What’s next for Daou Ocean? Sewage, roadwork top the list for Cambria property
As plans proceed for the new Daou Ocean facility in Cambria, upcoming negotiations indicate that the project really is moving along.
Some discussions with the San Luis Obispo County Public Works department later in January will address possible improvements to Exotic Gardens Road, a short, narrow, driveway-like street that leads to the Daou facility from the Highway 1 intersection with Exotic Gardens Drive.
Other dialogues will discuss connecting the property to the Cambria Community Services District’s wastewater treatment plant.
In December 2018, Georges and Daniel Daou of Daou Vineyards and Winery in Paso Robles paid $4.3 million at auction to buy the scenic property that for decades had housed the Hamlet restaurant and gardens, and then the Centrally Grown complex.
Since then, the Daou brothers, their staffers and consultants have begun preliminary design steps and the complex permitting process for Daou Ocean.
But first, there are some issues to solve and approvals to get.
Connecting Daou Ocean to wastewater plant
Daou must solve the Daou Ocean site’s long-standing problems with sewage and other issues with a self-contained, on-site wastewater treatment and disposal system. The situation was so bad in the past that the state’s Central Coast Regional Water Control Board issued draft and proposed cease-and-desist notices and set hearings about the plant and process.
Daou senior vice president Maeve Pesquera confirmed Jan. 6 that the firm has applied to hook up to the Cambria CSD’s wastewater treatment plant. The property already gets potable water from the district.
Ray Dienzo started his job as the district’s new utilities department manager and district engineer on Jan. 6.
He said via email that “discussions for this project began last year” with Bob Gresens, Dienzo’s predecessor at the district. Gresens retired in 2018 but continued as a retired annuitant.
“We are picking it up again,” Dienzo said of Daou’s application, “but there are issues that we will discuss with Daou’s engineer” in mid-January.
He said Daou proposes to “run a sewer forcemain to connect to our existing sewer manhole at Moonstone Drive. And yes, they will need all of the permits from State Parks and Caltrans.”
Dienzo said whether approval of the application would be a ministerial decision or require approval of the district’s board of directors would “depend on the issues that come up when we meet with Daou’s engineer,” and that the possible approval timing would depend on the complexity of those issues.
Likewise, fees to connect would be based on the district’s current fee schedule.
Work on Exotic Gardens Road
According to Pesquera, Daou officials are to meet later this month with representatives of the county Public Works Department to talk about fixing up Exotic Gardens Road. Beyond the Daou property, the road also connects to State Parks land.
The discussion topic, Pesquera said via email, will be “how best to use the road while maintaining suitable public access to the state park area to the north.”
“We are interested in making some minor improvements just outside the east edge of the road along our property line and improve the existing planter beds,” Presquera wrote. “Our goal is to improve the planter beds and the frontage area along the main restaurant building that leads to our parking lot.”
There had been some speculation that Daou might want to own the road so it could remain gated.
Since the Daou brothers bought the property in late 2018, they’ve kept the road blocked “for security reasons,” George Daou said in October 2019. They’re “not planning on closing (the) gate to DAOU Ocean. Quite the opposite,” he said.
Daou said that letting the winery maintain the road “would allow a better experience to consumers as it is not well maintained now.”