead on the investigation KSBY has a crew headed to the scene and will update this story once information becomes available The 19th annual Needs and Wishes charity event in Los Osos is set to take place this Saturday and music along with a raffle of different items “It’s a great opportunity to do your Christmas shopping all [in] one stop We have a gift certificate table to local merchants and stores for straight up sale You can come and buy toys for children or relatives,” said Richard Margetson The event attracts about 1,000 people each year Proceeds go to the 40 Prado homeless shelter and the Noor Free Clinic The Los Osos Community Services District's (CSD) Board of Directors approved an increase to the town's water rates at a meeting Thursday evening Officials voted to move forward with a 3% inflation rate each year over the next three years.The change means that people using a minimal amount of water will be paying $7.21 on top of the $77 base fee The general manager of the Los Osos CSD told KSBY on Friday that a Proposition 218 notice will be sent out to property owners and water customers informing them of the proposed rate increase Community members can reportedly protest the increase by filling out the form included in the notice city officials in Los Osos have been looking into the possibility of transforming the former Sunnyside Elementary School site into a community park and recreational area The property— which is valued at $6 million— is owned by the San Luis Coastal Unified School District (SLCUSD) The Los Osos Community Services District (LOCSD) and the county have expressed interested in purchasing it LOCSD and the Los Osos Community Advisory Board held a town hall meeting to hear locals' thoughts on the potential $6 million sale.Over 100 people showed up to the event The agency presented several concept plans for the property during the meeting including the possibility of turning it into playing fields One official told KSBY that they have received positive feedback from locals about the project we've had a lot of support from the community People are very excited about the potential options here for recreation we're here just at the very beginning to talk about what that might look like," Deborah Howe LOCSD has a few weeks left before SLCUSD's deadline to submit an offer The organization has invited community members to share their thoughts on an online survey ahead of the decision The Los Osos Habitat Conservation Plan was given the green light by the San Luis Obispo County Supervisors this week “The Habitat Conservation Plan allows you to pay a fee for every square feet of land you disturb and that goes into mitigating endangered wildlife for that plant or animal in some other location,” said Deborah Howe Supervisors lifted the nearly 30-year building moratorium but other factors play into what’s needed for building to begin That’s where the Los Osos Habitat Conservation Plan “The community plan says this is what our future community plan and the LOHCP says this is how you can do it,” Howe said The county will use a loan of up to $2 million to jump-start the conservation plan “We’re not going to spend that all out of the gate As we see the activity is needed,” said Trevor Keith Fees paid into the Habitat Conservation Fund would be used to help pay back the loan Conservation work wouldn’t begin until the loan is paid off “The habitat conservation plan implementation wasn’t ready in October and it isn’t ready today,” said Jeff Edwards Jeff Edwards lives in Los Osos and spoke out against the plan during this week’s meeting “There is no urgency to take action on this today We have to live with this for the next 25 years Let’s get it right the first time,” Edwards said Los Osos Community Advisory Council Chair Deborah Howe says the town needs growth but in a balanced way “We’ve always had water issues and we will continue to have water issues in the future We can only grow at a very slow rate,” Howe said Let’s authorize some reasonable housing in Los Osos and get it done,” said Supervisor Jimmy Paulding The Los Osos Community Plan will still have to be approved by the California Coastal Commission before any building can begin The Los Osos Community Plan went before the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday afternoon but while some are happy for the town’s potential growth We really just got to pull the Band-Aid off and go for it,” said Tim Walters who attended the meeting the California Coastal Commission approved the Los Osos Community Plan and suggested modifications to allow for development with a 1% annual growth rate limit “I support the full 1% growth rate for the number of permits starting in year one,” said David Gray The county's planning department says there is room for growth “Staff proposes this interim approach of a 0.4% growth rate in 2025 and 0.8% growth rate in 2027,” said Claire Momberger there have been around 200 people on the waitlist to build in Los Osos Those at the top of the list will get first choice of building permits “These poor people have been on this list for 30 years I’m kind of somewhere in that range,” Gray said Becky McFarland has lived in Los Osos for the past 39 years and says she doesn’t mind growth as long as it’s done sustainably “[The] Community Plan is a long time coming and lots of people have been waiting to build homes but we have to have the water resources to do that,” McFarland said “More water use at this time is premature and time is needed before making critical decisions that could jeopardize the only water source our community has,” said Patrick McGibney The Board of Supervisors approved the Coastal Commission’s recommendations with a growth cap of no more than 1% The board will meet again in December to discuss further modifications The plan will also return to the California Coastal Commission for final approval Mission Country Disposal customers in Los Osos could soon see a 13 percent increase in their garbage bills Pam Ouelette of Los Osos says after learning garbage rates could potentially increase “We’ve thought about going to the smaller bin because we don’t generate a lot of trash and that might be something that we’ll do," she said you could see more than a $3 increase per month a more than $5 increase and for a 64-gallon bin The Los Osos Community Services District is meeting on Thursday to discuss approving the rate increases which requires us to notify our customers and property owners of the rate increase,” said Ron Munds Los Osos Community Services District general manager people in the community would then receive a mailed notification customers do have the ability to protest any increase in fees such as garbage and water it has to be a 50% plus one majority protest for the rates not to move forward if approved by the board,” Munds said The CSD will consider adopting the new rates in January it states the increased rates by Mission Country Disposal are needed due to increases in organic processing costs landfill disposal costs and collections costs like labor Munds says garbage customers in Los Osos saw a 42 percent rate increase put in place by San Luis Obispo County “That’s why we’re very sensitive now to this proposed rate increase in particular,” Munds said “Given the increase that we experienced just a few years ago it doesn’t sit well with me,” said Carol Lowell of Los Osos That increase had some customers switching to smaller bins “I traded in my regular trash can for one of those tiny cans that my tenant and I carefully manage our trash output,” Lowell said She says another increase would have a big impact on not only her but also her sister “I manage my sister’s affairs and she’s on disability and her trash rate went up from $50 to $60 to more than $100 and that’s 10% of her Social Security check if there is no successful protest and the new rates are approved 1 will start seeing the increase at that time If you are a Mission Country Disposal customer in Los Osos you may have received a notice in the mail for an upcoming meeting about a proposed 13% trash rate increase Mission Country Disposal is proposing the above trash rates due to increases in organic processing costs While the Los Osos Community Services District tentatively approved the new rates in November there is still a chance for residents to protest the increase Information on how to file a protest was mailed to garbage customers last month Written protests must be mailed or delivered to the Los Osos CSD office by the end of the next public hearing Only one protest per parcel will be counted A 50% plus one vote is needed for the proposed rates not to go through the new rates could become effective on January 1 of next year The public meeting will be held on January 9 at 6 p.m The California Coastal Commission last week gave the green light for an additional 10 residential units at a mobile home park in Los Osos which are now slated to be some of the first new residential units following a 35-year building moratorium Los Osos’s moratorium – which was triggered by water supply issues seawater intrusion and leaky septic systems – was lifted in Dec San Luis Obispo County is now permitting limited new development in Los Osos San Luis Obispo County approved a permit for 10 new prefabricated manufactured homes at the existing 164-unit Morro Shores Mobile Home Park at 633 Ramona Avenue Patrick McGibney of the Los Osos Sustainability Group then filed a series of appeals to the California Coastal Commission arguing there is insufficient groundwater overdraft of the basin and that the project would not increase the number of affordable housing units the Coastal Commission has spent considerable time evaluating Los Osos’ water supply Staff determined the Los Osos Groundwater Basin is not in overdraft and that there is sufficient water to supply the additional 10 units “There is no evidence that the project will result in any significant adverse coastal resource impact and in fact the opposite is true in that the best available science shows the groundwater basin to be in a sustainable state,” according to the Coastal Commission staff report “The county approved project is also a relatively small but welcome addition to an existing developed mobile home park.” During a Coastal Commission meeting on March 12 the commissioners voted not to hear McGibney’s appeal an action that allows the project to move forward The commissioners found that the project would save water while providing much needed affordable housing The comments below represent the opinion of the writer and do not represent the views or policies of CalCoastNews.com.  Please address the Policies, events and arguments, not the person. Constructive debate is good; mockery, taunting, and name calling is not.   Comment Guidelines Yeah… how many unmonitored wells are drinking from that aquafer Bean counter math: save water by building more houses I’ll be thinking about this as I take a really long shower; remember those My outdoor plants are looking really dry also The Clown Commission refused to hear an objection and they concluded that approving 10 new mobile homes will actually “save water” Are Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass now on the Coastal Commission?? These are surely strange and sad times we live in Nowhere does it say these will be “affordable,” although that is the magic word to build housing wherever San Luis Obispo city has given the green light to putting 20 trailers on pillars in a FEMA flood zone for so-called “low income” housing it will inevitably increase the overall light and noise level in Los osos I assume it will increase the traffic in Los osos thereby increasing exhaust fumes where will it stop before doomsday arrives!!! McGibney should have told the Coastal Commission that the ten homes would increase the airborne particulate matter…   Editor Bill Loving Reporter Karen Velie, (805) 234-1703 Reporter Josh Friedman Founder Daniel Blackburn Tip Your Team tips@calcoastnews.com Advertise ads@calcoastnews.com Moderator moderator@calcoastnews.com Site Issues admin@calcoastnews.com This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page locals took to the streets to protest the Trump administration and its latest actions to reduce the government workforce Dozens of people holding signs gathered at the corner of Los Osos Valley Road and South Bay Blvd Cars driving by honked in support of their demonstration Saturday's protest comes almost two weeks after the "Not My Presidents Day" protests which happened both locally and in cities across the country The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG) is looking at the impacts of climate change and its effects on South Bay Boulevard The heavily traveled corridor linking Los Osos and Morro Bay is sometimes impacted by winter storms Storms as recently as 2022 and 2023 have forced the closure of South Bay Boulevard due to flooding The road disappeared — water and more water,” said Judy Heintzelman Heintzelman lives nearby and says she couldn’t leave her mobile home park for about two days “We were pretty secluded up here as far as that goes,” she said “It was just totally a river all the way around,” said Kathy Giddens “Because one minute we’re driving in and the next we can’t go out All the water just enveloped very fast,” she said The flooding affected more than just the road “The estuary was also impacted because of the flow of Chorro Creek and the high storm surge and sea level rise occurring within the estuary and it caused this whole area to flood,” said John DiNunzio But changes could be coming so the area is better prepared for future storms A $400,000 grant from Caltrans is helping fund the Morro Bay Estuary Climate Resiliency Transportation Plan “We’re trying to highlight and identify parts of the road that may need to be repaired in the future if these storms continue,” Dinunzio said SLOCOG and other local agencies will be working with consulting firms that specialize in sea level rise using computer simulations and microsimulations,” DiNunzio said Giddens has an idea of what she’d like to see done and cutting back foliage because the road could be a lot wider if it was cut back,” Giddens said If you’d like to weigh in on the future of South Bay Boulevard a community workshop will be held on December 3 from 6 p.m at El Morro Church of the Nazarene in Los Osos California State Parks is planning a series of prescribed burns along the northern San Luis Obispo County coastline starting Tuesday firefighters will burn more than 500 brush piles at sites throughout the park Approximately 250 brush piles will be burned at Morro Bay State Park Ten piles will be burned at Estero Bluffs State Park and another 50 at Hearst San Simeon State Park Burning will reportedly take place between 7 a.m Work is underway to install 15 Tesla superchargers in the Grocery Outlet parking lot off of Los Osos Valley Road in Los Osos Barbara Akle has been driving a Tesla for the last six years Akle says before installing her home charger she had to make trips to San Luis Obispo to access a supercharging station “It was a long drive to get there and back just to get charged,” Akle said But not everyone in the community is looking forward to the new additions “Totally against lithium batteries and they’re not proven yet,” said Richard Barraza Barraza says he worries about the batteries catching on fire “They should have a dedicated spot like that for them out somewhere so if anything does happen there’s no residents or anything like that around,” Barraza said Akle believes this will not only be good for Tesla owners in Los Osos but in other areas further up north from her I think they will probably end up using it also,” Akle said Barraza says he wishes the area would at least be compatible for other types of cars not just Teslas how many people can afford Teslas,” Barraza said Only two brands can charge at select Tesla stations: Ford and Rivian. work needs to be completed by the time the approved permit expires in February More homes could soon be coming to Los Osos A building moratorium implemented back in the 1980s is close to being lifted The 35-year moratorium was put into place because of a water shortage caused by seawater and pollutants seeping into the Los Osos underground basin But the situation has changed because of conservation and less seawater pumping general manager of the Los Osos Community Services District “The seawater intrusion front has stabilized sometimes 500 feet a year and so it was kind of this easterly push by the seawater intrusion front the California Coastal Commission has finally approved Los Osos Community plan The county signed off on the plan four years ago the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service must complete a habitat conservation plan that protects endangered plant species and the Morro Shoulderband snail The end of the moratorium impacts hundreds of landowners in Los Osos but Munds said officials plan to proceed slowly with new construction He said the moratorium could end by next spring or summer or sign up for a new account to continue reading We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content THIS SERVICE IS THE EXACT REPLICA OF OUR NEWSPAPER  - PAGE BY PAGE AS IF IT WERE IN YOUR HANDS Get Started in accessing our paid content at no additional fee for the duration of your membership. To signup for a new membership please click here. no promotional deals were found matching that code Chino Hills pitcher Brody Buoncristiani tossed seven innings struck out six and allowed seven hits in the Huskies’ 3-2 loss to Los Osos to open the Baseline League baseball season on Wednesday and will play Los Osos at 2 p.m today (April 12) at Loanmart Field in Rancho Cucamonga Huskies’ second baseman Tatem Borgogno fields a ground ball and turns it into an out in Monday’s game against Los Osos High The Chino Hills and Los Osos high school baseball teams will meet for the third time this week at 2 p.m today (April 12) in a Battle of the Baseline League game at Loanmart Field in Rancho Cucamonga on Monday at the Chino Hills High stadium and 17-0 on Wednesday at Los Osos High Tickets can be purchased at the box office of Loanmart Field and Upland will battle Rancho Cucamonga at 5 p.m there are no recent results for popular videos Would you like to receive our breaking news news This is the exact replica of our weekly printed paper Would you like to receive our news updates Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Central Coast community members are gearing up to celebrate the 45th annual Oktoberfest in Los Osos this weekend Organizers say Sunday's event will feature family-friendly festivities lasting from 9 a.m including the Fun Run and the By the Bay Car Show attendees can visit Brat Row to buy some traditional Oktoberfest grub throughout the day Families can also enjoy the Kids' Zone from noon until 6 p.m to be creating something that families can enjoy," Gary Freiberg and have a great time without having to spend a lot of money.” Organizers say this year's Oktoberfest will be benefiting the Los Osos/Baywood Park Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwanis Club of Bay Osos the Morro Bay High School Cheer Squad will hold a fundraiser during their demonstration at 10 a.m More information on the day's events can be found on the Los Osos/Baywood Park Chamber of Commerce's website Verizon reported that the issue had been resolved and customers should be experiencing normal service levels once again.___ ORIGINAL STORY - Some people in Los Osos say they've been experiencing cell reception issues over the past week and haven't been able to get any answers from their cell phone companies “Calling people and getting broken up sound like underwater sound,” described Vid Englert Englert says he has been experiencing issues for the past week he says he’s reached out about a dozen times for help since the issues began “They all said we don’t see anything wrong with the system and this has been for a week,” Englert said He says he even checked to make sure it wasn’t his actual phone that was the issue driving down to Santa Maria to a specialty phone store “They ran tests for a while and they said nothing is wrong with my phone,” Englert said KSBY News reporter Sophia Villalba reached out to Charter and was told they’ve had no reports of service problems in the Los Osos area “We have no evidence of widespread outages impacting cell service If any individual customers need assistance they are welcome to reach out to me directly,” said Danielle Dunn Other people in the Los Osos area report having similar issues but with a different carrier “Really difficult due to the fact of dropped calls or off and on connection,” said Paula Harrill “I went into the local Verizon store here in Los Osos yesterday There were four people in there and everybody’s question was 'what’s going on with Verizon?'” said Teri Capo Harrill says the dropped calls and bad reception are more than an inconvenience “My mom is 85 and coming here and it’s important we have connection,” Harrill said “When most people don’t have landlines anymore and are dependent on their cell phones Karen Neff says she started experiencing issues over the weekend “We understand that a third-party vendor hardware issue is impacting service for some customers in the San Luis Obispo area Our engineers have been engaged and we have seen some restoration but we continue to work with our vendor to quickly restore service for our customers.” It’s not known when service will be restored There are already two stop signs at the intersection of Santa Ysabel Avenue and 11th Street in Los Osos Susan Moore Sevier walks her dog in Los Osos regularly passing through the intersection of 11th and Santa Ysabel I have to hesitate and wait and look which is probably smart even if there was a stop sign,” she said The speed limit for drivers along this portion of Santa Ysabel Avenue is 35 miles per hour I’m with the dog and we both stop and they see me and the dog so often people will stop but sometimes not at all,” Sevier said The possibility of adding more stop signs on Santa Ysabel at 11th Street and also 7th Street comes after public requests were made and the intersection was inspected by consultants hired by the county John Lindsey of Los Osos agrees changes need to be made “There are those who seem to be busy and they’ll just go right through the intersection despite someone being in the crosswalk and I’ve actually seen that with a mom and her baby in a carriage,” Lindsey said The addition of a stop sign at 7th Street would turn that intersection into an all-way stop Seveir and Lindsey both think the current design can be confusing and believe an added stop sign would help “I still have to stop and really think about it that one car doesn’t have to stop so I think it is confusing,” Lindsey said “Especially coming down the hill from 7th and I live on 9th They come speeding down and speed up to go through here,” Sevier said I spoke with about a dozen people in the town about the proposal and none were against the addition of new stop signs The item will be discussed at next Tuesday’s San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors meeting The San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider authorizing a $43 million Los Osos Habitat Conservation Plan and drawing $2 million from the general fund to jump start the plan the Board of Supervisors voted to lift the building moratorium in Los Osos to allow a 1% per year maximum growth rate and to establish a conservation growth strategy The board also voted to implement the Los Osos Habitat Conservation Plan (LOHCP) Fish and Wildlife Service is requiring the county implement the LOHCP within the first three years The primary motivation for the conservation plan is the protection of the endangered Morro shoulderband snail and several endanger plant species they will need to pay an additional $1.90 a square foot to help pay for the LOHCP Under item 31 on the agenda, SLO County staff is suggesting the board vote to pull the first $2 million from the county general fund “$2 million from the county general fund which is likely to get some opposition.” No kidding I just spent money getting rid of some snails Now I have to pay for someone else to get some snails or they can come harvest some of mine for free Maybe there is a way to extract energy from snails Or maybe we can extract energy from the wind resulting from politicians blovating to nurture snails The same Fish and Wildlife Service that just approved equine use in the Morro Dune Reserve which had been horse free for 30 years Sounds like they just pander to whichever entity pays them the most… most will love this plan because other people will have to pay and it will help strangle development This will allow many of the old timers to go play with the snails they so love to say “You cannot build from here to here Other than the cost of having the County border drawing guy draw borders that will encompass said endangered plants and snails and allowing houses to be built anyway in the endangered zone with no indication where that money is going nor what it will do “We need the money to save the snails and plants because houses are being built on top of them!” I wonder if Adam Hill is directing from hell The approval is for the 43 million dollars and a plan to spend it $43 million would pave a LOT of rotten streets in Los Osos along with streets that have never been paved we could spend it on something we don’t know about while “administrators” of this $43 million mysteriously have new cars and tax brackets….inside the endangered area but let’s have a detailed and comprehensive plan first and then we can decide if we really need to go into more debt Gee why is housing so expensive in California Dumb shti like this sure doesn’t help Things just wouldn’t be the same without the majestic morro shoulderband snail The lack of concern for life outside your own is Those snails are easily replaced by the Orange County slugs and Los Gatos grub worms… Officers recently busted five fisherman off the shore of Montaña de Oro State Park near Los Osos who they caught poaching endangered black abalone After receiving a tip regarding the poaching California Department of Fish and Wildlife officers discovered five fisherman at tide pools fishing for or in possession of abalone — most of which were federally listed endangered black abalone Hoping to return to their vehicle undetected the fisherman attempted to hide a bag containing the abalone as officers approached Citations were issued for unlawful possession of abalone and fishing without a license; two in the group were additionally cited for unlawful take of abalone The officers returned 31 abalone back to the ocean or diver on the Central Coast knows the abs are off limits For anyone stupid enough to poach reading this your vehicle and gear WILL get photographed Respect the ecology or stay out of the water These poachers have been doing this for a minute; they most likely have rich buyers lined up Remember the dudleya poaching fiasco driven by affluent foreign buyers They should have been arrested and their names released of Fish and Wildlife for letting them get off so easily The law abiding need to know that they’re obeying the laws for a good cause The only thing I can think of as a reason: the wardens decided that the evidence would be better off returned to the ocean than taken into custody with the perps I’ve seen people doing this twice in the last 30 years A while back they attempted to fine a woman $80K+ for taking undersize clams from Pismo Beach Poaching an endangered species has to be worse A military vehicle that was involved in a pursuit through Los Osos on Wednesday was stolen according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office Sheriff's officials say the M1070 Heavy Equipment Transport vehicle was manufactured earlier this year for the U.S military and was stolen while in transit to Southern California identified as 63-year-old Patrick Kevin VanNess of Los Angeles Sheriff's officials say deputies had received a report of a suspicious vehicle and tried to conduct a traffic stop but VanNess fled leading deputies on a pursuit into Montaña de Oro State Park where he reportedly broke through a gate and drove onto Sandspit Beach The sheriff's office says VanNess refused to come out of the vehicle but was eventually taken into custody after authorities deployed tear gas into the vehicle Several Los Osos residents reported having interactions with VanNess before the pursuit ex-Navy and if anyone gets in my way I'm going to kill them,'” said Dan a Los Osos resident who did not want to share his last name Dan says he was driving home from work when he pulled over to offer help to an unfamiliar vehicle He says VanNess told him his vehicle broke down and needed gas 'I'm living in my car.' I told him you can't just stay in your car around here I said we do have campgrounds down by the south bay and at that point a clerk at the Los Osos Valley Liquor Store also says she had a weird interaction with VanNess when he tried to get gas “He came in with a leather vest without a shirt I expected to see soldiers or something else but not him,” Esparza said After trying to pay for gas with a card that kept getting declined Esparza says VanNess started pacing the floors back and forth The pursuit and heavy law enforcement presence in town on Wednesday caught the attention of many Los Osos residents which cop cars drive by sometimes but they're not usually in a batch like that,” said Jack Bargatze the military transport vehicle was removed from the beach after getting stuck in the sand Sheriff's officials say VanNess faces charges of vehicle theft He is currently in custody at the San Luis Obispo County Jail with bail set at $80,000 the M1070 Transport vehicle is specifically used to transport the M1 Abrams tank and is valued at more than $500,000 Sneaky requirements have pushed us under the financial burden of mandates beyond acceptance extremely modest residential remodel in Los Osos San Luis Obispo County mandated us to provide a set of reports costing in the tens of thousands of dollars three and a half years later we were granted a set of stamped permits with a handful of additional stipulations Ranging from cultural monitors at a set rate of $150 an hour and more we have been drained before they even allowed the project to begin We have been reassessed over six times in the last year and a half all under the name of escaped improvements lacking their failed oversight back in 1962 when the “lost square footage” that they’re referring to was permitted by their very own building and planning department the county realized that they had made an assessment error dating back to 1962 on top of all the other oversight mandates enforced we now are being slammed with four years of back tax on the property which is due on Dec The current push back is coming from the septic mandates In the name of water conservancy and nitrate requirements we are being coerced into adding a wastewater treatment plant on site we have a functioning septic tank that hasn’t failed gravity since its time however due to sneaky LAMP standards passed by the state of California in 2020 while we were all asleep and providing the county with our very own residential scale wastewater treatment plant and run the plant is between $50,000 and $100,000 My recent conversations with them have been to request something more financially available to a young family with kids there are no alternatives that would pass inspection that they can provide I offered to install an incinerating toilet or something that doesn’t require infiltration into the groundwater at all and one that doesn’t even require water Their response was no because it wouldn’t pass inspection as it doesn’t meet the LAMP requirements we cannot install a non-water using toilet Never would I have ever imagined the amount of obstacles facing us to simply renovate and restore a family owned property Tiffany Brewer is a life-long Los Osos resident and then graduated from California State University it is what SLO County requires to eventually move everyone into the expensive category so that we get a better demographic as customers Remember we are the customers as local government see’s us in the business triangle The yuppies are trying hard to infiltrate the middle kingdom Missed additions/improvements or even work done without permits are considered to be reflected on the purchase price Real estate agents don’t want to know or investigate And appraisers also just look at what is there and value it for loans Well it’s clear who got your vote… Hope anyone that does this gets caught and punished excessively “extremely modest residential remodel” Are we being honest here I doubt it very much… Much more likely the property is being excessively “upgraded” and then sold off to the highest bidder fro a nice profit Rules in place to prevent and deter this kind of thing in my town We need to Ban ASAP LLCs or any foreign investors or out of county here absolutely inflating property value and killing our economies backbone; regular folks If a house that was 200k 5 years ago is now 700 I agree about foreign investors taking over but Hmmm I am assuming she is the “regular folks” you mention And unable to upgrade her property without absurd If those regulations were not so out of control the prices wouldn’t get so crazy Why regret her ability to upgrade her own property Why begrudge those who work hard and want things better for their families The problem here is our inflated out of control government And its the bite to the hands that feed them If government were not so busy being ridiculous Must be “nice” to be so oblivious to it all This town has been around for over 250 years and YOU wanna be the one to change it I have to say you are right on in your assessment here I have known this young woman and her parents since she was a child She and her husband have deep roots in this community is in a leadership position in youth soccer and she intends to continue their lives in Los Osos the other two other families I know here in LO who are trying to build on their properties (for them to live in) are also facing strange and unexpected requirements from the county One of them has to search out a bunch of random families interested in swapping out their appliances/fixtures for low-flow versions and BUY THEM NEW ONES Ain’t gonna break my heart that easy lol Sounds like a community you’re a part of to me if you would be so happy to “share” upwards of $100K FOR A TOILET Don’t forget to factor in the funding that will be needed for the bureaucracy that 3CE will evolve into 300,000 useless regulations and counting… How else are government entities supposed to get the money they need to feed their ever growing bueracracy SLO County planning has a reputation around the state of being corrupt If you know which hand to place a fat envelope into At a recent Los Osos Community Services District (CSD) meeting the topic of park space and a potential entry kiosk at Montaña de Oro State Park was on the agenda — a possibility that has some residents concerned It’s been 15 years since the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors approved the construction of a kiosk on Pecho Valley Road that would require people to pay to enter the state park but not everyone is on board with the plan “I would not go as often as I do right now because it is such a free entry and access into the land that it feels like it would be a barrier to get in,” said Sara Espy With a new operating agreement between the county and State Parks up for renewal this month the CSD and some people in the community are requesting the entrance fee “Montaña de Oro is where people go to get to nature to enjoy coastal access,” said Emily Miggins The recently approved Los Osos Community Plan states there should be three acres of park space for every 1,000 residents With approximately 14,400 people living in the town that would equal about 42 acres of park space; however there are currently only 6.2 acres of space at one park “The community park is wonderful but it’s the only green space we have for everything for everyone and we need more,” Miggins said Los Osos Community Services District General Manager Ron Munds says many residents use Montaña de Oro State Park like a community park because of the lack of recreational spaces in town He says charging a fee to enter would create access issues for many families who can’t afford to pay “I’m concerned with seniors and then really young people that go out there to exercise and take nature in,” Miggins added Another concern from some residents is traffic congestion as vehicles line up to pay Munds says an estimated 700,000 vehicles enter the park every year “I think it would add congestion with the kiosk I think it would be dangerous on the road,” Espy said Munds says there aren't many open areas within the CSD’s boundary that could be suitable for park space One option is the former Sunnyside school site but County Supervisor Bruce Gibson says the county is waiting on a land appraisal it’s a location parents and staff don’t want to be affected Wishing Well School is there," Miggins said Supervisor Gibson says that even though the kiosk was approved back in 2009 there are no plans for construction at this time KSBY News reached out to State Parks for information on the kiosk and why it was originally requested but not constructed yet and has not heard back the fees collected would be used to maintain operations if State Parks were to take over the road That would only happen if plans for the kiosk move forward Print A Supreme Court ruling placed limits on federal protections for many streams and wetlands A bill in California’s Legislature seeks to restore safeguards.Supporters say the proposal aims to reestablish safeguards that have protected the state’s streams and wetlands for decades California lawmakers are proposing legislation that aims to reestablish safeguards for the state’s streams and wetlands in response to a Supreme Court ruling limiting federal clean water regulations Supporters say the legislation has taken on heightened urgency as the Trump administration begins to scale back protections for many streams and wetlands making them vulnerable to pollution and worsening water quality to support healthy ecosystems and the environment,” said state Sen and it’s a common-sense measure that simply restores the protections that our waterways have always enjoyed since 1948.” Federal standards have since 1948 limited pollution discharges into waterways. Such standards later became a central part of the federal Clean Water Act In Sackett vs. EPA, the Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that Clean Water Act protections don’t apply to many wetlands and ephemeral streams, which flow when it rains but otherwise sit dry much of the time. The court ruled that the law’s protections for the “waters of the United States” apply only to wetlands and streams that are directly connected to navigable waterways. Climate & Environment As a Supreme Court ruling scales back federal water protections a top California water regulator says the state will maintain stringent oversight of wetlands The decision was supported by groups representing developers and the agriculture industry who say the EPA had overstepped its authority by restricting private property owners from developing their land California officials and clean water advocates counter that the rollback of protections will jeopardize vital water sources and ecosystems throughout the arid West “It should be recognized as not just a threat to water quality but overall quality of life a threat to our state,” said Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San José) Kalra said the court ruling has stripped federal protections “from many of our most precious wetlands and streams each a crucial linkage in a complex water network that undergirds every animal The bill, SB 601 would restore previous protections for California’s wetlands and streams by requiring permits for pollution discharges from businesses and construction projects The measure calls for state standards that meet or exceed the regulations previously in place during the Biden administration “This was a system that was working well,” Allen said effectively rolls back the clock prior to the court decision to maintain protections and “enshrines a new framework into state law.” Under the bill the State Water Resources Control Board would be tasked with implementing and enforcing the rules A cormorant presides over what’s left of a snorkeling pool in the drying Kern River in Bakersfield (Gary Kazanjian / For The Times) “It’s critical that our state protects our waterways in the same way that we have over the last 50 years,” said Sean Bothwell executive of the group California Coastkeeper Alliance He called the Supreme Court ruling misguided saying it was biased toward waterways in the wetter East Coast climate where many streams flow only when it rains “Our Mediterranean climate doesn’t allow for our rivers and streams “What this bill does is it maintains the protections that Californians have enjoyed.” While the legislation is being discussed in Sacramento, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has begun to revise the so-called Waters of the United States rule to bring regulations into line with the Supreme Court ruling. The agency’s plan to repeal or weaken more than two dozen environmental regulations could deliver a direct blow to causes close to the heart of Californians — including air and water quality standards electric vehicle initiatives and efforts to curb planet-harming greenhouse gas emissions Announcing plans for the regulatory rollback last week acting together with the Army Corps of Engineers will “move quickly to ensure that a revised definition follows the law and lowers the cost of doing business.” The EPA said it will begin its review by seeking input from stakeholders “We want clean water for all Americans supported by clear and consistent rules,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in the announcement He said the previous version of the regulations “placed unfair burdens on the American people and drove up the cost of doing business.” The EPA has also announced plans to roll back more than two dozen other regulations which environmentalists say would severely harm the nation’s progress in addressing air and water pollution might go beyond the Supreme Court ruling and make it “more sweeping than it already was.” the combination of the court decision and the Trump administration’s pullback of regulations will leave seasonal streams and many wetlands without Clean Water Act protections “We can no longer rely upon the federal government to protect and provide clean and affordable water,” Bothwell said State officials and environmental advocates have said because about 90% of California’s wetlands have already been drained and destroyed, strong protections for those that remain are vital. Politics The Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled for San Francisco in limiting the power of environmental regulators to prevent ocean discharges of polluted stormwater wetlands and other waterways are all interconnected,” said Ashley Overhouse a water policy advisor for the nonprofit group Defenders of Wildlife She said when pollution flows into wetlands or streams, the effects on threatened species and water quality can be widespread, harming ecosystems that are also suffering from the effects of climate change. The bill would provide “clarity and efficient protections for the state at a time of regulatory and political uncertainty,” Overhouse said. The ultimate goal, she said, is to ensure “a future where clean, healthy water is guaranteed for all communities and all wildlife.” Ian James is a reporter who focuses on water and climate change in California and the West. Before joining the Los Angeles Times in 2021, he was an environment reporter at the Arizona Republic and the Desert Sun. He previously worked for the Associated Press as a correspondent in the Caribbean and as bureau chief in Venezuela. Follow him on Bluesky @ianjames.bsky.social and on X @ByIanJames. World & Nation Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map The Morro Bay Bird Festival began in 1996 and has officially kicked off for 2025 Arthur Mitchell came from Michigan to attend his first Morro Bay Bird Festival which I know people in Ann Arbor know about and talk about More than 800 people are registered for the festival’s nearly 260 events over the next five days Within just the first hour of a bird-watching trip Thursday morning at Montana de Oro I come from a very flat part of the country and to see the ocean and mountains is just incredible,” Mitchell said Mike Bush lives in Los Osos and has been an avid birder for 15 years He’s one of the festival’s 140 field trip leaders “It’s about how they fit into nature and how our actions have an impact on bird life,” Bush said He led a group of around a dozen people along the Bluff Trail at Montana de Oro “It’s a real varied habitat here in about 8,000 acres It’s so peaceful out here and it's right slap next to town,” Bush said He says you don’t have to be an experienced birder to take part in the events we really try to reach out to a broad section for things like sketching and birding with children,” Bush said They’re seeing more occupancy this weekend with people coming from all over “From everywhere in beautiful California into beautiful Morro Bay including different parts of the world,” said Jhan Napoli The Morro Bay Bird Festival runs through Monday, and for more information on this event, click here. 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