Popular trail near Pirate’s Cove won’t be relocated — for now
A popular steep portion of the Ontario Ridge Trail will remain where it is for now.
At its meeting Friday evening, the California Coastal Commission unanimously rejected a plan to relocate the trail, which stretches across a hillside property owned by Rob and Judi McCarthy just above Pirate’s Cove.
In their decision, commissioners noted that the current plan would move the trail onto a separate property, something not covered by its easement, and would also potentially endanger numerous archaeological and environmental resources.
The decision was gratifying for local advocates who have fought against the relocation plan for several years.
“I’m so grateful to the Coastal Commissioners and their hardworking staff for protecting our public access to the Ontario Ridge Trail in its current location,” Tarren Collins told The Tribune soon after the meeting. “The Coastal Commissioners’ unanimous vote will hopefully convince the applicants to leave our trail alone.”
The trail has been the subject of legal debate for close to seven years now, stemming from when the McCarthy’s first applied to put a home on the hill.
Their application was denied due to water concerns (this was right in the middle of the drought) and potential impacts to the trail.
The McCarthys responded by fencing off the property, which they were ordered to stop doing by the Coastal Commission, and then attempted to relocate the trail to a more suitable location so there wouldn’t be impacts.
That plan, which would move the trail to another adjoining property and wind up the back of the hill rather than straight up its face, was approved by both the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors.
Local hikers fought against the relocation, saying it removes access to a trail that has been in use since the 1960s. They also say moving it would remove some of the trail’s specific appeal, namely the exertion offered by the steep climb.
Meanwhile, the McCarthys are just wanting to find a way to build a home on a piece of property they own, their attorney Fred Gaines told the commission on Friday.
“We’re not asking for a lot: one house on this property,” he said. “You just tell us where you want it, and what you want, but no-no-no on the whack-a -mole game is not what we should be doing.”
Though the commissioners were concerned about preserving public access to the trail, several did recognize the plight of the McCarthys and say that they should be able to build a home somewhere on their 63-acre property.
They also recognized that moving the trail elsewhere on the property could be an option at a later date, as long as the move occurred in a way that appeased all parties.
Commissioner Dayna Bochco put it bluntly during discussion.
“They have 63 acres, they own the property,” she said. “And I just know having been through these kind of very difficult things in the past, you guys always work it out. ... So my suggestion — and then I’ll shut up — is that somebody either put it on hold or withdraw or whatever, and (staff and McCarthy representatives) sit down, because, you know, these people deserve a house, and the public deserves an easement,”
This story was originally published February 13, 2021 at 2:31 PM.
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