Chad Wittstrom's application to subdivide a 122-acre lemon and avocado orchard in Nipomo was approved 4-1 Tuesday by the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors.

“It went through and I'm real excited,” said Wittstrom, a Nipomo resident, after the meeting.

The subdivision, near the intersection of Dana Foothill and Sheehy roads, will allow for construction of four homes as well as an infusion of cash that Wittstrom said will reduce debt and help keep the orchard viable and producing over the long run.

“That was exactly it,” he said. “By minimizing some of the debt, it makes the operation more viable.”

The citrus and avocado grower has been busy planting a new stock of young trees on the property, and hopes to have 10,000 in by the end of the week. “We just finished planting 6,000 trees,” Wittstrom said. “By the end of the week we hope to have another 4,000 in the ground.”

Keeping the orchard economically viable has always been at the forefront of Wittstrom's plans.

“Our estimates show that it's going to cost roughly $17,000 per acre until you have a viable crop, and that typically takes about five years,' he said. “When we're all done, we plan to have 80 acres of lemons and about 20 acres of avocados. The beauty of the project is that 90 percent of the ranch will be held in agricultural perpetuity forever.”

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The proposed agricultural-cluster subdivision last came before the supervisors in March, when it was determined that an environmental impact report was not needed and a mitigated negative declaration was issued.

Now that he has the county's blessing, Wittstrom will subdivide the 122.90 acre parcel into four parcels, one being a 2.5-acre lot, two 4-acre lots and one 112-acre lot. Each parcel would be limited to one residence.

“He's been in front of the supervisors a number of times,” said Kami Griffin, a supervising planner with the county. “Our staff's recommendation was to approve (Wittstrom's) request and allow development to go forward.”

Todd Cralley can be reached at 347-4580 or tcralley@

santamariatimes.com.

August 8, 2007