Planning Commission Hearing Dates Announced:
The County Planning Commission will consider the Conservation and Open Space Element (COSE) at several upcoming meetings on a chapter by chapter basis:
June 25, 2009 Air Quality and Energy
July 6, 2009 Water and Biological Resources
July 23, 2009 Cultural Resources, Visual and Final EIR
July 30, 2009 Soils, Open Space and Minerals
NOTICE: Public Hearing Draft and Draft Environmental Impact Report Available
The County Planning and Building Department has released the Public Hearing Draft and the Draft Environmental Impact Report (dEIR) for the Conservation and Open Space Element (COSE) (see links below). Public hearings will be held at the County Planning Commission beginning June 25 2009.
Conservation and Open Space Element
Those with dial-up access to the internet can access individual chapters for faster download time.
Draft Environmental Impact Report
Those with dial-up access to the internet can access individual chapters of the Draft EIR for faster download time.
Your comments on the draft EIR and Conservation and Open Space Element (COSE) are vital to its success. Please fill-in our comments form to let us know what you think. Please submit your comments by June 11, 2009.
Comments on the draft EIR and COSE are due by June 11, 2009 and may also be mailed or e-mailed to:
James Caruso, Senior Planner
Dept of Planning and Building
County Government Center
San Luis Obispo, CA 93408
jcaruso@co.slo.ca.us
Comments on the Public Hearing Draft COSE will be forwarded to the Planning Commission for their review. Comments on Draft EIR will be included on the final EIR.
Please contact James Caruso for further information at (805) 781-5702 or e-mail at jcaruso@co.slo.ca.us
Conserving and Protecting San Luis Obispo County Resources
Those familiar with San Luis Obispo County are aware of the wide array of natural resources, areas of incomparable ecological value and beauty, and many wonderful outdoor recreational opportunities. These are the defining characteristics of San Luis Obispo County and represent its most significant environmental, social and economic assets. Approximately 700,000 acres of the county’s 2.2 million acres are used for protected open space, forests, and recreation areas. There is also considerable National Forest land, as well as a number of regional parks and open space areas owned by non-profit conservation groups.
Conserving and protecting these assets to benefit future generations is a main goal of the Conservation and Open Space Element. The Open Space Element guides the comprehensive and long-range preservation and conservation of open space land. The Conservation Element provides direction regarding the conservation, development, and utilization of natural resources. It includes new policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that have been linked to global warming, to encourage “green building” design and construction, and to conserve limited and dwindling water supplies.
Background
The COSE updates some polices that haven’t been revised in 34 years, and combines three older documents into a more comprehensive and up-to-date policy guide for the protection of the county’s natural resources into the 21 st century. Policies call for protecting our resources such as air, water, open space, energy, cultural and visual. With the publication of this document, the Planning and Building Department proposes that the County become a leader in:
- reducing greenhouse gas emissions
- reducing vehicle miles traveled and improving air quality
- protecting our limited groundwater supplies.
In all, nine of the most important natural resources in the county are addressed in the COSE:
|
Air Resources |
Energy |
Soils |
|
Biological Resources |
Minerals |
Visual Resources |
|
Cultural/Historic Resources |
Open Space |
Water Resources |
The COSE establishes policies the county must follow when making decisions affecting these resources. Some of these resource issues did not exist when the last Conservation Element was adopted in 1974.
Other important public policy considerations in the COSE include:
- use of solar, wind and other alternative energy sources
- protection of the county’s character-defining landscapes and vistas
- protection of “prime” agricultural soils
- recognition that cultural and archaeological resources are “living resources” and represent a continuing culture.
Other documents
The following COSE related documents were released in the past two years
Raw results of polling of members of the Water Resources Advisory Ccouncil (WRAC) (September 2006)
Results of the public meeting polling (October 2006)
Conservation Element Requests for Proposals (July 2007)
Comments received at the March 2008 Open House
For more information, contact James Caruso at jcaruso@co.slo.ca.us or (805) 781-5702.