Paso Basin Land Use Planting Ordinance

Paso Basin Land Use Planting Ordinance

The County of San Luis Obispo is proposing a new ordinance framework that would allow the County to continue exercising its land use authority to regulate planting of production agricultural irrigated from groundwater wells within the Paso Basin Land Use Management Area (PBLUMA; which consists of 313,661 acres in northeastern San Luis Obispo County) after the termination date of the existing agricultural offset requirements. The majority of land within the PBLUMA is designated as Agriculture, Rural Lands, and Residential Rural by the County’s General Plan. Existing uses within the PBLUMA include agricultural uses, including seasonal grazing; residential, commercial, and industrial uses; and vacant, undeveloped land. The new ordinance would also allow an exemption for farms to plant irrigated crops that were not able to be planted under the existing agricultural offset requirements. The proposed ordinance would require a planting permit or exemption verification for new or expanded planting of crops irrigated from groundwater wells within the PBLUMA. Issuance of planting permits allowed under the proposed ordinance would be considered ministerial and would not require discretionary actions. The proposed ordinance would be in effect from January 31, 2023 to January 31, 2045, for a total of 22 years.

Unincorporated County

San Luis Obispo

Countywide

California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, California Department of Transportation, District 5 (DOT), California Department of Transportation, Division of Aeronautics (DOT), California Department of Transportation, Division of Transportation Planning (DOT), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Natural Resources Agency, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Coast Region 3 (RWQCB), California State Lands Commission (SLC), Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), Department of Toxic Substances Control, Office of Historic Preservation, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Central Region 4 (CDFW)

California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Central Region 4 (CDFW)

Other (Regulate planting of production agricultural)

General Plan Amendment, Agricultural Ordinance

Aesthetics, Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Cumulative Effects, Drainage/Absorption, Energy, Flood Plain/Flooding, Geology/Soils, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Growth Inducement, Hazards & Hazardous Materials, Hydrology/Water Quality, Land Use/Planning, Mandatory Findings of Significance, Mineral Resources, Noise, Population/Housing, Public Services, Recreation, Schools/Universities, Septic System, Sewer Capacity, Solid Waste, Transportation, Tribal Cultural Resources, Utilities/Service Systems, Vegetation, Wetland/Riparian, Wildfire