Tomorrow (Wednesday, 9/13) the Los Olivos CSD is Set to Make Some Big Decisions.
Los Olivos Residents and SYV Neighbors:
The Los Olivos Community Services District (LOCSD), the local agency charged with finding and implementing a LOCAL solution to the groundwater quality issues believed to be attributable, at least in part, to aging septic systems on the small, concentrated lots in the township’s downtown “commercial core,” is meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) at St. Mark’s.
The Time for Action is Long Past
More than 5 years in, Los Olivos residents (who have been paying assessment fees all along), concerned neighbors, and longtime Valley residents are eager to see the LOCSD offer an affordable and palatable solution to the tiny, historic township’s groundwater quality problem.
One thing we know for certain is that old-fashioned, centralized, expandable sewer systems and sewage plants pose their own daunting hazards to our environment — and they support the kind of development that is planned and, in some cases, already underway in this Valley.
If you build it, they will come.
1978 article about Solvang: “[S]ome say only a current building moratorium, which will be lifted after a sewer system is constructed, is keeping the town from springing to a commercially prominent place in the valley.”
Some HOT Topics on the Agenda This Week:
This week, following months of assurances that the Board has made no decisions, is studying and “considering all the options” and will present options from which the community will have the opportunity to choose, the LOSCD Board will be considering and deciding some big ticket items:
Funding a study by professional engineers with expertise in the design and implementation of smaller, more environmentally friendly, and cost-effective collection and treatment solutions to present to the Community;
Accepting a generous $75,000 grant to fund such a study, as offered by a local nonprofit (POLO) dedicated to protecting and preserving the rural character of the Los Olivos township and the Santa Ynez Valley; and
Selecting a new LOCSD Board member to replace departing Director Brad Ross.
Please come out and encourage more community engagement and positive, forward movement.
