Planning Commission

The Planning Commission is a five-member body appointed by the Board of Supervisors. Its primary role is to consider how land use decisions affect the County. In this role, the Commission has review and approval authority for tract maps, conditional use permits, and variances and is responsible for making recommendations to the Board of Supervisors regarding plan and ordinance updates.

To send an email to the Planning Commission please email Daniela Chavez and she will forward your message to the proper recipient. 

Planning Commission Purview   

Entitlement Type Role
Appeals of Director Determinations Decision-Making Body
Conditional Use Permits Decision-Making Body
General Plan Amendments Advisory Body
Minor Use Permits (elevated by Director) Decision-Making Body
Third Time Extensions Decision-Making Body
Tract Maps Decision-Making Body
Variances Decision-Making Body

 

Planning Commissioners

District 1

Alex has been a business owner and active member of the Paso Robles community for thirty years.  He graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Communications.  He started working in the Paso Robles wine industry, seasonally, in 1991 while working full-time in Pasadena and eventually San Luis Obispo, in real estate development and management.  In 1996, Alex and his wife Monica purchased property on the westside of Paso Robles and began planting their estate vineyard.  In 2002, they opened their winery and tasting room on Adelaida Road.  In 2011, Alex and Monica, in an effort to be more sustainable in their agricultural practices, launched the county’s first craft-distillery.  Alex has served on multiple boards of directors including the Paso Robles Wine County Alliance (chair), the Wine Institute, Twin Cities Board of Governors, and currently serves on the Travel Paso Board (secretary). 

District 2

Anne is a planning consultant with specialties in affordable housing, historic preservation and sustainable mobility. She is Executive Director at Smart Share Housing Solutions, a San Luis Obispo County non-profit affordable housing developer. She writes on housing and housing policy and has been a frequent contributor to the national magazine Planning. She currently serves on several volunteer boards, including the Casita Coalition, National Shared Housing Resource Center and Friends of the Bob Jones Trail. She received a bachelors in urban studies and planning from UC San Diego and a masters in planning from Cal Poly. This is her second term on the County Planning Commission, serving 4 years starting in 2007 and rejoining in 2023.

District 3

Kristina Simpson-Spearman is a decorated U.S. Army veteran with 20 years of senior level federal service in planning and policy under the Clinton, Bush and Obama Administrations and within the U.S. Senate.  Spearman has a Masters of Public Policy from American University, and is a graduate of the Harvard School of Public Health and Kennedy School of Government.  Spearman also brings practical planning and building experience to the position.  She recently completed a complex development project over the past four years resulting in their family home within District 3.  Spearman began her term in January, 2021.

District 4

Mariam Shah was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She attended the University of Michigan, double majoring in Spanish and American Culture. She has a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and spent seven years as a corporate litigator in New York City, Cleveland, Ohio and Akron, Ohio, representing businesses of all sizes. In 2008, she and her husband drove up Highway 1 and immediately decided the Central Coast was a great place to escape midwestern winters and raise a family. 

Mariam ran for Grover Beach City Council in 2014. During her time on the council, she served on the executive committees of the Homeless Services Oversight Committee (2 years as chair), the Air Pollution Control District (2 years as chair), and the CA League of Cities. She spent several years on the Grover Heights Elementary PTA executive committee and currently serves as the Treasurer for the Oceano Elementary PTA.  She recently completed a term on the Diablo Canyon Decommissioning Engagement Panel and serves on the executive board of the Five Cities Homeless Coalition.  Mariam also works part-time as a Community Organizer for a local healthcare nonprofit.  In her spare time, she is usually at one of her daughter’s games or talking about cars with her son.  She enjoys life on the Arroyo Grande Mesa in a multigenerational living situation with her extended family.

District 5

Don Campbell was recently named Roblan of the Year by the Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce for his distinguished service in the North County. He will bring his decades of experience as a real estate broker, educator, farmer, and community volunteer to the San Luis Obispo Planning Commission. A Cal Poly graduate, Don Campbell earned his masters degree in agricultural science and eventually a teaching credential, teaching agriculture at San Luis Obispo High School. Later, Campbell and his wife Gail owned and operated Western Properties, which later became a Coldwell Banker franchise, specializing in farm and ranch sales and management. For over thirty years, the Campbells have been active members of the local agricultural community, raising purebred Suffolk show lambs and growing wine grapes. Campbell was a founding member of Heritage Oaks Bank and has been a board member for 30 years, currently serving as vice chairman. He is the only remaining founding member to still serve on the Board. Campbell has been a Paso Robles Trail Ride member for 30 years, a 4-H Club leader for 23 years, a Paso Robles Rotary member for 34 years, and a Junior Livestock Auction volunteer for 47 years. Supervisor Debbie Arnold says “Don is a widely respected fixture of the north county. He represents the best of what our rural community stands for; he is hard working, fair and dependable. Don has spent the past thirty years investing in our community. He is committed to ensuring that the Central Coast remains a place where families can not only live, but prosper.”

 

 

Meetings

The Planning Commission Meetings are typically on the the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at 9:00 AM in the Board of Supervisors Chambers at the County Government Center.