More than 1,000 acres near Diablo Canyon forever protected from development
About 1,200 acres of nearly pristine San Luis Obispo County land is now protected from development permanently.
The newly protected land sits around the iconic Point San Luis Lighthouse near Avila Beach and stretches northward and inland.
PG&E and its subsidiary, Eureka Energy Company, completed and recorded a deed restriction on the land in late August, according to the utility company. It had been in the works since 2006.
The conservation of the land was praised Wednesday by California State Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz.
“I am elated that this 1,200-acre parcel, representing 10% of the Diablo Canyon Lands, is finally protected after several years of negotiations,” Laird told The Tribune. “I was happy to be a part of this process and view this as the first step in ensuring that all of the 12,000-acre Diablo Canyon Lands are conserved forever, for protection of the resources as well as to ensure sustainable public access — including a 20-mile extension of the California Coastal Trail — along this beautiful stretch of the Central Coast.”
Laird was referring to the 12,000 acres of land that surround Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant as a buffer.
That land is owned or leased by PG&E or Eureka Energy, and has been widely expected to be conserved from development following the power plant’s eventual closure.
In a letter sent to California Gov. Gavin Newsom in July, the yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini tribe of indigenous Northern Chumash asked for the Diablo Canyon lands to be returned to the tribe.
“For nearly half a century, our team has been stewards of these lands and we have worked with vigor to sustain the environmental quality of the 14-mile shoreline and 12,000 acres of grasslands and forests through a series of innovative best management practices, Maureen Zawalick, PG&E’s vice president of decommissioning and technical services, said in a prepared statement Wednesday. “The land is largely maintained in its natural state.”
The 1,200 acres conserved with the August deed restriction were owned by Eureka Energy.
Members of the public can access the land through docent-led hikes on the Pecho Coast trail. Few other uses have been allowed on the land aside from cattle grazing.
In 2006, the California Coastal Commission issued a permit for PG&E to replace existing steam generators with new generators. As part of that permit, the utility company was required to file a deed restriction for 620 acres of land around the Point San Luis Lighthouse to protect it from future development.
However, after “negotiations and discussions, the final approved requirement was 1,200 acres,” PG&E spokesperson Carina Corral said.
The 1,200 acres preserved through the deed restriction sit just west of the Wild Cherry Canyon lands, which feature 2,400 acres of nearly pristine property used solely for cattle grazing.
That land has been subject to litigation regarding whether the sublease should remain with Pacho Limited and San Luis Bay Limited partnerships, who are largely owned by HomeFed Corp., or, in essence, handed back over to Eureka Energy.
HomeFed had previously announced plans to build 15,000 homes on the Wild Cherry Canyon site.
That case is still being litigated in San Luis Obispo Superior Court.
This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 11:07 AM.
