The California Coastal Commission, a non-elected body, will be meeting on Thursday, July 11th, 2019 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in San Luis Obispo to consider the continued use of the OHV area at Oceano Dunes.
A staff report for the California Coastal Commission has recommended that OHV riding at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (ODSVRA) be curtailed and possibly eliminated altogether. ODSVRA is comprised of about 1,500 dune acres. OHV riding is permitted in a little over 2 square miles and along roughly 3.5 miles of beach. This is the only OHV park along the State’s coastal zone. Along with the OHV recreation experience, RV camping is a very popular activity at this State Park.
California OHV enthusiasts and the South County Chambers of Commerce (San Luis Obispo County) are springing into action to oppose any effort to stop OHV riding at this state park. The Coastal Commission will be holding a hearing on July 11th to receive comments/input on the staff report.
California Department of Parks and Recreation Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division is the agency that manages this OHV park facility. It is unclear, at this time, if the agency will take steps to implement the recommendations of the Commission staff. The threat, however, is real and the possible closure of this premier coastal OHV riding area would be a major setback for OHV recreation and the local economy. This could well become a lengthy and costly battle to keep this area open to OHV recreation. We will share more details with you as information becomes available.
We are, quite literally, in the final phases of keeping or losing our local dunes for offroad use – forever. These efforts may come in a full outright closure or under the guise of a slow erosion of dune accessibility prohibiting night riding, increasing enforcement and adding more fences at the park, reducing daily use limits, and more until a full and eventual closure goes in effect.
Attend the Meeting – Be Heard!
• Thursday, July 11th, 9am at the Embassy Suites in San Luis Obispo
• Address: 333 Madonna Road, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
• All public comments limited to 3 minutes each
• Wear a blue shirt in opposition of these proceedings
Sign the Petition
Visit this link at Change.org and sign the growing petition to support maintaining or OHV access and use of Oceano Dunes. As of this posting, there are over 53,000 people who have signed the petition. Make your voice heard and defend your dunes!
Can’t Attend the July 11th Meeting?
Voice your concerns and opposition to CentralCoast@coastal.ca.gov
More details:
Be sure to “Like” the Friends of Oceano Dunes Facebook page
