In October, San Luis Obispo County earned California’s Prohousing Designation, which recognizes local policies that help boost housing production.
This designation is given to jurisdictions that the state considers to be doing a good job of creating housing production policies. It makes the county eligible for specific grants.
“Help us fund infrastructure, they could help fund affordable housing projects, they could help us improve our process, and they could help us do some planning," said Bruce Gibson, San Luis Obispo County District 2 Supervisor.
In Los Osos, many residents have owned their homes for a long time.
“My husband built the house for his mom in the 80s, so it was a vacant lot," said Pat Iten.
“First home was, you know, a very long time ago, and there were really no restrictions. We were on an unpaved street; we were one of the last streets to be paved,” said Karen Kimura.
“We were able to buy back in ’85. It was before the moratorium that went into effect, I believe, a couple of years later,” said Tom Maier.
That building moratorium was put in place decades ago to protect the groundwater basin and was lifted in 2024 with a 1% annual growth cap.
Still, Gibson says that in the county's second district, there are building challenges, like needed infrastructure updates and water system improvements that could benefit from the Prohousing Designation.
“If we could find a grant to help that, that might then ripple on to allow us to provide a little more housing spaces," Gibson said.
This designation allows the county to apply to the Prohousing Incentive Program, which rewards local governments with additional funding to accelerate the production of affordable housing. It also gives the county priority for several funding programs, including Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities, Infill Infrastructure Grant, Transformative Climate Communities, Solutions for Congested Corridors, Local Partnership Program, Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program, and Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program.
Community Services District General Manager Ron Munds says any sort of funding that can help with the water issue in Los Osos is welcome, but it’s complex and will be costly.
“You have to design a system that will be sustainable for 50, 100 years on, trying to anticipate future conditions," Munds said.
He says other communities in San Luis Obispo County might see quicker growth.
“Communities that will grow like Nipomo, they’ve secured outside water to support that growth," Munds said. "For communities like Los Osos, which has a single supply that is already being overstrained, it’s a lot more complicated."
