Overview of the Problem of Growth

By Susan A. Harvey

Growth in San Luis Obispo County must be balanced with the quality of life for the current residents of the County. Growth is inevitable, yet we must plan for it and develop a better community as the result of this growth.

The challenges we face today are not black and white. We cannot afford to have elected leaders who are locked into the old paradigm of "no growth vs. pro growth" which has been the backdrop of county politics for the last decade or more.

We need to look at growth and development as a need to BALANCE competing interests between the environment and the economy, urban and rural, agriculture and commercial- industrial- residential.

We risk too much if we take a narrow unbalanced approach that favors any and all commercial, industrial, and residential development on the premise that all growth is good regardless of where it occurs. In the past agriculture, and open space have been sacrificed with inappropriately zoned commercial, industrial, and residential development + development that has been approved in the county on the borders of cities when it should have been directed to within cities. Continuous annexations and urban sprawl are the result.

What is happening on the borders of Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Arroyo Grande and the communities of Nipomo and Templeton illustrate what I am talking about. The problem is not "no growth." The problem is unlimited, uncontrolled, and unbalanced growth.

Balance means growth in the right places and at a pace where it does not overwhelm infrastructure, revenue sources, water sources, air quality, traffic, and the quality of life in this county. I will make this balance my priority.

I promise the voters I will approach every decision with an open mind. I will not shy away from asking all the questions I need to ask to understand the implications of those decisions, and I will make it a point to be out in the community talking to people, and, more importantly, listening to people about the issues that are important to them.