A countywide letter-writing effort to change the legislature surrounding the Diablo Canyon Power plant is facing pushback from the City of San Luis Obispo.
The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors' letter outlining their support for legislative changes to the Diablo Canyon Power Plant came before the San Luis Obispo City Council on Jan. 20.
The letter outlined support for three main points: extending operations of the plant for up to 20 more years, reinstating unitary tax to the plant to pre-decommissioning levels, and support for land conservation efforts.
Six of the seven cities in San Luis Obispo County have already approved signing the letter, with the City of San Luis Obispo being the only hold out.
The discussion started with a presentation from City Manager Whitney McDonald, who said the unitary tax loss impacts to the city are "modest." However, McDonald pointed out that impacts to community partners like the San Luis Coastal Unified School District (SLCUSD) are "significant," which include things like budget cuts.
"It's very important to support the unitary tax. It's unconscionable that the plant is continuing to operate but [is] not being taxed," said city council member Jan Marx.
At the meeting, council members said they don't want to take a stance on extending operations for 20 years, but would be in support of reinstating unitary tax and conservation efforts.
"We wanted to make sure that the city council understood that the component of extended operations beyond 2030 is a separate piece of the issue than the property tax element or the unitary tax element," said Ben Lippert, an SLCUSD parent who spoke at the meeting.
The council voted 5-0 to draft the city's own letter to the California Legislature.
"We appreciate that they did separate the extended operations beyond 2030, which the city has, I think for a long time, not had a position on," said Lippert.
The three main points from the city's letter are now public safety and preparedness, fiscal mitigation, and long-term planning and land conservation.
In these sections, the city outlines a call for reinstating unitary taxes, continued safety monitoring of the plant, and conservation of lands surrounding the plant.
The letter reads, "The City of San Luis Obispo stands with its neighboring cities, school districts, and regional partners in urging the Legislature to adopt a balanced approach that protects public safety, supports education and essential services, and provides fiscal certainty for communities hosting critical infrastructure on behalf of the State."
The city council will be reviewing and voting on approval of this draft at the Feb. 3 meeting in hopes of sending it in the California Legislature before introductory bills are submitted on Feb. 20.
