Shall we add the Pismo Preserve to the list of SLO County parking debacles? First San Luis Obispo raised its top rate to $4 an hour before public outcry led to dropping it to $2.75. Then Paso Robles attempted paid parking, but the first 2 hours were free, but you still needed to register your license plate, leading to tickets and an angry public and an eventual return to free parking.
Currently, at Cal Poly, faculty and staff are pissed that a lot of their parking places have been removed due to new construction. Employees are required to buy a parking pass to park where they work, and they often complain they circle lots searching for spaces in vain.
Pismo Beach is currently dealing with complaints that its metered parking is confusing and counterintuitive. People feed the wrong meters because they don’t know to look down at the sidewalk and find the number corresponding with their correct parking meter, which is often not next to their parking space.
Starting on Oct. 16, if you want to hike the Pismo Preserve and you plan to drive there, you’ll need to pony-up $5 a day through the ParkMobile app or pay with cash or with a credit card at a pay station. Your pay station receipt must be displayed in your window, which may or may not be smashed by thieves. Online, you can even buy an annual pass and receive a rearview mirror hanger good for 12 months … unless there isn’t available parking. Yeehaw!
“We do want to emphasize that purchasing a pass doesn’t guarantee a parking spot, obviously we’re limited on those, and there’s still some mornings that are very busy, and it could still be hard to find parking,” Land Conservancy Development and Engagement Director Jamie Bell warned.
There are 46 regular parking spaces, four motorcycle spaces, and three equestrian parking spaces. The three ADA spaces don’t require payments. People just love when they pay for something and don’t get it, right? This idea of selling more parking passes than you have parking spaces can be very frustrating.
Does this parking pass come with parking lot security? Now that would give it a leg up on all the free trailhead parking lots, which is literally every other trail in SLO County.
“Parking is a hotly debated issue. We know that it’s not the most exciting thing for some people,” Bell noted. “However, our closer supporters have been really supportive of the idea. They would actually love to see their donations going to conserving even more places like this.”
Oh yeah? Your “closer supporters” are “really supportive” of charging people to park at an open space? How about your less close supporters? I’ll withhold my judgment until people start getting tickets or start lauding how good security is in the Pismo Preserve parking lot.
Speaking of South County, in Nipomo, it’s time to say, “Goodbye affordable housing, hello secret deals.” Lame duck 2nd District SLO County Supervisor Bruce Gibson isn’t going to ride out the end of his term doing nothing. He still expects transparency in a settlement reached regarding the Dana Reserve lawsuits and the alleged $2 million in payments from developer NKT Commercial to the Nipomo Action Committee and the SLO chapter of the California Native Plant Society.
As part of their agreement, all three groups agreed to reduce affordable housing by half the originally proposed number for Dana Reserve, which sucks for working-class families. What’s got Gibson peeved is that the settlement agreement includes two pages of redacted information. He’s formally requested that an unredacted copy of the settlement agreement be made public via a letter sent to the parties. The board voted on demanding an unredacted copy, but Gibson’s side lost.
“Unfortunately, the payment amounts cannot be verified because the only publicly available copy of the settlement agreement … is heavily redacted,” Gibson’s letter said. “The Dana Reserve project, as approved on April 24, 2024, has significant impacts of public interest. Any consideration of modifying that approval should be completely and transparently informed.”
I hope whoever replaces Gibson cares as much about their duties as he does.
And speaking of doody, should Paso Robles High School Assistant Coach Netta Perkins be fired for posting arguably insensitive comments about Charlie Kirk online following his murder?
“White on white crime let them sit in it!” Perkins posted on Sept. 10.
“God does not like ugly! Charlie Kirk reap wat u sow!” she said in another.
Failed school board candidate and grammar policeman Hunter Breese told the school board to fire her.
“Netta called for violence against a certain group of people in our country, that being specifically white people and Republicans,” he said. “And I might add, she did not spell ‘what’ or ‘you’ correctly, and that is not … excellence in our hiring of our teachers, so I’d also like you to take that into consideration.”
Sheesh, Breese, your interpretation of her posts are a bit suspect, don’t you think? She’s pointing out that a white guy who argued against sensible gun laws got killed by another white guy. And Kirk said a lot of very ugly things about minority and marginalized communities. Kirk’s assassination doesn’t change his record.
Isn’t Kirk being lionized by the right as a staunch defender of free speech? If the left isn’t allowed to hold him accountable for offensive speech, why is the right allowed to complain about Perkins’ insensitive and perhaps misguided opinions? ∆
The Shredder believes in free speech and good judgment. Beg to differ at shredder@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Oct 9-19, 2025.
I predict that the Land Conservancy will find donations dropping sharply after implementing their parking fee. I imagine that many people have been donating to show appreciation for being able to use the Pismo Reserve, but after being charged a fee, they will feel as though they have already paid for that opportunity.
$5 to park to hike at the Preserve is less than a cup of coffee at Starbucks. This is not a public park – no taxpayer money goes towards maintaining the Preserve. If you’ve got to complain about the $5 parking, then look around you to see our National Forests and Parks require entrance fees and parking fees and those lands and parks are paid by taxpayer money so, in theory, the government shouldn’t charge us. (Cerro Alto Los Padres Forest charges $10 to park!) But nevertheless, I’m happy to pay $5 at the Preserve and here’s what I get: Hiking on some of the most beautiful trails in the county that are dog, horse and bike friendly, a huge boost of mental and physical health by hiking there, and the cleanest public bathrooms in the county. And I am happy to support the sustainability of this gorgeous place.