San
Luis Obispo County will reconstruct five beach stairways that lead
to Cayucos State Beach from the ends of First, Sixth, Eighth, Tenth,
and 16th streets, using $150,000 approved by the Conservancy in
September, as well as $75,000 of its own money. In 1983, the Conservancy
provided the County with funding to build or improve ten beach
accessways in Cayucos. Since then, heavy public use and exposure
to the marine environment have taken their toll, and five of the
accessways were found to need immediate restoration.
The City of Pacifica will purchase a 2.17-acre property
on the west side of Esplanade Drive, between Manor and Aura Vista
Drives, thus acquiring 600 feet of blufftop above Esplanade Beach.
The cost of the purchase is being shared equally by the City and
the Coastal Conservancy. The California Coastal Trail will run
on an easement on the property. A stairway to the beach may also
be built.
A 106-acre addition to Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park will protect
scenic views and wildlife habitat and set the stage for greatly improved
access to parklands in the Pleasanton-Dublin area. The East Bay Regional
Park District expects to make the purchase using $400,000 from the
Conservancy and $450,000 from Alameda County. The purchase of the
property, part of a ranch owned by the Vinson family, is a step toward
providing a northern entrance to the park, which is south of Dublin
near I-580. The only current public trail access to Pleasanton Ridge
Park is from its southeastern corner. The planned route of the Calaveras
Ridge Trail, which is being developed to run between the Sunol and
Las Trampas regional wilderness parks, passes through the Pleasanton
Ridge parkland.
The Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District
is working on final plans for a trail across the north slope of
Sonoma Mountain, using $110,000 approved by the Conservancy in
May. The trail, which begins at Jack London State Park, will traverse
several properties that the District has strategically acquired
and one 452-acre parcel owned by the County. When the trail is
complete, users will enjoy a variety of terrain and spectacular
views on foot or horseback. Docent-led tours of the Jacobs Ranch
property are available now through LandPaths (www.landpaths.org).
The new trail will provide easy public access to
parklands with diverse plant and animal habitat and wide-ranging
views. Since its first acquisition in 1992, the District has protected
135 properties totaling over 65,000 acres by means of conservation
easement and fee purchases. Sonoma County voters approved a 25-cent
sales tax in 1990 to make such open space protection possible. [See "A
Lofty Trail Network" in the print edition of this issue of Coast & Ocean.]
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