In what city officials and builders consider a nod to a modern future, multi-story residences are set to dot the West End of Grover Beach—but some residents consider the change a disruption of the small beach town’s character.
“You might as well go back to Grover City, what it was called in the ’90s, because it’s going to be a big city,” retired Grover Beach resident Kelvin Coveduck said. “Groovy Grover Beach is going away if this continues. We just want responsible building, and we want reasonable heights.”
The western end of downtown Grover Beach along Grand Avenue, dubbed “West End,” is about to be home to a string of new developments, such as Bella Vista Villas from Empire Development and Construction and several Coastal Community Builders projects like Trinity, which is under construction, and the newly proposed Solstice, made up of 28 townhomes.
Coastal Community Builders and city staff introduced the Planning Commission to the Solstice project on Dec. 2—a meeting marked by a tussle between older Grover Beach residents and younger ones, who want structures that redefine single-family housing.
Solstice will sit at the southern end of a 1.4-acre property that holds the Grover Beach Tech Center and the unfinished Trinity homes within the coastal industrial commercial zoning district. Each of Solstice’s 28 townhomes will have three bedrooms, a private rooftop deck, and a tandem two-car garage. The project’s envisioned to almost hit the zone’s 40-foot height limit, and it will also include a pair of three-story mixed-use buildings.
Together, they’re expected to bring in more tax revenue and foot traffic, and support for not only businesses that will crop up in Solstice but also the ones nearby and on the West Grand corridor.
“I’m a millennial, I have two small children. It would be wonderful to live somewhere where I could walk to dinner with them, walk to the beach for our evening walk, walk our dog nearby,” South County Chamber of Commerce Chair and data scientist Susannah Brown said at the meeting. “The way they’ve envisioned that front sidewalk, it’s very safe from the heavy traffic on Highway 1 nearby.”
Coveduck told New Times thathe agrees with the ideas that the younger generation isn’t “looking for a white picket fence anymore” and that the only way to build housing in a small town is to build up. But he also believes there’s a responsibility that comes with building multi-story homes in a coastal area.
“Front Street is a huge visual asset,” he said. “They’re [coastal views] here, and when they’re gone, generations in the future will never be able to get them back. So, I would think that there’s a compromise between younger folks that need housing and preserving our view corridors in Grover Beach and the character of us being a small beach town.”
That compromise, according to Coveduck and others like him, means reducing the Solstice townhomes’ height to 33 feet. The group also want city officials to approve increasing the view corridor spacing between the buildings from 15 feet to around 35 feet—consistent with the space between the existing buildings on the property.
Coveduck also questioned whether the townhomes would actually be affordable. According to Zillow, a three-bedroom, four-bathroom Trinity townhome is on the market for $1.4 million.
Grover Beach Community Development Director Megan Martin told New Times that the city isn’t involved with the price of the units.
“There are no deed-restricted affordable units included in the Front Street development,” she said. “In terms of other West End developments, 261 Rockaway [Bella Vista Villas] was recently approved by the Planning Commission and included two very-low income units under the state Density Bonus Law.”
She said that while beach views are important to Grover Beach residents, state law and the local coastal program don’t consider private views a protected public resource.
“With respect to public streets, coastal policies are primarily focused on protecting scenic vistas along designated coastal routes and public viewpoints,” Martin said. “This project is not located within or adjacent to a designated scenic roadway or protected public viewpoint and therefore is allowed as it does not conflict with those policies.”
Coastal Community Builders didn’t respond to New Times’ multiple requests for comment. At the Planning Commission meeting, some residents were apprehensive that the city was working with the company because of active litigation.
In 2022, the owner of a San Luis Ranch home sued Coastal Community Builders for misrepresentation and negligence. The owner alleged that the company told her the home was move-in ready, but she found numerous defects like water intrusion from leaking pipes, visible drywall seams, and failure to properly install interior items.
Most recently, a family filed a lawsuit against Coastal Community Builders in 2025 after purchasing a home in San Luis Obispo from the company. The family alleged that it found structural instability, water intrusion, code violations, defective plumbing, and toxic mold.
Coveduck now hopes the City Council will discuss lowering the height limit for the Solstice development as an agenda item in March. He told council members at the Jan. 12 City Council meeting that he has been requesting this deliberation since October 2025.
The Planning Commission and City Council haven’t made any decisions about Solstice yet. If the Planning Commission approves a coastal development permit for the project, Coveduck’s group could appeal the decision to the City Council.
But, according to Community Development Director Martin, the project site is within the coastal zone, not the coastal appealable zone.
This means that city staff will notify the California Coastal Commission about the decision to approve the project permit—like they do for all development projects in the coastal zone—but the project can’t be appealed to the Coastal Commission.
“The only thing that we have as a resource is—and we’ve consulted a couple attorneys—is perhaps a ballot issue that would lower the height limits for the whole city, but that’s in the beginning stages,” Coveduck said. “Certainly, our group will have a name if we take it to the ballot and have the citizens decide. And it wouldn’t just be for Front Street, it would be for the whole city of Grover Beach.” ∆
Reach Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal at brajagopal@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jan 22-29, 2026.
I understand how folks feel about the change going on in Grover Beach. But, I gotta remind myself that likely several of them moved here after big changes had already impacted other Grover residents (maybe their homes did). The mixed use project where Grover Beach Sourdough is located caused quite a stir as did the La Serena development that was an agricultural area (actually a pig farm). Now, folks are buying old homes, tearing them down, and going upward, changing the skyline in the neighborhoods. Change is inevitable, it’s hard, and the state has mandates allowing new housing. I’m not crazy about the architecture myself, but looking at how many projects mirror this, I guess the younger generation likes the modern look (SLO mixed use, hotels along 101 in SLO, the new hotel on El Camino, etc.). We need housing, it boils down to the supply and demand curve which effects pricing.
No one was sorry to see that pig farm go that’s a misstatement. The big controversy there was the turn lane wasn’t implemented before they started the tract. They were coming off the success of berry gardens which was not controversial and welcomed because it was responsible planning. These are not being built for locals. This girl giving this interview is not speaking for locals.
Thanks for your interest, yet a group of neighbors nearby worked hard to maintain the space in agriculture (I think as an organic farm). They didn’t have the dough to buy the developer out, and there you have it. No misstatement friend.
we need affordable housing not 1 million plus with zero parking? no parking for the commercial or condos? Really?
I think the new developments are much better looking than the blighted area, which was the former “view scape.” The design isn’t the best, but the drive down to the beach is much more appealing.
I don’t understand the comments about losing the “beachy, groovy vibe” of Grover Beach. When I moved here, our town was insultingly called Grover S###y (rhymes with pity) because of its dilapidated buildings and houses. West Grand looked like a town in a third-world country.
Of greater concern for me are the multi-story buildings going up in neighborhoods that obstruct neighbors’ views. Now that’s somethin to complain about.
Totally agree with Jill’s assessment. This group says, “we aren’t against housing,” but they don’t want anything built in the dirt lot adjacent to the railroad tracks. I heard someone mention the kids with the soccer net on Front Street and how development would put them at risk. I believe a housing development between the kids on Front Street and the unfenced railroad tracks would be a great safety improvement. Grover has never looked better with improved roads, streetscapes, and private investment. More housing inventory (supply) will eventually meet demand. That leads to price adjustment (downward).
Previous height limits resulted in no building. There were and are abandoned lots with failing roofs on Grand Ave.
These are bad faith arguments to halt development. The same folks arguing against building are also the same ones complaining about rate increases. If you freeze your tax base in amber (prop 13) and halt all development, 50-70 years later that infrastructure will fail and need to be replaced.
It’s an embarrassment these folks don’t want a growing and thriving community but are looking to gatekeep access to the community while extracting as much benefit as possible without contributing to the betterment of the community.
A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.
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It’s great to see our city taking proactive steps toward positive, long-term growth. As there appear to be limited alternatives with limited land, constructing taller buildings seems to be the most viable approach.