The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors came to a decision Wednesday on the Dana Reserve Specific Plan that would bring close to 1,400 homes to the unincorporated community of Nipomo. The vote was 3-2 in favor of approving the plan.
Some Nipomo residents who spoke during public comment Wednesday understand the need for more housing in the county but want NKT commercial to go back to the drawing board.
“All of these things add up to an infrastructure that is just not right,” one Nipomo resident told the board.
Over the course of two days, more than 100 slips were submitted to the board for public comment.
“We don't want more traffic, we don't want more development. But the reality is, we need to have places where people can live,” one commenter said.
While much of Tuesday's public comment included arguments against the project, developer and NKT Commercial owner Nick Tompkins got a front row seat to waves of support from pro-housing speakers on Wednesday.
“It was nice for me to hear the many stories about people who need housing and who came in and talked about it,” he said.
Following public comment, Tompkins presented closing statements to the board and while he hoped for the plan’s approval, he says he understands the concerns regarding big changes.
"We've been living in a community that you own your home and it's been the way that you like it and it's going to change," Tompkins said. "I think that that uncertainty creates fear.”
While many Nipomo residents and the Nipomo Action Committee were in full force so were the pro-housing groups like Generation Build who came to support the project.
"The number one reason that we're fighting for this is because we can't do anything about the demand of it because the demand is just simply people living," explained Generation Build President Michael Massey. "We need to address the supply issue.”
In the final remarks, the Board of Supervisors gave their opinions.
Against the plan were District 4 Supervisor Jimmy Paulding who represents Nipomo. He and District 2 Supervisor Bruce Gibson agreed that housing was a key focus moving forward but that changes in the environmental, fiscal and community impacts in the current plan needed to be addressed moving forward.
Meanwhile, John Peschong, Dawn Ortiz-Legg and Debbie Arnold supplied the votes needed to approve the current plan, citing the immediate need for housing in the county.
