By Doug Kern
SURVEY #2 is AVAILABLE!
The State is engaged in the Hollister Ranch Coastal Access Program Planning Process (HRCAP) to create responsible public access across the 8.5 mile coastline of Hollister Ranch. This planning process began with the 1982 Hollister Ranch Access Plan, which was never implemented.
Public access at the Ranch became a “live” issue in 2018 when the Gaviota Coast Conservancy initiated the Gaviota Coastal Trail Alliance, https://www.gaviotacoastaltrailalliance.org/, with three allied organizations to oppose a proposed sweetheart court settlement between the State of California and Hollister Ranch Owners Association. Alliance lawyers convinced the court that the settlement was not legal or fair. Subsequent State legislation mandates that four state agencies conduct a public planning process, the HRCAP, to develop a program for public access at Hollister Ranch by April 2021 and implement the first phase of public access to Hollister Ranch by April 2022.
This process is proceeding quickly so it is important to make your opinions known now. The state has created an online survey concerning elements of this access plan at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HRCAPSurvey2.
We strongly encourage you to complete this survey. Make your voice known so this vital link in the California Coastal Trail can be realized. Sign up at the end of the survey to receive notices and updates.
The California Coastal Commission has a comprehensive website outlining the elements of the present planning process, historical documents, photographs, court records, etc.
https://www.coastal.ca.gov/hollister-ranch/
Thank you for your participation in this survey. Hollister Ranch owners will be actively completing the survey; it is essential that the rest of the public make their voices heard.
Gaviota Coast Conservancy, Executive Director
PS – the Gaviota Coast Conservancy has taken the laboring oar to make public access to Hollister Ranch a reality. Please send a contribution, consider us in your estate planning, or volunteer to help make this a reality. As Peter Douglas immortalized, “the coast is never saved, it’s always being saved.”