October 22, 2006 – The Tribune

By Bob Cuddy

The vote on Measure J is 16 days away, but questions surrounding the controversial proposal won’t end when the ballots are counted.

Measure J calls for 530,000 square feet of retail development on rancher-developer Ernie Dalidio’s 131 acres of farmland west of Highway 101 and south of Madonna Road in southern San Luis Obispo.

Additionally, 60 units of housing, an organic farm, a farmers market, a butterfly sanctuary and sports fields are planned, along with a hotel and business park.

After a proposed project was approved by the city but turned down by San Luis Obispo voters last year, Dalidio decided to take his case to voters countywide.

Putting aside emotional arguments about Measure J — what kind of man Ernie Dalidio is or whether one side or the other has engaged in questionable campaign practices — here are some key questions that arise from the 43-page initiative, and attempts to clarify them:

What sort of review will the project receive?

Measure J is subject to state and federal laws involving water quality and endangered species.

That means, for example, that if the developer wants to do work that affects Prefumo Creek, which runs through the property, he will need permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other appropriate agencies.

Like other planning zones, the Dalidio zone is subject to local conditions of approval, including siting of utility lines. Many of those restrictions are drawn from other county zones but are adapted for this particular site.

But the project does not fall under the California Environmental Quality Act. In the normal government process,

CEQA is triggered by a request to amend the General Plan and approve a project review. Measure J eliminates that requirement because it is a citizens’ initiative.

Because it does not go through traditional county procedures such as General Plan review, and thus is not subject to CEQA, the Dalidio Ranch project will not face any public hearings at the county Planning Commission or Board of Supervisors.

It also avoids environmental review by the county and specific review by the county staff on such matters as architecture, signs and landscaping.

Measure J’s on-site wastewater discharge plant would require a permit from the Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Does Measure J set a precedent?

Measure J creates a land-use category specific to the Dalidio Ranch that will be added to rural-residential, commercial and the county’s other 13 zones. This has not happened before in San Luis Obispo County.

It is not unprecedented, though, for developers and opponents of development to go to the ballot box when they want to override a local government decision. It is called “ballot-box planning,” and it happens frequently around the state.

The most recent example locally was the successful attempt last year by a group called Save San Luis Obispo to overturn City Council approval of a Dalidio proposal by taking the project to the voters.

If Measure J passes, is the development locked in as proposed?

No. A subsequent vote of residents can change it, as can an application for change by the current or future landowners, if the Board of Supervisors agrees.

Thus, while Dalidio says he intends to build the plan designed by his architect and adds that it is in his economic interest to do so, that could change in the long run if he sells the land and new owners have other ideas, or if he and his backers change their minds and get county approval. There are many allowable uses under Measure J, however unlikely their implementation may be. They include gasoline stations, card rooms, go-kart tracks, rodeos and religious revivals.

What does Measure J do to provide a Prado Road overpass?

Measure J does not create an overpass on Highway 101 at Prado Road, although it strongly recommends that one be built. Under Measure J, the developer sets aside close to $8 million toward an overpass, which it says is 23 percent of the cost — its “fair share,” according to Dalidio.

That $8 million figure is locked in under the language of the initiative. Caltrans, the city of San Luis Obispo and the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments have called it inadequate. The most recent estimate for a Prado Road overpass from Caltrans is $49 million, and the Yes on J side’s most recent estimate is $35 million.

Under Measure J, the developer gives $4 million for the Prado Road interchange, should one be built, and dedicates 13 acres worth nearly $4 million for Prado on- and off-ramps.

What are the traffic implications?

Studies by SLOCOG, Caltrans and others predict worsening traffic at and near the Dalidio Ranch site, especially if an overpass is not built.

Measure J includes money for some of those problems. It locks in $150,000 to extend Calle Joaquin south from Dalidio Ranch to Los Osos Valley Road; $250,000 for the Los Osos Valley Road-Calle Joaquin intersection; and $20,000 for the Los Osos Valley Road-Madonna Road intersection.

If Measure J is approved, an escrow account for traffic improvements would be set up. If contracts for the streets and intersections aren’t signed within one year of that, and contracts aren’t signed for the overpass in 10 years, the developer gets his money back.

The SLOCOG staff has called Measure J’s numbers insufficient to pay for changes to road systems that will be needed to handle the added traffic. A March 2006 Caltrans analysis predicted that the Dalidio project would generate 30,800 average daily trips.

Proponents say the money earmarked by the initiative can be supplemented by special taxing districts. The Dalidio camp has been working with city and county leaders in hopes of creating a so-called Mello-Roos tax district.

A Mello-Roos tax district is created at the request of property owners who want a public facility or project built. Dalidio would ask the Board of Supervisors to approve creation of a Mello-Roos district. His property would then be collateral for bonds that would be issued to pay for part or all of the Prado Road overpass, onramps and offramps. The sales, bed and property taxes generated by his development would be used to pay down the bond.

What constitutes the developer’s “fair share” of traffic costs?

There is no consensus over what constitutes the developer’s “fair share” of improvements to the unbuilt overpass and the surrounding streets.

The $8 million in money and land for the overpass is based on Dalidio’s assumption that his fair share is 23 percent to 26 percent of the entire cost because that is the percentage of overpass traffic his project will generate. The city staff says his fair share should be closer to 52 percent, arguing that the Dalidio Ranch center would generate 52 percent of any new traffic from a Prado Road interchange.

Will Measure J create air pollution?

Added traffic will add more air pollution, according to the county’s Air Pollution Control District. While Measure J lists ways to limit air pollution during the building and operation of Dalidio Ranch, they are not as extensive as those desired by the district.

Some concerns will be covered under state law — how to handle naturally occurring asbestos or lead paint in demolished buildings, for example. Others — such as idling trucks from construction — will not be dealt with, according to Aeron Arlin Genet, planning manager for the district. Those fall under the CEQA, she said, and because Measure J is a citizens’ initiative, it does not have to face the CEQA process. Genet says the county will have to rely on the good will of the developer in those cases.

How green will the project be?

Dalidio has been heavily marketing Measure J as an environmentally friendly, or “green” development.

Measure J allows for a butterfly habitat and viewing area; a 13-acre organic farm and seven-day-a-week farmers market; an extension of the Bob Jones bike trail; solar power; replacement of trees and other native species at a minimum ratio of 1-to-1 and in some cases at 2-to-1; and other “green” features.

It also addresses the view from Highway 101 by recommending landscaping that will “assist to screen view of structures in a reasonable manner.”

Details have not been worked out on who would operate all this. However, Measure J says no certificate of occupancy can be issued on the Dalidio Ranch property until work has begun on the soccer fields, farmers market, butterfly sanctuary and other green amenities.

The No on J campaign says focusing on the green argument is missing the main point. No on J spokesman Alan Thomas says many of the green elements are good ideas, but together they represent only 30 percent of the project.

“That’s only a minor element,” Thomas said. “The bulk is big-box stores, parking, a hotel, a wastewater plant.” Those will generate traffic and pollution, as well as taking up the bulk of the property, Thomas said.