After serving 11 years on the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission, 4th District Commissioner Larry Ferini stepped down to focus on his family agriculture business, Rancho Laguna Farms.
“I have two of my sons working for the farming operation, and it seems like a great time in my life to spend more time with them and mentoring them [on] what I learned as a grower, and at the same time learn from them,” Ferini told the Sun. “They’re teaching me as well. It’s very fulfilling to have your children teaching you too.”
Ferini served in his last meeting as a commissioner on Nov. 29, where he was honored by his colleagues, members of the public, and fellow county employees. In 2023, Ferini weighed in on oil project proposals, wind turbines in Lompoc, frost ponds for vineyards in Cuyama, and the state-required Housing Element.
“I look at each project as an important project. It doesn’t really matter if it’s a lot line adjustment or an oil project or a potential new housing development. They’re all intriguing in their own little way. I never really looked at any of them any differently,” Ferini said.
In 2013, then 4th District Supervisor Peter Adam was looking for a commissioner to fill the seat that represents Orcutt, Garey, Sisquoc, Tepusquet Canyon, Los Alamos, and parts of unincorporated Lompoc. Ferini first volunteered to help the supervisor with finding a commissioner and later filled the seat himself.
“I’ve always been interested in land use, and there was a guy named Harrell Fletcher who used to be a county supervisor and [was] a professional land use planner. He and I would get together once a month and talk about land use,” Ferini said. “He kind of sparked that in me; when the position became available, I thought it would be very interesting because of the background Harrell had given me over the years.”
The Orcutt native used his experience in agriculture—his business grows blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and lettuce for major U.S. produce operations and employs more than 1,000 people during harvest season—to weigh in on projects before the Planning Commission.
“The biggest challenge of the job is the time it takes and the depth to go into a project—[understanding] a project and staff’s position on the project, of course listening to the public, and figuring out how to put the whole puzzle together,” Ferini said.
His motto with Supervisor Adam was that he would serve unless Adam found someone he would prefer on the dais, but the supervisor was content with Ferini’s perspective so he stayed on the commission, he said.
“When Supervisor [Bob] Nelson was elected, I agreed to continue to serve under him, and over time we found quite a few people interested in the position,” Ferini said.
Ultimately, Ferini and Nelson landed on Roy Reed: a Santa Maria Valley native who worked in the dental and pharmaceutical industry for 30 years; served on the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association; represented and advocated for the oil industry in Santa Barbara County; and owns ranch land in the Garey area.
Reed was sworn in as the new commissioner on Nov. 28 at the Board of Supervisors meeting and was scheduled to have his first meeting on Dec. 6.
“I’m very at ease that things will go in a positive direction,” Ferini said. “They’re good people, they know what they’re doing, and as far as I’m concerned everybody does their best to make the right decisions.”
Fourth District Supervisor Nelson told the Sun that Ferini was the longest serving planning commissioner from Orcutt and said that Ferini was a thoughtful, gracious, and wise person. Bringing those attributes to the Planning Commission, Ferini helped create an environment where everyone could engage with one another and understand each other’s differences, Nelson said.
“A lot of their votes were pretty collaborative, and you could never guess [the result]. You go back through and there’s a lot of iterations on voting patterns as they all looked from their perspectives,” Nelson said.
While Ferini’s leaving big shoes to fill, Nelson said he has a lot of confidence in Reed’s capabilities and believes he can do a good job representing the 4th District. Nelson added that Ferini will help mentor Reed and get him up to speed.
“There’s not a lot of people who watch these meetings, but it’s one of Roy’s interests. He writes op-eds and cares about his community. … He knows the good and the bad and how that has to be balanced with ag,” Nelson said. “We know Roy to be a deep thinker, strong property rights taxpayer advocate for more than a decade. We thought it would be a good fit.”
Reed will finish out Ferini’s term until Nelson’s seat is up for reelection in 2024. If reelected, Nelson said he and Reed will have a follow-up conversation about the role; if Nelson doesn’t get reelected, then the new supervisor can select the next commissioner.
Reed said he was honored to be considered and selected for the role and hopes he can operate in a “similar and honorable” fashion as Ferini.
“Right now the training ladder is very steep but very necessary and essential because it’s my obligation to get up to speed as soon as possible because the issues at every meeting are consequential and of great importance,” Reed said.
Reed’s family has been in the valley since the 1860s on ranch land. He grew up in Santa Maria, attended Cal Poly, and came back to get involved with managing his family’s Bradley Ranch. He first got involved with the county government regarding land use issues around oil production as director for the National Association of Royalty Owners in Santa Barbara, Ventura, SLO, and Monterey counties, he said.
“I spent a lot of time in front of the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors in those counties. At that time, I got more and more involved with city and Santa Barbara County issues; ultimately I became president of the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association and spent a lot of time relevant to land use issues,” Reed said.
He added that he has since resigned from these organizations and others to minimize outside influence and/or conflict. Moving forward, he said he hopes to help create a greater level of transparency with the information going out to the public, help promote public comment and public engagement, and take the interests of 4th District residents into account.
“I see the role of establishing land use policy as one of the most consequential decisions the county is able to make,” Reed said. “It’s a very challenging position with great reward, and I relish in the opportunity … to serve in the county and hopefully look at the long-range effects that I will be able to participate in.”
Reach Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor at toconnor@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 7-17, 2023.
