SLO County developer wants to build 8 seaside homes along Highway 1. Now he’s one step closer
A developer is one step closer to building eight homes on an undeveloped slice of land on the northern tip of Cayucos.
On Thursday, the California Coastal Commission voted unanimously to uphold a coastal development permit that allows the developer to divide the property into parcels for each home and prepare the land for construction.
The developer must still apply for separate coastal development permits to build each home, commission staff member Devon Jackson said.
The developer, Cayucos resident Josef Steinmann, was represented by Kirk Consulting founder Jamie Jones at the meeting.
“You can call it a passion project for the owner,” Jones said.
Two Cayucos residents, however, were not as enthusiastic about the project.
After the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission first approved the permit, Cayucos residents Dante Borradori and Sue Black appealed the permit to the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors.
When the board upheld the permit, Black and Borradori appealed it a second time — this time sending it to the Coastal Commission for review.
Black and Borradori live on Lucerne Road, downhill from the proposed development.
They argued in the appeal that the developer did not offer adequate plans to prevent geological dangers like landslides on the property — which would skid downhill into their homes.
They did not make comments at the commission meeting.
The developer submitted reports showing the project site “is geologically stable” and there is a low likelihood of landslides on the property, Jackson said.
The county geologist peer-reviewed the reports and agreed with the conclusions — leading the commission to uphold the permit.
What will new Cayucos development look like?
The almost 10-acre property sits between North Ocean Avenue and the western side of Highway 1. Further west, Lucerne Road and a row of homes separate the land from the coastal bluffs.
The developer will divide the property into nine parcels: one for each single-family home and one to be preserved as an 8.2-acre open space, the staff report said.
Four homes were planned for the southwestern edge of the property near Lucerne Street, while the other four homes will be built beside the Bella Vista by the Sea mobile home park on the eastern edge of the land.
The parcel of open space would be wedged between the two clusters of houses.
The permit allows the developer to perform site improvements including grading, extending utilities to the property and adding or widening roads, sidewalks and fencing, the staff report said.
However, this permit doesn’t allow the developer to build the houses.
The San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission must still approve separate permits for the design and construction of each home.
If the Planning Commission approves those permits, they can be appealed to the SLO County Board of Supervisors and the Coastal Commission.
After Steinmann completes the site improvements, he plans to sell some of the individual lots to other developers and potentially develop the other lots himself, Jones said.
The developers will likely apply for permits to build those homes in 2026, she said.
“Steinmann has not yet designed the future residences, but guidelines for building height, lot coverage and architectural features, will be included in the (covenants, conditions and restrictions),” Jones wrote in an email to The Tribune. “Steinmann envisions architectural styles like beach bungalows and surf shacks, and other architectural styles consistent with the eclectic community of Cayucos.”
