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SLO County Board of Supervisors approve Nipomo housing project

April 25, 2024

Proposed Dana Reserve project

By KAREN VELIE

Following a two-day hearing, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday voted 3-2 to approve a more than 1,400-unit housing development in Nipomo, known as the Dana Reserve.

The 288-acre site is located on the north, west side of Nipomo directly adjacent to Highway 101. The controversial development includes residential units, commercial, recreation and public services such as a dog park.

During public comment, citizens spoke for and against the project, NKT Commercial and owner Nick Tompkins. Proponents primarily spoke of the need for more housing in the county. Tompkins said the project would provide much needed workforce housing.

On the other side, a group of community members, called the Nipomo Action Committee, asked the board to delay the project while promoting their own plan, which whittled the project in half through the removal of higher priced homes. More expensive homes generally cover the infrastructure costs for lower priced homes.

The project included nine unmitigated impacts, such as the removal of 4,000 mature native oak trees.

In the end, the board voted 3-2 in favor of the project, with supervisors Bruce Gibson and Jimmy Paulding dissenting.

 


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Are these homes going to be dead restricted for verified owner occupied and initially only sold to people who can provided local residency? otherwise these will just become investment homes and do very little to help the housing issues here.


8

It is nice to know San Luis Obispo County is following the development philosophies of the counties of San Bernardino and Riverside. Burn and pave and asphalt over trees and other natural features. Crowd those homes into tight spaces, clog the roads with more traffic, and of course, enjoy the smog that comes with it. Nipomo has become San Bernardino North.


2

This is so confusing! Based on the comments and the ‘likes’ below the comments it looks like we are making fun of the liberal Supervisors that voted against the project. But we are also complaining about the approval of the project and the big changes it will bring to our area? Why no complaints about the conservative board members who approved the project?


-4

I get sick of the low cost housing conversation. Everyone wants it, until it’s built in their town. Affordable housing is subsidized by the profits on larger and more expensive homes. You can’t have one without the other. It makes no sense financially for developers. Encourage more low cost housing by waiving all permitting fees and taxes if they build them.


8

Although it was approved, I think everyone knows this is a low quality development, and will forever change the semi-rural nature of Nipomo. Development on some level is necessary, so should be encouraged, but this Nick Tomkins development is out-of-place in its scale and scope. The project literally shoehorns around small 10 acre ranchettes, and the development analysis revealed it will create untenable, unmitigated traffic flow issues.


Urban sprawl is visiting us, and it’s not a good look.


15

For everyone who wanted this, I don’t want to see a single complaint about heavy traffic in town, lack of shopping, even slower bumper to bumper on the highway, increased crime, lack of water, more and larger bonds and higher taxes to build a bigger sewer plant, lack of school rooms/teachers/facilities, the clouds of dust for the next year or so while construction goes on, and housing prices throughout the Mesa going through the roof (pun intended).


You wanted it, now live with it.


Oh, and plant a tree while you’re at it.


12

Something tells me that Ortiz-Legg is going to get screamed at by Bruce again.


24

Let’s hope so. And he’ll be joined by many of her constituents.


0

Excellent, this project has been sorely needed and stuck in nonsensical bureaucratic limbo for years. In my America, people are allowed to build things on land they own. Glad to see Ortiz-Legg crossing the aisle on this one.


-3

No surprise, Paulding got his orders from Gibson and voted how he was directed too, Legg better keep her eyes open and watch out that she doesn’t take the private supervisor elevator with Gibson or she may get the same treatment Arnold got with Gibson and Hill.


24

Ortiz-Legg will not be running unopposed next time. Gibson and Little Jimmy will have their candidate. Gibson will eventually go away but look for Little Jimmy for assembly soon. SLO County, like the City of AG, is just his stepping stone, he doesn’t really care about anything but his megalomania.


23

Your mean.


-10