Upset by a recent announcement from a rookie San Luis Obispo County supervisor, some elected members of two South County advisory councils slated for dissolution spoke out before the Board of Supervisors about a proposed change in guidelines for such groups in the area.
And though many community members also voiced their support for changes in the way community advisory groups are organized, 4th District Supervisor Paul Teixeira decided to pull his item for consideration indefinitely and continue discussion with council members at the board meeting March 15.
Teixeira—elected to the board in November—placed an item on the agenda that would have modified county guidelines for how South County communities are represented on the councils and how council members are selected.
Citing a lack of communication between advisory groups and the communities they’re tasked to represent, Teixeira proposed disbanding both the South County Advisory Council and the Halcyon/Oceano Advisory Council, replacing them with one new board-recognized group to represent the entire 4th District, which encompasses Nipomo, Oceano, and Arroyo Grande, up to the southern portions of the city of San Luis Obispo.
Currently, the South County Advisory Council (SCAC) is comprised of 16 elected volunteers, representing the greater Nipomo and South County Planning Area. Teixeira proposed a new council of 11 appointed members; two apiece for the areas of Arroyo Grande, Oceano, and Nipomo; and one each from Corbett Canyon, Edna Valley, Halcyon, Huasna, and Suey Creek.
In 1996, SLO County passed Resolution 96-485, which established criteria for community advisory councils. To be recognized by the board, such groups must represent a defined community within an established urban or village reserve line; hold regularly scheduled, public meetings; have an established protocol; and have membership that “should” reflect a broad cross-section of the community.
Advisory councils are intended to act as a forum for citizen participation and a source of information on matters concerning county government. Recommendations made by councils are sent to the Board of Supervisors or Planning Commission for consideration, and aren’t binding.
“Personally, I think advisory councils are very useful and important, even though they don’t always necessarily provide advice that their supervisor ends up listening to,” Board of Supervisors Chair Adam Hill told the Sun prior to the hearing. “[Teixeira] may have very legitimate reasons for wanting to implement some changes, but it’s my feeling we could—and should—require more discussion on this.”
At a special meeting on March 9, the SCAC voted 10-2 to ask the board to reject Teixeira’s plan. The council’s chairman, Dan Woodson, defended the work of the councils, saying replacing elected members with appointed ones is basically an affront to the democratic process.
“I think they’re looking for a bunch of people who would be more willing to agree with what they want to hear,” Woodson said.
He added that under Teixeira’s proposal, representation wouldn’t be evenly distributed. He pointed out that an area such as Suey Creek, which is home to only a couple hundred residents, would have one appointed representative, while Nipomo—with its population of much more than 10,000—would have only two.
Teixeira didn’t return requests for comment as of press time, but Woodson said the motivation behind the supervisor’s proposal was likely grumbling from residents who feel left out of the process.
“I guess some people have expressed that we’re another level of bureaucracy in government, another little hump they have to get over,” Woodson said.
Roughly 70 county residents from both sides of the debate packed the board chambers at the SLO County Government Center to either show support for change in the South County or to lay into the new supervisor.
“I respected you and voted for you, [but] I would not make this your first pass at working with us in the community,” former SCAC member Kevin Beauchamp told Teixeira.
“Why should you penalize the higher-population areas with lower representation?” asked Nipomo resident Kathy Motsuyama.
“I don’t like the way this was slid under the radar and slipped under the backdoor,” county resident David Broadwater said.
Members of some of the county’s other advisory councils also spoke before the board, concerned the resolution modification could set in motion a “domino effect” that could topple their respective groups. Hill clarified the proposal only concerned the 4th District.
Others echoed Teixeira’s sentiments that the advisory councils had become sources of contention involving too many people, which often leave many residents—namely younger ones—disconnected.
“Paul was elected to bring change to the South County. This council only represents a small segment of the community,” Arroyo Grande resident Bob Blair said. “Paul’s doing the right thing, and he should be able to do what he wants in the 4th District.”
Woodson agreed that greater diversity is needed on the council: “Of course it would be a benefit, and we try every year to get [new members]. But unfortunately, we do have a lot of retirees because it takes a lot of commitment to sit through these meetings every month.”
Other speakers, including Carol Hensen from the Halcyon/Oceano Advisory Council, said she appreciated Teixeira’s efforts to shake up community interest.
“While [the proposed changes] may need some fine tuning, I appreciate any action that would stimulate the community’s participation,” she said.
In addition to SCAC and the Halcyon/Oceano Advisory Council, there are currently nine other such councils in SLO County: those serving Avila Beach, Los Osos, Creston, Cayucos, North Coast, Santa Margarita, San Miguel, Shandon, and Templeton.
Staff Writer Matt Fountain can be reached at mfountain@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 17-24, 2011.
