This month the court will decide if the California Coastal Commission (CCC) has the right to ban driving on the Oceano beach and dunes. The Tribune is asking readers to share their memories. I raised my son in Oceano and I have no memories of us on the Oceano beach because we never went there: I didn’t want to risk our lives dodging cars, trucks, motorhomes, vans, and buses. We always had to drive to Pismo or Avila, although we lived a mile away from the Oceano beach.
But I remember the front yard fence of my Pier Avenue property being knocked down and a few missing boards. The sheriff’s deputy I spoke with said it was probably beach campers collecting wood for their fires.
I remember dozens of Christmas trees and old furniture burned on our beachfront, the fire reaching illegal proportions, and at least 150 square feet of stinky, dangerous debris left behind.
I remember a beach driver shouting at me while walking on the Oceano beach: “Get off the road!”
I remember off-roaders saying that I need to be screwed … in a wooden box 6 feet under. A sheriff’s deputy explained that it was not a threat until they pointed a gun at me and said they were going to kill me.
I remember when smokers could smoke on airplanes, in restaurants, movie theaters, and people died from secondhand smoke. Aren’t you grateful we outlawed that harmful behavior?
Lucia Casalinuovo
Oceano
This article appears in Jun 8-18, 2023.
This person makes no sense that they lived a mile from Oceano but their Pier ave house which is less then a block from the oceano beach was damaged. My family has lived off of Pier Avenue in Oceano for over a 100 years. Yes I have seen the good and bad of off-roaders but it’s the main income for our tourist town we call home. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices and if you don’t like it then move somewhere away from this amazing Beach we call home and can drive on for relaxation or to fish or off-road. There has to be a resolution that both sides can be happy with and completely shut down a place only to people walking around when we have a huge open dune area to enjoy. Sincerely OceanoDunes805
I don’t see the commission walking to put up all the orange plastic fencing, that there leaving behind. Looks like trash to me that they need to pick up. Hypocrites
Agree 1000% and can’t wait to celebrate the end of this destructive, polluting, noisy, disruptive anachronism and all the bad behavior that comes with it. To be replaced by tourists who appreciate the natural world, the peace and quiet, the birds, insects, etc. in their natural habitat, a quiet breeze, a respite. The sooner this happens, the sooner people will realize it’s much more sustainable and beneficial in the long term. It’s a time for celebration.