County board’s “streak” of unanimity on two key votes earns a bouquet

For two weeks running, the often-divided San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors has been uncharacteristically united on key issues facing the county.

Last week, it unanimously supported a controversial psychiatric hospital proposed for Templeton. This week, it voted 5-0 to spend $900,000 on planning and permitting required to pipe water from Diablo Canyon’s desalination plant to the South County.

While the board isn’t in danger of being nominated for any congeniality awards, the recent record of unanimity is at least worth a round of bouquets — if only to remind us that sometimes all five members actually can agree on something.

Oh, and for the record, we believe the board made the right decisions on both issues. Our county is in desperate need both of more mental health facilities and more water.

While it’s true the future of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant is hazy right now — PG&E has not committed to applying for relicensing — the desal plant will continue to operate throughout the decadeslong process of decommissioning.

As long as PG&E has excess water available, it makes sense for nearby communities to benefit from it, especially if drought does indeed turn out to be the new normal for California.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 4:40 PM with the headline "County board’s “streak” of unanimity on two key votes earns a bouquet."