Dalidio should not give up despite surprising ruling

Appeal the decision that went against the choice of 65 percent of voters

If you’re shaking your head over Ernie Dalidio’s latest setback, you have plenty of company.

Sixty-five percent of the voters in San Luis Obispo County approved the Dalidio Ranch shopping complex in November 2006. Yet one judge’s opinion has overturned that decision. We don’t like the outcome.

We think that Dalidio’s proposal for a mixed-used project just south of the city of San Luis Obispo is the best use for a property that’s already surrounded by urban uses, including a freeway and a shopping center.

We hope the judge’s ruling doesn’t derail the project, and that Ernie Dalidio can find a way to proceed with a development that’s been more than 15 years in the planning.

That said, we respect that Judge Roger Picquet ruled in a manner that he believed to be consistent with the law.

Here’s the gist of that ruling: By going directly to the voters, the applicants sidestepped a state-required review of the project by the Airport Land Use Commission.

That put Measure J beyond the scope of what the local initiative process allows.

Michael Morris, an attorney for Dalidio, called it a “fairly technical reading of the law.”

Of course, attorneys for the other side disagree.

Here’s our take: We recognize that, for the sake of public safety, it’s essential to carefully scrutinize projects proposed near airports. And while we don’t always agree with the decisions of our local Airport Land Use Commission, we accept that it has a job to do.

But here’s what we find hard to swallow: The Dalidio project has been reviewed, many times over, by various boards, commissions and committees — including the Airport Land Use Commission.

In fact, it was at the insistence of the Airport Land Use Commission that plans for more housing at the site were abandoned.

At this point, it’s time to move on, and allow Dalidio to move forward.

The question is how to do that.

The judge’s ruling can be appealed, and that could be the most viable course of action.

Otherwise, Dalidio may well have to go back to the county and start the project review almost from scratch — a process that could take years.

Dalidio has waited long enough. So have 65 percent of voters, many of whom are no doubt feeling that the democratic process has let them down.

Given the stakes, we think an appeal is worth a try.