After years of talk, plan to clean up Pirate’s Cove and fix parking lot is moving forward
A long-awaited proposal to clean up trash and graffiti at Pirate’s Cove and manage the visitors who flock to the scenic coastal area is moving forward after years of planning and community outreach.
The off-the-beaten-path area — also known as Cave Landing — is situated near Avila Beach and is known for its cliffside ocean views, clothing-optional beach and dilapidated conditions.
At an Oct. 16 hearing, the San Luis Obispo County Parks and Recreation Department received a minor use permit from the Planning Department to begin fixing up Pirate’s Cove.
If the county Board of Supervisors approves funding for the plan, the clean-up could begin about a year from now, said Nick Franco, county parks director.
“What we’re essentially trying to do is restore it to a clean, natural site,” Franco said.
Garbage, graffiti and ocean views
The approved plan has been in the works for about three years, since the county went back to looking for ways to manage the area after a more extensive 2013 proposal to install trails and restrooms and pave the parking lot was denied by the Coastal Commission.
The area, which the county purchased in 2008, frequently draws partiers and people looking to use the parking lot for all manner of illicit activities, especially at night.
In September, a group of local high school and college students were filmed breaking local COVID-19 rules to party on the Pirate’s Cove beach.
The area has no garbage or recycling containers, which means trash accumulates in the parking lot and along makeshift trails. The blufftop cave is strewn with graffiti, and the parking lot is deeply rutted, creating poor conditions for drivers.
Franco said trash collection and issues at Pirate’s Cove pull rangers away from work at other county parks, meaning they’re not patrolling the areas to which they’re assigned.
“They’re not doing work they should be doing in Nipomo or Avila or Oceano,” he said. “They’re going up there.”
The county has spent the last few years trying to find a way to improve and manage the site while honoring the wishes of advocacy groups and the local Chumash tribe, which has a sacred site adjacent to the parking lot.
Residents appealed the 2013 project to the Coastal Commission, and they have stressed a need to keep the area “wild, free, and natural,” according to the appeals document.
The plan to restore Pirate’s Cove
The plan approved in October would bring Pirate’s Cove into the county’s park system as a “natural area” with few amenities. It’s similar to a plan the county proposed in 2019, although staff has added about 20 parking spaces.
The county would undertake the following improvements if the project receives the necessary funding:
- Resurface the parking lot with “natural-colored rock” and add large stones around vegetated areas.
- Create four ADA-accessible parking spaces, with 72 total spaces available.
- Clean up garbage and remove graffiti. Cave graffiti will remain until county staff can consult with a cultural resource specialist and Native American tribal representatives to make sure original pictographs are preserved.
- Install garbage and recycling containers, an entrance sign, bike racks and “low profile” signs, some of which will detail the cultural significance of the area.
- Staff the site with a ranger and maintenance workers to manage the area and keep it clean.
One-time costs — including the initial cleanup, signs, garbage containers and parking area improvements — will run the county about $500,000, Franco said. Ongoing funding needs will likely total about $100,000.
The county will request $250,000 from the California Coastal Conservancy on Nov. 19, and the Board of Supervisors will need to approve the additional funding.
The Pirate’s Cove restoration is absolutely necessary if the county wants to maintain ownership of the site, Franco said.
“If this doesn’t happen, my recommendation is just to sell the property,” he said.
Local advocacy group won’t appeal project
Sean Shealy of Friends of Pirate’s Cove was one of two people who appealed the 2013 project. No appeals against the current restoration were filed by Friday, the last day to do so, Franco said.
This time around, Shealy and his group have chosen not to protest the county’s improvement plan, which he said has “achieved some balance.”
Shealy said when he moved to the Central Coast, he “found that (Pirate’s) was just virgin pristine unsigned wilderness.”
“Naturally, two years later, they propose to put a huge ‘CLOSED’ sign on nature at night, and do all sorts of other development,” Shealy said in a text message. “That really flipped an activist switch for me.”
Shealy was also unhappy about plans that developed around the same time to build the Chevron-owned Avila Point resort in the area, which he saw as an effort to “urbanize the entire strip of coastline.”
“(The) current project has no pavement,” he said. “It has no picnic tables. The resort is dead (for now). Night closure is gone. It’s really a very different project.”
Shealy still objects to the proposed signs, which he said “become platforms for graffiti, besides being an eyesore in themselves.” He would prefer no project take place, but he credits Franco for being “very responsive” and engaging Friends of Pirate’s Cove in the planning process.
“It is amazing to remember the day I decided to file the appeal, and all that has come to pass since then,” Shealy said. “I hope that people will take from this that you can engage with your government and influence outcomes.”
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 11:21 AM.
