Projects currently in process.
The Airport Land Use Plan has been adopted and the update process is complete. Clicking on this link will redirect you to the newly adopted Airport Land Use Plan.
A hearing is pending for the Board of Supervisors to consider an appeal (APPL2020-00001) by Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) of the Planning Commission’s approval of a request by Sentinel Peak Resources California LLC (formerly Freeport-McMoRan Oil and Gas) for a Conditional Use Permit (DRC2015-00002) to amend a previously approved Conditional Use Permit (D010386D) granting additional time to install the final 31 oil wells of 95 approved wells at the Arroyo Grande Oilfield. The property is located at 1821 Price Canyon Road on both the east and west sides of Price Canyon Road, approximately 2.7 miles north of the City of Pismo Beach.
Environmental Documents
The previously certified Final Environmental Impact Report and related environmental documents are available for review in the Forms and Documents area located on the left side of this page.
Envision Avila is the work program and community workshop series created to inform and develop a new comprehensive Community Plan in Avila. Community Plans are an integral part of the San Luis Obispo County’s General Plan. Community Plans manage land uses and guide land use decisions until 2050. The Avila Community Plan will specifically focus on the region within the Avila Urban Reserve Line (URL).
Refer to Frequently Asked Questions Below
Continuum of Care Program is administered by the Department of Social Services. Please visit their site for more information.
Updated January 30th, 2019:
On December 4, 2018, the Board incorporated the County CEQA Guidelines Update into the Housing Initiatives Package as recommended by the Housing Coalition and directed staff to bring forward these revisions along with the proposed changes to the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance and Affordable Housing Fund. The Department recommends the following changes to the County’s CEQA Guidelines:
- Request for Proposal Process – allow the applicant to provide input on proposals during the consultant selection process.
- Billing Transparency – ensure billing details are discussed with the applicant.
- Project Description Confirmation– ensure the applicant has formally agreed to the final project description to ensure accuracy in the EIR.
- Applicant Coordination – ensure staff and the applicant discuss any issues as early in the process as possible.
- Mitigation Measure Coordination – ensure staff and the applicant discuss proposed mitigation measures.
- Contract Quality Control – ensure the project scope, timeline and budget are discussed with the applicant.
- Project Alternatives Confirmation – ensure staff and the applicant discuss project alternatives.
Link to Dec 4th, 2018 Board of Supervisors Staff Report (Click on Item 35 "Discussion on the County's Housing Initiative Package, Title 29 In Lieu Fee Ordinance, funding alternatives for affordable housing, California Environmental Quality Act Guideline Update, and the Regional Infrastructure and Housing Plan. All Districts.")
The San Luis Obispo County Planning Department has received an application for the Dana Reserve Specific Plan, located west of Highway 101 and south of Willow Road in the Nipomo area. The applicant is requesting approval of a Specific Plan that includes open space, trails, parks, residential neighborhoods, flex commercial and village commercial areas, a daycare center and a satellite community college.
These project updates will utilize the latest updated hazard mapping resources, consistent with state law and federal requirements, and will lead to the implementation of effective mitigation projects and climate adaptation strategies. The County and its jurisdictions will utilize this new Multi-Jurisdictional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) and Safety Element Update to address hazards in a coordinated effort using a whole community approach that will be built on the public’s participation in the planning process.
As part of the planning process, other local agencies, neighboring jurisdictions, and stakeholders are involved to raise awareness of this effort and provide an opportunity for input. In addition, an objective of this outreach is to coordinate with those who may bring additional information to the planning process regarding hazard issues or hazard mitigation efforts within the County.
The Department of Planning & Building was authorized to update the Los Osos Community Plan of the County’s General Plan and Local Coastal Plan on December 11, 2012.
The Community Plan is the official plan for land use and transportation in Los Osos which determines how the community will grow and develop over the next 20 years. The update will focus on protecting resources and providing adequate infrastructure.
The Board of Supervisors Adopted Plan is now available for public review:
The County is seeking a programmatic incidental take permit from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The County, as the applicant, is requesting a permit term of 25 years to authorize take of covered species associated with covered activities in the Habitat Conservation Plan area, which is approximately 3,560 acres bounded by the Los Osos Urban Reserve Line. As the permittee, the County will have the ability to issue certificates of inclusion to confer incidental take coverage to landowners and other entities as long as their activities are included on the incidental take permit(s).
Further updates will be posted and/or linked on this page as available.
This (and additional) information is available online via the US Fish and Wildlife Services (Ventura Office) by clicking here.
The County has signed a contract with Maddaus Water Management Inc. to prepare a study to update water usage estimates for urban and rural residences sourcing water from the Los Osos Groundwater Basin, propose new water conservation measures for the retrofit‐to‐build program, and estimate remaining water savings potential for the community. The project schedule has been delayed due to difficulties obtaining historic consumption data. Once this data is available, the estimated project timeline is 3 months. Updates will be posted on this website as available.
A request by Las Pilitas, LLC for a Conditional Use Permit and Reclamation Plan to allow for a new aggregate quarry and asphalt and concrete recycling facility. Mining operations would occur over a 30-year timeframe and conclude with reclamation of the site. The maximum annual extraction would be 500,000 tons. The project would result in disturbance of roughly 60 acres on two parcels totaling 203 acres in size. The project site is located east of the community of Santa Margarita at 6660 Calf Canyon Highway (Highway 58, north side), east of the Salinas River Bridge and approximately 0.25 miles west of Parkhill Road.
On February 7, 2023, the County Board of Supervisors rescinded the Planting Ordinance, re-enacted and extended until 2028 the Agricultural Offset Requirements, decertified the Planting Ordinance Final Program Environmental Impact Report and associated CEQA Findings, directed staff to not process applications for the Planting Ordinance, and directed staff to bring back at an appropriate time for Board discussion opportunities to amend the Agricultural Offset Requirements to account for off-site offsets and voluntary fallowing related to the Groundwater Sustainability Agency Multi-Benefit Irrigated Lands Repurposing (MILR) program. This motion was approved by the following roll call to wit:
AYES: Supervisors Gibson, Ortiz-Legg, and Paulding
NOES: Supervisors Arnold and Peschong
See links to enacted ordinance and resolutions below
On December 6, 2022, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors adopted the Paso Basin Land Use Management Area (PBLUMA) Planting Ordinance (LRP2021-00001), amending Title 8 and Title 22 of the San Luis Obispo County Code and the Agriculture and Conservation and Open Space Elements of the County General Plan to require “water neutral” ministerial planting permits for production agriculture irrigated from groundwater wells within the PBLUMA until 2045, with a 25-acre-feet per year (AFY) exemption allowed per site. The Board of Supervisors also certified a Final Program Environmental Impact Report (FPEIR) (SCH 2021080222) (ED22-183-PL) for the project pursuant to CEQA. See links to the adopted ordinance and FPEIR documents below.
Please click here to view a map of the PBLUMA area.
Please click here to view the PBLUMA area in our interactive web map.
The Department of Planning & Building is currently working on the Phillips 66 Santa Margarita Remediation Environmental Impact Report.
The Final Enviromental Impact Report (FEIR) and Notice are now available for public review:

On August 15, 2022, Phillips 66 Company (Phillips 66) applied to the County of San Luis Obispo for approval of a Development Plan and Coastal Development Permit (DP/CDP) to demolish the Santa Maria Refinery (SMR) facility and restore the site located at 2555 Willow Road in Arroyo Grande, California.
The County application, C-DRC2022-00048 Phillips 66 SMR Demolition and Remediation Project (SMR Project), was accepted for processing on March 15, 2023, initiating and environmental review process as required under the California Environmental Quality Act. An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be prepared for the project.
The Monarch Dunes Specific Plan establishes the roadmap for the development of the Woodlands Village (commonly known as “Trilogy at Monarch Dunes”), which is a 957-acre development located on the Nipomo Mesa, approximately two miles west of the community of Nipomo.
The applicant’s request is to modify the allowable land uses (as designated in the Monarch Dunes Specific Plan) for four sites within the Woodlands Village through amending the Monarch Dunes Specific Plan:
- Site #1 (Village Center) is proposed to be redesignated from Commercial Retail land use to Recreation-Resort land use, to support up to 65 hotel rooms (a reduction and reallocation from the 400-room hotel allowable on Site #3).
- Site #2 (Village Center) is proposed to retain the Commercial Retail land use designation, but would be modified to support up to 40 condominium residential dwelling units on the second floor (above commercial retail spaces) and to decrease the maximum allowable floor area for commercial uses from 140,000 square feet to 38,500 square feet.
- Site #3 (Resort Area) is proposed to be redesignated from Recreation-Resort land use to Residential Single-Family land use, to support up to 76 residential dwelling units in the form of 38 common wall developments.
- Site #4 (Public Park Area) is proposed to be redesignated from Public Park land use to Residential Single-Family land use, to support 46 residential dwelling units in the form of 23 common wall developments.
The proposed project would result in the net increase of residential dwelling units and net decrease of commercial retail uses, hotel rooms, and park area planned for the Monarch Dunes Specific Plan area. The following table provides a summary of the net changes:
