On July 11 in SLO, the California Coastal Commission will discuss the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area permit and transitioning the park to passive uses that don’t harm the environment and our communities. A study is being trotted out to prop up the position that without off-roading, the local economy would crash. This is rubbish, as it doesn’t account for the normal, non-vehicular beach tourism that would replace ATV tourism.
No area of the California coast is suffering because they don’t allow vehicles on their beaches. One need only contrast the economies of thriving Pismo Beach, which banned vehicles decades ago, and depressed Oceano, where such use continues, to see that off-roaders are not essential to success—and, in fact, they are a drag on the nearest community.
Further, the study was performed by a company owned by a self-styled adventure motorcycle rider and included areas in Pismo Beach such as the monarch butterfly grove. Still, “ATV riding” barely managed a 4 percent majority over beach campfires and looking at the sunset.
Let’s make Oceano Beach safe for sunset strolls.
Cynthia Replogle
president
Oceano Beach Community Association
This article appears in Pride 2019.
Oceano and Pismo are awful beach communities. The majority of beach goers that attend costal vacations go to Clean beach communities. Not Pismo, but obviously with some exception. If the OHV site in oceano closes. A very high percentage of beach goers will no longer travel there. And start going to other places that allow their hobby. Or places on the coast with things to do other than dune riding such as aquariums, boardwalks excellent restaurants, volley ball equipment etc. these are just a few examples… Pismo has great clam chowder and butterflies thats it. if the CCC is successful In the OHV closure. They will successfully destroy these beloved communities.
What can we do to help you GET A CLUE.
There are no beaches suffering without ohv use because they have built an economy (without ohv) over the better part of a century, or more. That said, an area like 5 Cities is getting a majority of retail revenue from vacationers looking for a different beach experience. Even you must understand that once you remove this much revenue (from a century old revenue stream) it will take another 25+ years for the area to recover. But your not living here anyway right…