A San Luis Obispo County Superior Court ruled to deny a petition from the Nipomo Parks Conservancy challenging the county’s approval of the Nipomo Park Master Plan, which would construct additional recreation facilities at the park over a 20-year time frame. The plan had been held up by litigation since January 2013.
In its petition, the Nipomo Parks Conservancy argued that Nipomo doesn’t have an adequate water supply for the proposed new facilities. It also said the master plan for the park violates the county’s general plan for Nipomo and that the county failed to analyze the impact the project would have on coastal resources.
But in his June 10 ruling, Judge Barry La Barbera wrote that “the plan does not violate the constitutionally mandated reasonable use of water, does not have an impact on coastal resources, and is consistent with the General Plan elements concerning water resources.”
District 4 Legislative Assistant Jocelyn Brennan said the county can now proceed with the project, though it first needs to raise funds.
“It’s just been on hold for a long time, so now we can move forward,” Brennan said. “There’s not much funding for it, so of course that’s going to take time, but at least the litigation isn’t stopping the plans.”
The Environmental Impact Report for the plan was finalized in 2012, with provisions for a swimming pool, skate park, recreational center, and a preschool. Brennan said the county would no longer pursue a swimming pool due to the drought, but the other plans could still happen.
“It could be used a lot more for the youth,” she said. “Nipomo is a big area, and so a lot of the kids and a lot of the nonprofits and things like that were really hoping to see a lot of these things come to pass so it could be utilized to its full potential.”
Cynthia Hawley, who represents the Parks Conservancy in this lawsuit, said her clients have not yet decided whether they’ll appeal the court’s decision.
“There are local ways of challenging it where the statute of limitations are really short, so it would have to be within a couple weeks of the notice of entry of judgment,” Hawley said.
She added that the Parks Conservancy agrees that Nipomo could use new recreational facilities—but the organization doesn’t think those facilities should go into a rural park.
“They don’t have any problems with the expansion of recreational facilities and activities in the area,” Hawley said. “It needs it. They believe there should be a balance, and it should not be at the expense of losing a passive recreational park that can never, ever be replaced.”
This article appears in Jun 16-23, 2016.