A lame-duck supervisor wants to ax our citizens advisory council. Will yours be next?
On Dec. 6, during her last meeting as a supervisor, lame duck Lynn Compton will propose to finally kill the Oceano Advisory Council (OAC).
Why? Because we had the temerity to take positions on important land use issues in our community, including off-road recreation and vacation rentals, that she doesn’t agree with.
Never mind that, according to county policy, it’s our job to offer advice on what we believe is in the best interests of the community — not to necessarily agree or disagree with supervisors.
Of course, Compton has never had much interest in Oceano unless it related to her Republican supporters and contributors. This was made absolutely clear when she helped lead the board majority’s redistricting effort that carved Oceano out of the 4th District and carved in the Edna Valley Country Club area, all in a failed attempt to defeat Jimmy Paulding.
Off-roading and airport recommendations
In March of 2019, the OAC voted to support the California Coastal Commission’s staff recommendations to remove vehicles from the beaches and dunes south of Oceano and thus, for the first time in modern history, open our beaches to safe recreation for locals and tourists — and our local economy to a new era of equitable development.
It was after we took this position that Supervisor Compton removed any funding for basic operations (website, post office box, Zoom account, publicity, etc) and created a new and unprecedented second Advisory Council for Oceano, made up solely of her supporters and contributors.
In April of 2022, Henry Bonifas of the county Planning Department sent the OAC a proposal for a $1.8 million upgrade to the Oceano Airport, which is located on 60+ acres of prime coastal land. The project is intended to build a new pilots’ lounge, upgrade the on-site campground for private pilots with new bathrooms and showers and repave the parking lot reserved for airport business. None of this will be accessible to local residents.
Oceano has very little space to develop more housing, commercial, tourist or recreational space for the community and the airport land is the only vacant parcel available. We chose to vote for the community rather than a couple of dozen private pilots who have exclusive use of the space. We shared that recommendation to the Coastal Commission and the county.
Vacation rentals
Since 2020 we have been researching and developing a short-term vacation rental ordinance. We are the only coastal community in the entire County that does not have one — and we need one for the same reasons everyone else does. This question clearly falls within the context of a legitimate land use issue in Oceano.
All of this work was open and transparent. Videos of our meetings were posted on our website. We sent personal emails to Ms. Compton every month, inviting her to our meetings with the agenda attached, which listed the vacation rental ordinance and a hyperlink to the document. If Ms. Compton did not know about the ordinance it was because she ignored our communications.
It was this vacation rental work that Compton says was the “final straw” and that OAC is “out of control,” “off the rails” and needs to be eliminated — based on her belief that “no one in Oceano wants a vacation rental ordinance.”
In fact, a community poll this week on Nextdoor had 87% of responders saying they do not want a vacation rental in their neighborhood.
Compton accused OAC members of supporting the draft ordinance because they would be “personally gaining” from it. This was based on public comments made by me (and others) that we did not want a vacation rental in our neighborhoods. Similarly, I do not want a liquor store, mini-hotel or auto repair business in my single-family residential neighborhood. Neither does any other homeowner in the neighborhood.
Ironically, during a July 10, 2018, board discussion of vacation rentals, Compton shared a similar opinion: “I personally would not want to live next to one but I moved out in the country so I don’t have anybody near me,” she said.
A ‘slippery slope’
Ms. Compton broke this “OAC out of control” story during public comment at the board meeting the week prior to the Nov 8 election. I have no doubt that this action was intended, in large part, to undermine my campaign for a seat on the Oceano Community Services District board. Ms. Compton’s tirade is simply another example of the Big Lie approach to political and voter manipulation.
The Oceano Advisory Council is a stellar example of a local organization acting as a champion for community betterment.
The work OAC has done in partnership to find major grant funding for flood control and sidewalk infrastructure in the community; the work to mobilize community support for the Oceano Plaza Project; initiate public discussion on Pier Ave redevelopment and an Oceano Beach Plaza; support new local business and housing development; and many other community services are examples of our community betterment orientation.
The Oceano Advisory Council has done an exemplary job, followed and exceeded operating guidelines and has been more transparent than any other existing advisory council. Ms. Compton wants to eliminate us because of our ideas. This is a dangerous, ugly, slippery slope that would create a horrible precedent.
Compton’s proposal is being presented with no investigation, fact-checking or sincere concern for public input, including setting aside time for the Oceano Advisory Council to address the lies and defamation presented by Ms. Compton. No clear-thinking, democracy-loving supervisor should support it.
Every advisory council in the county should be protesting it because they could be next on the chopping block, and every fair-minded county citizen should be concerned.
Charlies Varni serves on the Oceano Advisory Council and, according to the most recent vote count, is leading the race for a seat on the Oceano Community Services District Board.