Hill won’t address questions; he’s changing addresses
November 27, 2015
Adam Hill speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony for a PB Companies project.
By KAREN VELIE
San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Adam Hill changed the mailing and work address for a consulting company he works for, the same day he received questions from CalCoastNews about inconsistencies between his financial disclosures and a developer’s documents organizing the consulting firm. The changes corrected inconsistencies in a filing made under penalty of perjury.
On Oct. 13, CalCoastNews sent a list of questions to Hill after discovering through government and the developer’s documents that he was moonlighting as a paid consultant for San Luis Consulting, a company tied to PB Companies.
Instead of answering the questions about the use of his position as a county supervisor for the benefit of PB Companies, Hill filed a change of address for the consulting company with the Secretary of State. That new address is Hill’s home address.
John Belsher and Ryan Petetit
John Belsher, 61, and Ryan Petetit, 28, are principals in PB Companies, a real estate investment and development firm which is involved in more than a dozen proposed projects throughout San Luis Obispo County. Hill has actively promoted several developments without disclosing to groups or local governments that he is paid by PB Companies.
On July 10, 2014, Belsher filed articles of organization for San Luis Consulting LLC. The forms list the LLC’s address as 3480 S. Higuera Street, Suite 130— the same address as PB Companies San Luis Obispo office. At that time, Belsher listed himself as the only organizer of San Luis Consulting, a company with more than one manager.
For service of process, Belsher listed his law office at 412 Marsh Street.
In a Feb. 2, 2015 statement sent to the California Secretary of State, Belsher was replaced by Hill as the agent for process of service for San Luis Consulting. Hill also replaces Belsher as the managing member.
However, the principal office address remains the same as PB Companies Higuera Street address.
In Hill’s March 2015 statement of Economic Interest filed with the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission, also know as form 700, Hill writes that San Luis Consulting is a sole proprietorship with a P.O. Box 15248 in San Luis Obispo address. In addition, Hill reported that he was paid $10,001 to $100,000 in 2014 for what he described as “writing, editing, and coaching.” Claims filed under penalty of perjury that conflicted with Hill’s February statement to the California Secretary of State.
On Oct. 13, CalCoastNews emailed Hill several questions about his work for San Luis Consulting: “The 2014 state LLC filing for San Luis Consulting lists Belsher as the only organizer of the company that he reports has multiple managers and is run out of PB Companies office,” the email to Hill says. “On your 700 form you claim it is a sole proprietorship run out of a P.O. box. Why the discrepancy?”
Hill still has not answered that or any of the other questions CalCoastNews asked.
Instead, Hill filed a change of address for San Luis Consulting with the California Secretary of State. Hill changed the business address from PB Companies’ Higuera Street address to his home on Country Club Drive. He also changed the mailing address from his home address to the P.O. Box he listed on his 700 form which he signed under penalty of perjury.
In mid-2014, shortly after Belsher filed Articles of Organization for San Luis Consulting, Hill began lobbying the city of San Luis Obispo to override a ruling by the airport commission that limited development in the flight path because of safety concerns. He did not disclose his business relationship with PB Companies.
The council’s 4-1 passage of the update to the General Plan—known as the LUCE, or Land Use and Circulation Elements—opened the door for Belsher’s $16.5 million project that sits at the intersection of South Higuera and Tank Farm Road, an area known as the SLO Public Market.
Hill’s LLC changes made the day he was asked about filing discrepancies:
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San Luis Consulting’s 2014 articles of organization, Adam Hill’s Form 700 and a 2015 statement of information for San Luis Consulting:
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