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A man who was denied plans to develop 23 townhomes on his Halcyon property will have to wait until November to present his revised proposal to the county Board of Supervisors.
Coker Ellsworth told the board Tuesday that he would alter his plans to include a larger buffer space between the homes and nearby agriculture land. Last year, he sought a permit to divide his 1.7 acre parcel into 23 lots—some less than 1,200 square feet —but the planning commission denied his request after residents and health officials complained that the lack of space between homes and nearby farmland was a health risk.
Health officials have said that a 200-foot buffer should be between homes and nearby agriculture to prevent exposure to pesticides, excessive dust and odors. The proposed development provided only a 50-foot buffer.
The property is on the east side of South Halcyon Road, just south of Arroyo Grande.
—Dawn White
Paso Robles
The Paso Robles school board has approved a three-year contract for unionized teachers that will provide them with a 2 percent raise retroactive to the recently completed school year and for 2008-2009.
The raises also apply to the members of the district’s classified employees union, who have a “me, too” agreement with the district.
Employees will be paid retroactively for the raise increase for 2007-2008, a district spokesman said.
A contract dispute between the teachers union and the district went into state mediation earlier this year, and the mediation team helped devise the new contract.
Negotiations for a new California School Employees Association contract are expected to begin soon.
—Leah Etling
Cal Poly
Sean Kaylor, a Cal Poly materials engineering graduate student, was selected this spring from a highly competitive pool from around the country as a sustainable energy fellow.
Kaylor began the year-long fellowship process at an intensive week-long program to explore technologies, policies and economics of sustainable energy at Duke University.
Researchers from colleges including Arizona State University, Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Michigan designed and directed the fellowship to be a unique educational and research experience for students to address the global need for the use of energy reduction designs supplemented by renewable energy technologies.
During the week-long program, students were exposed to research and education in energy production, conversion, storage and sources that are environmentally friendly and renewable such as wind, solar, biomass and geothermal.
The fellowship chose 40 students from 20 universities. In addition to Cal Poly, represented universities included ASU, Duke, Cornell, MIT and Michigan, Stanford and UC Berkeley.
—Nick Wilson
Morro Bay
Morro Bay residents can recycle their electronic waste for free this weekend, courtesy of Oakhurst-based Yosemite Recycling.
The disposal service will take place on July 26 and 27 from 8 a. m. to 4 p. m. at Coast Electronics.
Yosemite will also accept appliances for recycling. The firm also offers free scheduled pick-ups of large piles of unused or unwanted electronics.
For more information contact Doug from Yosemite Recycling at 209-742-3356.
—Sona Patel
@Nyx.CommentBody@