Massive new preserve coming to Morro Bay – with hiking trails and a bike path along the sea
Hundreds of acres of vacant land in Morro Bay will be preserved as open space in a plan that will bring a coastal bike bath to Highway 1 and new hiking trails in the hills overlooking the ocean, the Morro Bay City Council decided Tuesday.
Chevron is selling about 3,000 acres of property around the city’s northern and eastern boundaries, some of which will be annexed into the city.
Plans for the new Toro Coast Preserve call for a coastal bike and walking trail and a recreational area with hiking trails similar to the Pismo Preserve in Pismo Beach, according to local government and nonprofit organization leaders.
The Morro Bay City Council voted 4-1 on Tuesday to authorize several measures designed to preserve a greenbelt, maintaining a natural land buffer between Cayucos and Morro Bay, and protect hillside views, according to city leaders.
The Toro Coast Preserve has multiple phases of planned land uses in various stages of coordination, according to city officials and a lengthy staff report.
About five years ago, Chevron informed community leaders of its plans to sell off several parcels of land, including sites once used for oil facilities and shipping operations.
That jump-started the multi-agency efforts to protect the space, said Scot Graham, Morro Bay’s community development director.
Chevron no longer has oil operations on those sites, but will need to conduct site clean up efforts at certain locations, Graham said. Remediation efforts typically involve removals of contaminated soils through various types of techniques.
Graham said the city plans to annex portions of the property, including five parcels near Panorama Drive.
The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County also is working toward purchasing about 1,500 acres of Chevron property to design a trail system on parcels located east of Morro Bay.
The city’s open space plans include ownership transfers on two Dog Beach lots, which the Cayucos Sanitary District previously bought from Chevron, for public use.
That’s also where a two-mile bike and pedestrian trail is being planned by county officials.
“This is one of my best days as a public servant,” Morro Bay City Council member Robert “Red” Davis told The Tribune via phone. “We were told agreements like this usually take decades to happen. This came about in five years.”
Council member Dawn Addis said that she campaigned for office with a platform to protect open space, and the council’s vote helps fulfill longstanding goals.
“The Pismo Preserve provided an excellent model for what we’re trying to do with some of this land,” Addis said. “(Toro Coast Preserve) is a huge inter-agency win” involving Chevron, the city of Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo County, the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County and the California State Coastal Conservancy.
Morro Bay City Council member Jeff Heller opposed the city’s decision, also criticized by some residents who fear the impacts of future development on some sites near Panorama Drive and on hillsides.
But city officials say the effect of the agreement will ensure open space protection in all but a handful of properties along Panorama Drive; those will be restricted to one single-family home per site under agriculture zoning rules.
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Plans for open space include bike, hiking trails
As part of the discussions, San Luis Obispo County is planning and designing a two-mile bike and pedestrian trail that would connect Cayucos and Morro Bay along a coastal stretch west of Highway 1.
The county already has begun some of the initial work on the bike trail project.
“We have a preliminary alignment and some initial work for the environmental and permitting,” said Nick Franco, county parks director. “We do not have construction funding. We won’t have a construction estimate until we have completed the environmental work to get a better idea of the constraints.”
Cayucos Sanitary District currently owns two Dog Beach parcels, where it installed sewer facilities.
The Dog Beach area is technically private property now, but the fence is open and the shoreline is a popular spot for walking.
Under Morro Bay’s jurisdiction, the sites will be preserved for public use. Cayucos will keep an easement for its sewer infrastructure.
As part of the preservation of the Dog Beach area, the State Coastal Conservancy contributed $150,000 for the property’s purchase. And $188,050 is coming from the nonprofit Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County.
While the city will own the property, no city funding was used to purchase it. Those costs were covered by the nonprofits.
As part of a future phase of planning, a large swath of Chevron-owned land east of Highway 1 — about 1,500 acres — is envisioned to be used for future hiking trails and open space recreation.
Daniel Bohlman, the Land Conservancy’s deputy director, told The Tribune that the nonprofit is planning to buy that portion of the Chevron site and design a new trail system, either all of it or some of it.
But that process is likely five years out and will require further negotiations on cost, Bohlman said.
“It’s a spectacular range of oak woodland that would be set aside for use of natural space,” Bohlman said. “We think it will be a great spot to hike and explore the outdoors.”
Chevron plans to sell Panorama Drive sites
As part of its divestment plan, Chevron plans to sell five larger parcels to the east of the city’s residential areas along Panorama Drive.
To best accomplish that, the city has agreed to bring those parcels into the city’s sphere of influence, a planning designation setting up future Morro Bay annexation.
Chevron already has sold some of its land in the Morro Bay area to the northeast to ranchers and private owners for agricultural use.
The planned annexation of the five larger parcels bordering the city’s east side will allow future landowners to use city services such as water and sewer lines, while offering city control of land use there versus county jurisdiction.
Those properties are currently zoned agriculture and, once annexed, would be allowed one home on the property and an accessory dwelling unit each, but not multi-unit housing developments, Graham said.
Some city residents expressed concerns Tuesday about the potential for mudslides if construction occurs east of Panorama.
“I oppose any residential development of five lots of the Panorama property,” one resident wrote in a letter to the city in advance of the meeting. “The current narrow, poorly paved roads in North Morro Bay do not support any extra traffic. These hillsides are subject to landslides, affecting all the current residents below. We have had landslides in the past.”
But another neighbor was supportive of the city’s decision.
“I believe Morro Bay must take jurisdiction over this land,” Nancy Dickenson wrote. “If we don’t, we risk the possibility of developers buying the land and SLO County changing zoning — that invites the possibility that a sub-division of properties could be built next to my home (instead of one).”
This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 1:42 PM.
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