Pismo Preserve

Friends, colleagues and even California’s governor are mourning the sudden death of San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Adam Hill, after he was found dead at his Shell Beach home on August 6.

Last year the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo took ownership of the 900-acre parcel of land now known as the Pismo Preserve and this year they hope to open it to the public. 

The organization raised more than $12 million last year to buy the land and make improvements, plus it finalized all the paperwork to switch it over to public use. Executive Director, Kaila Dettman says the Pismo Preserve is the beginning of a larger, county-wide effort, the Heart and Soil campaign.

The 900-acre parcel of land comprising the hills overlooking Pismo Beach officially became known as the Pismo Preserve Tuesday morning.

The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County says it closed escrow and took ownership of the property at 10:00 a.m.

The organization raised $12.3 million this year to buy the land and make improvements, plus it finalized all the paperwork to switch it over to public use.

UPDATE: August 28, 2014 at 6:12 p.m.  

It's now official, funds to buy 900 acres of land above Pismo Beach to form a public space area known at the Pismo Preserve have been secured, according to The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County.

The organization says it got word from the State of California on Thursday that an expected donation of $4 million came through.

The Conservancy's Kaila Dettman told KCBX Thursday afternoon that escrow proceedings have begun on the property. The process could be complete in early-to-mid September.

Efforts to fund a new public hiking space in the hills overlooking Pismo Beach may soon have an unexpected source of money.

SLOCOG, the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments had set aside money for upgrades to the Pirate's Cove area. However, the California Coastal Commission only approved a small portion of the proposed improvements leaving an estimated $175,000 on the table for another project.

The push to create an open space park above the Pismo Beach area just got a large contribution toward the effort's overall $12-million dollar fundraising goal.

The trust of the late Harold Miossi is giving $100,000 to The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County's Pismo Preserve conservation effort.

Miossi was a former San Luis Obispo County rancher who worked on a number of local environmental projects over the years.

The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to use $1.1 million dollars as part of an effort to buy land that could one day make up the Pismo Preserve.

"Thrillingly we just approved $1.1 million!" Supervisor Adam Hill, whose district includes the proposed project, said in an email to KCBX.

The money will come from a fund known as the Park Public Facility Fee.

Public support is growing for a plan to set aside a large chunk of land in San Luis Obispo County as scenic open space. It's called the Pismo Preserve, 900 acres that encompass much of the land to the northeast of Pismo Beach and Highway 101.

The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County says tens of thousands of dollars in matching funds have gone a long way to help reach the project's goal.