A long-held priority for the Chamber took an important step forward last night when the SLO City Council – in a unanimous vote – approved the final environmental impact report for Chevron’s development project in the Tank Farm Road area allowing remediation and restoration to move forward in the county. The potential development project on the 322-acre property – which promises numerous public benefits including early installation of road improvements and bike paths, open space preservation and the opportunity for critical capacity for new commercial growth – still has several steps ahead of it. Key will be the negotiation of a development agreement with the city that addresses reimbursements for expenses identified by the city to exceed millions of dollars beyond the needs of the Chevron project itself. Last night, the city council did not make any commitments to identifying a specific timeline as to when Chevron would be reimbursed for expenses incurred for infrastructure. The remediation work is likely to take two to three years to clean up the contamination and remove the burned out oil storage reservoirs created by the 1926 explosion and fire.