Testy and zesty. That’s a good way to describe some of 3rd District county Planning Commissioner John Parke’s exchanges on Jan. 29.
With cannabis odor on the agenda and potential ordinance changes set to come back—again—to the commission, he managed to take over the entire discussion. His insistences left commission chair, 2nd District Commissioner Laura Bridley, audibly exasperated. Bridley was trying to do her job and move the meeting along, but Parke wasn’t having it.
It was, after all, the third time commissioners had debated cannabis odor ordinance changes. By the end of the hours-long discussion, Bridley wrapped up the hearing and was ready for the next item when Parke interjected again!
“I have one more thing to say,” Parke said. “I know that that bothers you.”
Bridley let out an exaggerated breath.
“We still have one more item on the agenda,” Bridley responded.
Parke continued by saying that his supervisor—Joan Hartmann—wants the county to also address outdoor cannabis grows and he’ll address it on Feb. 19, when the commission hopefully makes its final recommendations.
“Don’t tell me on the 19th that we can’t discuss it,” he said while looking at county staff.
Aggressive much? It seems like the county needs to wrap this discussion up before it adds anything else. Regulating odor on indoor operations is complex enough without adding outdoor. I can’t wait to hear how they address this.
Just like I can’t wait to hear about what’s happening with a conveniently discovered new plant species in the Dana Reserve development area on the Nipomo Mesa. It seems so sudden, but the Nipomo Action Committee and SLO County’s chapter of the California Native Plant Society actually sued the SLO Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) over the “new species” of manzanita. It’s the committee’s second lawsuit over the approved development.
The manzanita did come up during LAFCO’s November Dana Reserve hearing. Bill Waycott, who says he discovered the species, spoke and submitted a written comment.
LAFCO staffer Emily Creel had some choice words about the supposed discovery: “The information hasn’t been weighed in on by any regulatory agencies, much less has the species been identified as new and listed on any regulatory agencies.”
A peer-reviewed paper that studied 54 samples of manzanita from across the Central Coast was published January in PhytoKeys. It names the species A. nipumu.
It might take more than an arguably small sample size to halt a development of 1,370 residential units that oak trees couldn’t stop.
Speaking of stopping, Guadalupe is asking residents to stop charging their electric vehicles overnight—or get a ticket. The city’s new ordinance establishes a four-hour time limit. Yet said chargers take 11 hours for a full charge.
City Attorney Philip Sinco said residents complained about “people allegedly hogging the parking spaces.”
Police Chief Michael Cash weighed in, since his department will be doing the enforcement. Cash confirmed that officers have their eyes on at least one potential EV abuser.
“They park, and then they’ll take their scooter out and go home,” Cash said. “We’re not going to say where they go home to, but we know the person.”
The Canary has eyes in the sky. Send goggles to canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 6-16, 2025.