March 24, 2014

San Luis Obispo County Department of Planning and Building Courthouse Annex San Luis Obispo, CA 93408 Subject: Withdraw of Conditional Use Permit Application DRC2005-00211 Bunyon Brothers/Perozzi Green Waste Management Project

In accordance with San Luis Obispo County Land Use Ordinance Chapter 22.64.030 (B), we are withdrawing our Green Waste Management application (DRC2005-00211) and request that all submitted project information and unused filing fees collected for this project be refunded. We initiated this application in December of 2005, believing that a green waste management operation on the Perozzi Ranch would provide a desirable facility to meet the communitys needs and help implement the Countys Integrated Waste Management Board objectives. Our concept was pretty basic: Composting. We would divert green waste material, the largest component of a communitys waste stream, from landfills and indiscriminate dumping and transform it into an organic, nutritious soil amendment product. Over the years this application has been in the planning process, we provided a number of studies and project analyses to support the project at this location, with a refined project description document submitted in May of 2013. This application package was prepared with input, guidance and directives from the staff of CalRecycle, Cal Polys College of Agriculture, CA Regional Water Quality Control Board, Air Pollution Control Board, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Cal Fire, and San Luis Obispo Planning, Public Works & Integrated Waste Management Departments, all supplemented with studies from our team of highly qualified and professional consultants. The result of this effort was a comprehensive project description and detailed plan package addressing all aspects of this project at this site. This included: Physical Constraint Analysis (Biological Resources; Drainage, Flooding and Water Quality; Cultural Resources) Capacity Constraint Analysis (Groundwater Resources; Traffic and Circulation, including trip generation, destination, turn lane warrant analysis, geometry, etc.) Quality of Life Constraints (Aesthetic and Visual Resources; Noise; Fire Hazard; Odor Impact Minimization Plan, addressing composting operations, odor detection & mitigations, air quality, fugitive airborne transport, pathogen reduction methods, etc.)

All of the CEQA mandates were addressed and mitigations provided with conditions and agency oversight to provide multiple levels and regulatory compliant redundancy of the project. We were confident that this project would be approved by the County (Planning Commission and, if appealed, Board of Supervisors), with the County approval and CEQA challenges dismissed through any litigation brought forth, which was publically threatened and highly advertised from some of those who have recently expressed opposition to the project. Let us be very clear in this matter. We never intended for this project to offend anyone or create such anger by some of those in the community. The hysteria and misinformation that has been disseminated about this project from a few of our neighbors was unbelievable, and we found remarkable that they did not fairly represent the project, its positive impacts and benefits. Even more disturbing are the comments and confrontations we have received from those who have approached and threatened our livelihoods and us personally. We encourage a spirited debate on the facts; however will not tolerate abuse and ignorance. In all honesty, it is not worth it for us to continually be faced with this level of negative attitude and adversity

from our project and the propertys neighbors, with the likelihood that we will be faced with continued harassment in the future, as we proceeded to operate this composting business. It was our original intent and commitment to develop an organic agricultural amendment project that was environmentally beneficial, with minimum impacts and a problem solver for the green waste management dilemma. We expected it to be embraced by the community, as we believed in this project in 2005, and believe in it now. Todays urban/rural interface, with a hard urban edge that the City of San Luis has successfully created, places urban density developments adjacent to agricultural land. However, this doesnt imply nor validate the notion that these rural, agricultural lands become the urban neighbors private open space preserve. What it does though, is place a huge burden on the agricultural community and their necessary agricultural operation and ancillary practices, forcing a change from methods they have successfully employed for many years. The contemporary urban dweller may not fully understand or appreciate the effort it takes to be a rancher or farmer, but agricultural diversity and sustainable agricultural enterprises in their many forms, is a functional reality of how we make a living and how we survive in the agricultural community. The Perozzi Ranch was established in 1903 as a dairy farm and, many years later, evolved into a cattle ranching operation, producing food and fiber for over 111 years. An Agricultural Processing project, such as this proposed green waste management project, is one of many opportunities that those of us in the agriculture business can utilize to diversify their operation and stay alive without converting into urbanized development, which by definition, removes any future opportunity of agricultural activities from the land use options. The Perozzi Ranch will continue to explore other possibilities afforded in the agricultural environment, as permitted by the County and State codes, and will survive without this project. Likewise, Bunyon Brothers Tree Service will continue to provide outstanding arborist services to the citizens of San Luis Obispo County and will survive as well. At the very least we are hopeful that this same level of interest that has emerged in opposing our proposed compost project will be channeled into a renewed commitment to developing green waste programs and facilities. Candidate sites should be identified and, with willing landowners, mandated to develop such facilities. The Perozzi Ranch would certainly make that short list. It has the acreage, water resources, topographical seclusion, proximity to population centers that generate the waste and has direct access to arterial circulation systems and transportation corridors that satisfy standards of the industry compost site selection criteria. Our withdraw of this application should not be a cause for celebration, as our local landfills continue to fill up with green waste material and/or materials will continue to be trucked long distances to out-of-county compost facilities. Without any County project advancing forward to resolve the green waste management dilemma, this situation will only become more acute and problematic over time. As a final comment and reminder to our community and our neighbors, every time you roll your garbage can to the curb, flush your toilet, fuel your car, turn on your faucet, spray poison on your weeds, flick on your light switch, fire up your leaf blower, depose of your trash, or a myriad of other similar daily functions, please remember that all of these activities have consequences. With this said, we are withdrawing our application and challenge the community to actively pursue solutions to seriously address all of these neighborhood and community issues. As this application comes to a close, we would also like to acknowledge the thoughtful comments and professional analysis that the County staff and others have provided over the years throughout the process. Respectfully submitted,

Tim Perozzi Perozzi Ranch C:

Ron Rinell Bunyon Brothers Tree Service

Adam Hill, Supervisor District 3 <ahill@co.slo.ca.us> The Tribune <dsneed@thetribunenews.com> New Times <jkinkade@newtimesslo.com>