After nearly eight years of navigating a long, winding road toward a septic-to-sewer solution, the Los Olivos Community Services District (LOCSD) has reached a crossroads.
The LOCSD leadership recently reported a sobering reality: without a $1.5 million planning grant, the District may be forced to dissolve. They proposed asking the cash-strapped County for transient occupancy tax (TOT) revenue as a fallback, but a more direct and democratic alternative emerged during a recent Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) meeting.
In April, LAFCO Commissioner Craig Geyer — who represents independent special districts — offered earnest guidance to LOCSD leaders. The LOCSD has long asserted that overwhelming community support exists for this pipeline-to-Solvang project. Noting the current $700 annual assessment on the District’s 385 parcels, Commissioner Geyer reminded the LOCSD that it can take its funding concerns straight to the public by putting an assessment increase to the voters: “Kinda seems like that would be a good litmus test. If they turned you down, it wasn’t you that dissolved the District, they did.”
Geyer urged the LOCSD to “[r]eally consider going back to the voters because if they approve it, that’s it; you’re on the same page and you’re moving forward.” To date, the LOCSD board has not addressed Commissioner Geyer’s proposal.
If you care about the future of our groundwater, development along the Alamo Pintado corridor, or the fate of the $1.5 million grant, attend the LOCSD’s community workshop: Wednesday, June 3, 2026, 6 p.m., Grange Hall, 2374 Alamo Pintado Avenue, Los Olivos.
