San Simeon’s five-year plan from a regional perspective

March 23, 2026

Henry Krzciuk

OPINION By HANK KRZCIUK

After several months of delays, San Luis Obispo County is reviewing a draft report from the quarter-million-dollar consultants’ assessment of the San Simeon situation.

The concern is that it will be more of an elaborate rate study based on the worst-case scenario — ‘fix everything now for millions and millions.’ The engineering reviews will likely lack realistic, time-phased recommendations for the community’s future.

San Simeon is a severely disadvantaged community with grant and low-cost loan opportunities; however, I’m afraid the study will not include these opportunities in its analysis.

San Simeon Community Services District ceased to operate as a valid independent district last year.

San Simeon remains under county “emergency management” until its formal dissolution by LAFCO. The county has been handling almost all San Simeon’s functions as if it were already a county service area — including policy, general manager duties, personnel management, finance (such as a Prop 218 rate increase), and operations.

San Simeon operates as a “county service area in community services district clothing.” These are the facts on the ground.

San Simeon is now being run better by the County than it has been in the ten-plus years we have lived here.

As a member of the community, I offer these observations and input for incorporation into the County’s and LAFCO’s final recommendations in the form of  “a five-year San Simeon plan from a north coast regional perspective.”

Key objectives are provided for San Simeon, Cambria, and regional wastewater treatment, followed by an outline of a five-year plan 2026 through 2030 to achieve them.

Key objectives for San Simeon

• Providing longer-term resolution of unstable San Simeon CSD management, presently with three directors and no general manager, and precariously low cash reserves for essential service operations.
• Providing new water storage facilities for basic water supply, fire protection, and safe drinking water during heavy rains.
• Relocation, dismantling, and site restoration of the oceanfront San Simeon Wastewater Treatment Plant as required by the California Coastal Commission

Key objectives for Cambria

• Finding resolution of the Cambria water reclamation facility.
• Completion of its wastewater treatment plant and associated upgrades.

Objectives for North Coast regional area

• Providing shared regional wastewater treatment services to include the Cambria, San Simeon, State Parks San Simeon Campground, Hearst Castle Visitor Center, the Hearst Pier Visitor Center and its associated beach areas, and Hearst Corporation’s “Old San Simeon” present and planned operations

Proposed five-year plan, 2026 through 2030

Establish a county service area for San Simeon and proceed with the water tank project.

• Through the CalWARN arrangement, the county has effectively taken control of San Simeon, although with limitations. The current unstable board and administration setup needs to be replaced, which would be addressed through a county service area arrangement.
• The county service area will proceed with a water tank project, including easements, engineering, grants, loan funding, and construction management. The county has the necessary skills, as demonstrated by its work on the Cayucos twin tanks. The San Simeon community qualifies as a disadvantaged community for grant and loan eligibility. The county is capable of pursuing these financing options.

The county leads in developing a North Coast regional wastewater treatment services plan and has started implementing it with Cambria Community Services District and the San Simeon County Service Area, including wastewater treatment for State Parks and the Hearst Corporation.

• A regional master plan will be developed based on the Cambria wastewater treatment plant and reclamation facility, including the closure of the current San Simeon oceanfront wastewater treatment plant and site restoration.
• The county assists, as part of its county service area responsibilities, in securing engineering, financing, construction management, and service transition resources.
• The county would take the lead in securing the required multi-agency approvals for the plan.