Shuttles, Cars, or Trails? State Offers Menu of Options for Hollister Ranch Beach Access
This story was originally published by the and is reproduced here in partnership with Edhat.
By Tyler Hayden of The Independent
A smorgasbord of options for opening Hollister Ranch’s six prized beaches to the public was unveiled this week, marking the first time in the decades-long debate over access that concrete proposals are being openly discussed.
The lengthy menu is part of a 49-page Draft Conceptual Program published Thursday by the California Coastal Commission, one of four state agencies tasked with negotiating and formulating a final plan. A public Zoom workshop to review the report and solicit feedback is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. this Wednesday.
The draft program offers three main methods by which people might cut across the private ranch, a 14,000-acre working cattle operation and one of the last undeveloped sections of Southern California shoreline, to reach the public beaches below its steep coastal bluffs ― by shuttle, car, or trail, all either independently or guided.
Each option has its own distinct set of pros and cons, the report states, including environmental impacts, costs and infrastructure needs, interactions with Chumash cultural sites, and effects on the homeowners living across 135 individual parcels.
A free or low-cost shuttle service, for instance, would provide the most equitable access to the beaches, which the Coastal Commission notes more than once are a public resource to be enjoyed by all. It might also be the safest, as shuttle drivers would be familiar with the hazards of the ranch’s only road, including its sharp turns and drops and frequent obstruction by cattle. But funding could be a problem, the agency acknowledged, as even in State Parks with very high visitor numbers, user fees are generally not enough to cover costs.
Drive-in access by personal car would be the most flexible and inclusive for visitors of varying physical abilities, the Commission continued. But the necessary parking and traffic control measures would also likely represent the heaviest impacts to private property and coastal resources.
A multi-use trail system for hikers, bicyclists, and equestrians would give users an up-close and personal view of the ranch’s ruggedly beautiful terrain. Enhanced access rights from multiple owners would be required, however, and steep topography might make construction especially difficult and expensive, the Commission said.
The various proposals are sure to elicit a range of reactions from both Hollister residents and members of the public anxious to visit the virtually untouched stretch of coast. Some will say the state goes too far with its ideas. Others will say it doesn’t go far enough.
For his part, Ed De La Rosa, board chair of the Hollister Ranch Owners’ Association, called the draft report “a pretty ambitious vision” for the future of the historic property. He said he recognized, however, the difference between its more aspiring and its more feasible elements, given the constitutionally protected rights of the owners.
De La Rosa said he appreciated the state’s recognition of how “biologically and geographically special the Ranch really is,” especially taken alongside the adjacent Dangermond Preserve. “It represents a huge wildlife corridor,” he said. The report notes the presence of the federally endangered Gaviota tarplant, as well as protected animal species like the Coastal Range newt, western pond turtle, and two-striped garter snake.
De La Rosa was also encouraged by the consideration of the region’s many Chumash sites and the Coastal Commission’s clearly stated mission to introduce members of underserved communities to the wonders of nature. Most significantly, he said, the agency acknowledged how important ongoing conversations with the property owners remain. “The state, to its credit, points out a lot of logistical considerations that they need to talk to homeowners about,” he said.
Doug Kern, director of the Gaviota Coast Conservancy and a member of the draft proposal’s working group, said he was “really actually optimistic” about how the report will be received, “given all the potential for difficulty.” On every side of the debate are “different personalities and interests and significant tensions,” yet “everyone is doing their best to thread a needle here,” Kern said. “I give everyone credit for coming to the table.”
The road ahead remains long, Kern continued, with any new overland access still likely a year or two out, especially with the delays to the process that the pandemic brought. Whatever final form the plan takes, it will be “limited, managed, and not hugely expensive,” Kern assured, and nothing will be set in stone given the unforeseen challenges that come from working with Mother Nature, “who always bats last.” “We will try everything in a careful way,” he said, “see what happens, and make adjustments.”
52 Comments
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Jun 15, 2021 02:40 PMIt would be nice to have easier access to the beaches out there, but the land is privately owned. I don’t see how the coastal commission can force the owners of the land to allow people to transit their property or to give up easements for public trails. At the end of the day, it’s the owner’s choice.
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Jun 15, 2021 03:08 PMObviously not an opinion based on any knowledge of the law.
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Jun 16, 2021 07:00 AMThey had an agreement to give access long ago, but decided they didn't want to follow up. Similar to what Wendy McCaw did with her Hope Ranch property.
Given this reasoning, I say we shut down the 101 between Goleta and Gaviota to protect the many endangered species that try to live there.
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Jun 16, 2021 08:57 AMThe State had an agreement to allow the YMCA to build a camp, which was inland and subsequently not built, in exchange the YMCA granted the State access over other peoples private property to get to the coast: the YMCA can't grant something it doesn't have. This is what CA Coastal Commission has spent tens of millions of dollar fighting. That could have easily covered the cost to repair the Gaviota boat hoist, which for decades provided public access to the Hollister Ranch coast and beyond.
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Jun 16, 2021 11:28 AMFor facts and details about the prior YMCA agreement / offer to dedicate see pages 2 and 3. The state would have to build significant infrastructure and fund a shuttle service to a specific (dangerous) beach access trail all for a max of 50 visitors per day. The CA Coastal Commission isn't known for backing down and they agreed to settle this matter. Is this where our tax dollars should be spent? https://documents.coastal.ca.gov/reports/2018/7/f5/f5-7-2018-report.pdf
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Jun 15, 2021 03:08 PMHow is the state going to pay for all this? With all the issues we have in our city/state is this really the best use of our funds? The State Park's boat hoist we used to use in college to surf and fish broke years ago and to the best of my knowledge, has still not been fixed.
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Jun 16, 2021 07:01 AMThey fix it and the Hollister owners go and break it again. They'll do anything to stop the hoi polloi from accessing their private kingdom.
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Jun 16, 2021 07:19 AMIt was an El Niño storm that broke it
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Jun 16, 2021 08:22 AMHey PitMix, it sounds like you have been reading too many editorials by the LA Times. Mother Nature took out the boat hoist and the State has refused to rebuild it.
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Jun 16, 2021 10:34 AMLOL Canyon Kid, yeah, a storm took 80 feet of the pier and took the hoist out of commission, but you know darned well people have been sabotaging that hoist to prevent access for decades. And yes I was a user of the hoist.
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Jun 15, 2021 04:16 PMI read the plan and was hoping for something realistic. The plan is a mockery of private property rights and lofty expectations (demands). It seems like continued future litigation will be the end result.
The State can't manage our own State Parks, how are they going to escort/manage 500 people per day into one of the most environmentally sensitive stretches of beach we have remaining in SB County?
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Jun 15, 2021 04:55 PMProp 20 voter initiative created the California Coastal Commission. A successful voter initiative can also terminate it or amend it.
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Jun 15, 2021 05:30 PMSounds like they will need to build a visitor center before the gate. Sign their consent forms that current visitors are required to sign (liability, assumption of risk, etc). Either walk, bike, or by horse to access the beach of choice. Maybe a fee for a self-driving van/truck to carry surf boards & gear.
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Jun 15, 2021 06:21 PMJust hope it doesn't turn into a Hearst (Hearse) Castle situation, with a visitor center, shuttle bus terminal, gift shop (HollySteer Ice Cream), and snack bar. Welcome, Pardner! Cowabunga!
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Jun 15, 2021 07:45 PMThe plans are ridiculous. I understand the courts upholding citizens' rights to access beaches where existing easements were removed - like the guy up north who bought a property with a well-worn trail through it to the beach and then he tried to block it off. This is totally different. Requiring property owners to allow the public to transit their lands in order to get to the beach, when there has never been established access previously, is absurd. Why would we use tax payer dollars for this? We should have more coastline that the public cannot access, not less. I've never been to "the ranch" and I probably never will, but I've always liked knowing there is a largely undisturbed stretch of coastline nearby. It's the opposite of the hideous things I have witnessed at our public beaches here. Like the people in Carpinteria who take their off leash dogs right into prohibited territory and allow them to harass the seal nursery. I spent an hour nicely asking people to please leave the area as it was illegal to be inside of it (yes, it was during the breeding season) and to please keep their dogs away from the seals and all I got was a lot of weird looks and barely any compliance whatsoever. It made me so sick I told my partner that we could never go back to that beach, I was so upset. Allowing the public to access every square inch of the coastline is NOT a net positive. And the laws or rulings that uphold forcing private property owners to let whomever through their land to get to the beach are absurd and should be overturned.
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Jun 15, 2021 08:22 PMThe general public has proven to be irresponsible—littering, letting dogs run where they shouldn’t, etc. I’d prefer to keep the beach up there accessible to only those who can get there via the ocean—on boats or paddle boards, for example. I would, however, like the Hollister Ranch residents to stop harassing paddle boarders who want to set for awhile on the sand.
Not every public space has to be accessible to all the public. Let’s call this beach “wilderness” and not provide any land access. I personally will never be able to go there due to physical limitations. That’s okay. I won’t climb mountain peaks either. I like knowing there are places that are not being ruined by humans.
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Jun 16, 2021 10:37 AMI personally agree and would like to keep that entire area off limits to overland travel--and no I'm not an owner, but I have gone up many times.
The fact is, more people will be bad for those who are really committed to getting there and therefore respect the area. At the same time so many of the Hollister Ranch owners are insufferable pricks who have threatened and harassed people and done property damage for so long--just a small step below the Lunada Bay criminals.
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Jun 16, 2021 07:03 AMThese stories really need to provide the background on this issue because many of these commenters don't appear to know about previous access agreements, state laws, and court cases that have already been litigated in favor of limited public access.
I, for one, not having any rich friends or a boat I can launch through the surf, would like to see the place before I die.
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Jun 16, 2021 08:01 AMIf you really wanted to see it before you die you can simply walk in at low to medium tides.
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Jun 16, 2021 08:12 AMIt's quite beautiful. I've been there twice. I don't have a rich friend, but I had a friend who worked for someone rich...
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Jun 16, 2021 02:17 PMVOR, I have never heard that anyone has done this. Only paddled or boated in. Are you saying I can walk in at low tide, hang out with the Patagonias and Avatars, and then walk back 12 hrs later? I'll be telling them the Voice of Reason said I could do it, that should really impress them.
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Jun 16, 2021 03:06 PMIt's very common Pit, for people to walk in and surf. Hangout on the beach probably not common as there are many other beaches that are much easier to access with a similar scenery and an isolated / remote feel. The public property ends at the high tide line so I wouldn't recommend walking up the Patagonias and Avatars and knocking on their doors
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Jun 16, 2021 04:45 PMPitmix, you can walk in and out on a low tide.
Of course there is a risk some of the HR regulators may hassle and try to intimidate you--they love to do that there.
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Jun 16, 2021 08:03 AMPlease, please, please find , some snowy plovers and shut the whole thing down. Or possibly someone will locate a colony of endangered gnawing gnats, spinning spiders, or California burrowing toads. I have always wanted to visit that stretch of coastline, but really would hate to go there once the trash, filth, and diapers start piling up. I suppose the cultural messages that will be scratched, painted, marked on every available surface, rocks, and signs will appear from day one.
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Jun 16, 2021 08:16 AMSeems to me that a middle ground, but hard answer would be limited paid shuttle service, by reservation only. Open on specific days. Limit the impact of humans. Limit what can be taken in (as to prevent trash). Bag search (no spray paint). etc.
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Jun 16, 2021 10:21 AMNot a bad idea, Letmego, except that it would require paid personnel to staff the shuttles and bag searches. Fees to access the beach would have to be quite high, which would not be allowed, because low income people would be discriminated against.
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Jun 16, 2021 08:29 AMAmtrak runs across Hollister Ranch - take a train trip and enjoy the views.
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Jun 16, 2021 08:33 AMJust like The Clarke Estate,some places should not be open to the public and for the same reasons.
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Jun 16, 2021 10:17 AMHollister Ranch is required by law to allow access to the beach. The current process underway is a good attempt to reconcile that fact, the public's need and desire for beach access, the private property rights of the Hollister Ranch residents and the sensitive environmental habitat. All this ranting and raving about how the great unwashed hordes of poor folk going to destroy the place is ridiculous. Neither Refugio or El Cap have been inundated with trash or destroyed and access at Hollister ranch will be much more limited and difficult. I doubt there will ever be "hundreds" of visitors on a single day.
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Jun 16, 2021 11:04 AMRants and raves....or comments by the community to a completely unrealistic attempt to draft a plan for public access.
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Jun 16, 2021 12:40 PMThe Hollister ranch beach access is a wildly different situation then el cap or refugio… really an apples to oranges comparison. These states suggestions of access seem rather outlandish.
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Jun 16, 2021 10:32 AMI spent many hours on the beaches and hills at HR back in the 80's. Had friends who worked there. I would hate to see the natural beauty spoiled by whatever these people are offering. Leave the beaches and wildlife alone.
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Jun 16, 2021 10:47 AMDon't expect to see public access anytime soon. The Hollister Ranch HOA has a legal team working to drag this out in the courts. I've been there, surfed there, and it's beautiful the way it is. I don't see hoards of people flocking to the beaches there, but making access challenging (by boat, beach walk, etc.) keeps it preserved and adds to the allure. Not every stretch of nature needs to have a paved road with parking lots leading to it.
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Jun 16, 2021 03:34 PMBosco the Hollister Ranch has had paved roads with parking lots for years. It is just restricted access You have been there right?
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Jun 16, 2021 05:23 PMSo the public can just park in your driveway then @3:34 since it's been there for years?
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Jun 16, 2021 05:47 PM" Not every stretch of nature needs to have a paved road with parking lots leading to it."
I was just pointing out that the ranch has had a road and parking areas going through it for a century or more.
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Jun 16, 2021 05:47 PM5:23 - Whataboutism, as usual.
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Jun 16, 2021 10:49 AMI paddled a kayak north from Gaviota pier a few years ago. After 5 or 10 miles, it felt like I was back in Hawaii in the 1950’s, it was incredibly beautiful. No one owns the beach or the surf.
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Jun 16, 2021 11:31 AMWhen Amtrak is not running, County could run a trolley system or VW Bus line from Carpenteria to Buelton. And make stop for surfers, tourists, workers, etc.
The Homeless already have access and camp along the RR Tracks.
And the Coastal Commission should add some ADA ramps to get around the low tide sections. Or any development needs to be compliant.
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Jun 16, 2021 12:16 PMThis has been going on for far too long. The bullies at the HR HOA have deep enough pockets to defy the law which allows beach access to all Californians up to the mean high tide line. THEAAARON is right.
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Jun 16, 2021 12:34 PMBoth incorrect. The HOA doesn't prevent anyone from accessing the beach up to the mean high tide line. They are preventing people from crossing over their private property to access the public beach. There is no law that requires private property owners to provide public easements over their land (except eminent domain and it's done with just compensation).
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Jun 16, 2021 03:41 PMThere is plenty of beach access off the existing paved roads that are owned by the HOA. No one is suggesting trails on individual parcels.
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Jun 16, 2021 04:24 PMThe HOA's roads are private property. The CA Coastal Commission's report linked somewhere below, describes the hazards of the trail in detail.
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Jun 16, 2021 05:33 PMVOR, entitled HR bullies literally hassle people in the ocean who have boated in LEGALLY to surf. Over the years they've threatened violence, destroyed surfboards that have washed up, and made many threats. They have been trying to prevent people from enjoying the Ocean, which belongs to everyone for years.
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Jun 16, 2021 06:36 PMSo, same as all the other good surf breaks in California.
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Jun 17, 2021 07:22 AMVOR you love to make over the top claims, no it’s not the same as all the other good breaks in Ca. I’ve surfed this state from La Jolla to Pt Arena and there are in fact very few spots where the locals are such self entitled A$$holes.
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Jun 17, 2021 08:15 AMWait, my claim was over the top but yours wasn’t? Hi pot, I’m kettle, nice to meet you.
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Jun 17, 2021 09:54 AMVOR--no my clam was spot on true. I guess you have no experience surfing Hollister Ranch--I do.
I guess you have not surfed up and down the State of California for decades.
I have.
Sometimes when people don't know what they're talking about they are smart enough to be quiet and learn.
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Jun 17, 2021 10:19 AMWhile surfing I've had friends beat up and cars vandalized from San Diego to Santa Cruz so to think this is isolated to HR is false.
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Jun 17, 2021 12:32 PMVOR--learn to read. I didn't say isolated to, I said one of the top spots for A$$hole locations behavior.
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