Many years ago I attended a SLO County Board of Supervisors’ meeting for the first time. I was moved to comment on a golf course proposed to be built at the foot of Hollister Peak just off Highway 1.
Now we have another proposal from another tone-deaf company that apparently can find nowhere else for their industrial project except at the base of one of the most iconic Morros (“Coastal Commission stops drilling off Highway 1,” March 3).
The idea behind the massive energy storage plant is fairly new and sounds interesting. But it is not not compatible with the the unique location. State Highway 1 is a national scenic byway and a designated all-American road.
The land around Hollister Peak has been in productive agriculture since the 1800s. The peak itself has been protected for years by a local family. The land contains cultural, historic, and scenic resources of importance to locals and tourists alike.
The Morros are a unique geological feature special to the residents and visitors in our county, and Hollister Peak is not a place compatible with a huge industrial plant. When considered, all the downsides of this project turn a proposed “green” project brown.
Christine Mulholland
San Luis Obispo
This article appears in Spring Arts Annual 2022.
Where would the water come from? Dairy Creek can barely keep the fairways a faded, green-ish color. What of the first complaints about “noise”, or “lead poisoning”, or “stray bullets” from the gun range?
How about, the last thing we need on or near HWY 1, is a golf course?