Our community, like many others in California, is facing some daunting challenges as we develop long-range, globally conscious solutions to managing our water resources, and reducing our energy consumption and waste production.
AboutCambria.com is
- about issues currently facing our community.
- a way to get caught up and keep up how we are going to resolve challenging issues and improve our community.
- a place for Cambrians to exchange information, background, ideas and analysis
- a public forum for conversation and central plaza where you can easily find facts, documents, history and links to essential, relevant sources.
We are not just individual Cambrians, but a community of friends and neighbors. Cambrians past, present and future.
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Why now?
Recent action taken by the Cambria Community Services District has stimulated community involvement and concerns about the CCSD as well as Cambria’s future. In September of 2007, the Cambria Community Services District sent out notice of its intention to raise the water and sewer rates in the small California town. Two months later, after an unprecedented campaign to raise awareness and gather community support (begun by a determined Tina Dickerson), the CCSD Board of Directors were forced to withdraw the new rate schedule. A small group of dedicated Cambrians used Proposition 218 (now a state constitutional amendment) to have 2266 verified protest letters submitted to the CCSD. For a protest of rates under Prop. 218 to succeed, at least 50% plus 1 of the affected ratepayers must protest the increase. Some local residents were amazed that so many Cambrians were on the same side of an issue.
Now the board and community are faced with the challenge of finding a compromise rate schedule acceptable to residents and sufficient to meet the infrastructure repair and water and sewer service delivery needs of the community of about 3500 full-time residents and many local businesses. The group of people involved in working on the protest is an informal group calling themselves Cambrians for Fiscally Responsible CCSD. They are a collection of bright, intelligent people motivated by their connection to this town. Some have lived here nearly all their lives, some have arrived more recently.
To one degree or another, I venture to say, the group members view the desalination project (or any new water source that would bring growth) with some trepidation, but also recognize the moratorium on new connections and increasingly common, budget-busting surcharges are not the best answer (by any measure) to Cambria’s chronic “water shortages.” Clearly, our work has kept us too busy to come up with a more poetic moniker. But our numbers continue to grow and we continue to meet the third Wednesday morning (9am at Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill) and the first wednesday evening at 6pm at Rabobankto discuss issues facing this community and formulate solutions for the problems facing Cambria. We invite you to join us.
Our immediate focus is ensuring the fiscal responsibility and organizational transparency of the local Community Services District. Cambria is an unincorporated village in San Luis Obispo County. Public Services, governing, and enforcement responsibilities are divided between SLO County government (building permits, criminal law enforcement, roads, business licenses, etc.) and the Cambria CSD (water and sewer service, waste management, parks and recreation, etc). Added to the mix are numerous laws and agencies with their own agendas and requirements for the area including: State of California, Regional Water Quality Control Board, California Coastal Commission and the Federal Government.
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Last 5 posts by Amanda Rice
- Gail Robinette Chosen to Complete DeMicco's Term as CCSD Director on Unanimous Vote
- California Coastal Commission Unanimously Denied Army Corps Desal Tests
- Cambria CSD Agenda for November 27, 2011 Meeting Includes Water Conservation & New Tank Project
- Sunken Oil Tanker Off Cambria's Coastline Will Be Checked Again Soon
