Dan DeVaul says he is getting the runaround from county staff and fears the holdup could push him past his deadline to bring his property into code compliance.

DeVaul, the founder of the Sunny Acres sober living facility, is facing multiple deadlines to comply with county codes, most immediately an Aug. 30 deadline to bring his roadside fruit stand into compliance and move people out of RVs and a barn.

He went before SLO County supervisors to ask for an extension, saying that he is trying to meet county demands, but is hitting bureaucratic roadblocks with his permit applications in the building and planning departments.

“It feels to me like the orchestra is playing a beautiful waltz and someone’s got a bayonet in my butt demanding that I dance to 4-4 time,” he said following the meeting.

Not so, according to the county. County code investigator Marie Cowan says DeVaul has multiple representatives talking to multiple county staff, which is holding up the process.

Meanwhile, DeVaul’s troubles with both county code enforcement and a looming criminal court case have blocked him from annexing into the city, he says.

The SLO City Council allowed a group of property owners to start the annexation process of about 960 vacant acres near Laguna Lake, but DeVaul was left out. He says he wants his property to be annexed, but he was not asked to join the group of property owners, represented by Oasis Associates.

“As long as I’ve got these things hanging over my head through the county … they can’t consider me.”