After 30 years, changes are on the way for the Nipomo Community Plan.
San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Jimmy Paulding is working with residents to update the town’s vision for the first time since 1994. Paulding calls community input critical to the process.
“Without the community engagement, the last thing we want is to develop a plan that doesn’t reflect what the community’s vision is, Paulding said. So this is an opportunity to really update that vision and develop a plan for the next 20 years that will kind of guide growth and development.”
Results from a recent survey available both online and at community workshops show traffic as being a top concern for Nipomo residents. According to Paulding, the survey received over 1,200 responses; 815 responses said traffic was the top issue.
Concerns surrounding housing growth were also mentioned as one of the largest issues in the survey. Janette Wesch has lived in Nipomo for more than 30 years and says the town has expanded more than she hoped.
“Nipomo is an unincorporated area so the problem that we feel is we get more expansion than we have asked for, Wesch said.
Others, like Nicole Kolsbun, who has been a resident for two decades, welcome the growth.
It can be a little intimidating at first, Kolsbun said. I think it is something that could add to the community and grow it and see how we can change and innovate.”
Paulding says the new plan will need to balance different views on many topics, which is why more community workshops are planned.
[At] the next one, I believe, staff intends to present a draft plan, Paulding said. This would be the 1994 plan updated to today, with the horizon of the plan moving forward being 20 years out.
Supervisor Paulding said there is still more work to do. Two more community workshops are planned in the upcoming months.