Pirates Cove Cave Landing parking lot cleanup underway
The cave at Pirates Cove in Avila Beach.
A growing encampment at the parking lot was dispersed
–Cleanup of the Cave Landing Parking Lot above Pirates Cove began on Thursday, San Luis Obispo County Parks recently announced. The parking lot was closed to vehicles and was set to reopen at 4 p.m. on Friday. This is the first step in transitioning the former vacant land into a County Park Natural Area.
On March 16th, the Board of Supervisors approved adding the land to the County Park System and accepted a grant that, along with other funding, will allow the County to restore the parking lot by adding natural colored rock and gravel to create a better parking surface, install trash cans, place boulders to protect cultural resources, add bioswales to manage the drainage of the site and install accessible parking with an overlook area.
Over the next two to three months, the site will be fully cleared of trash and graffiti with the exception of the interior of the cave area. Further consultation will be needed regarding any potential cultural artifacts that may be present under the graffiti in the cave and the need to protect those resources.
A shrine was recently erected in the parking lot of Caves Landing near Pirates Cove. It reads, “To the lives lost in the cove.”
Recently, there has been a growing encampment at the parking lot and county parks has partnered with the San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Department, 5 Cities Homeless Coalition and Transitions Mental Health Association to assist with transitioning people at the site to other services. These organizations met with the people on site beginning March 24 and have continued regular contact to assist with relocating. All people who had been camped on-site were expected to vacate the area by May 12.
While the parking lot was closed, park rangers and contractors cleaned up trash and debris throughout the site. On Friday, Cal Fire had plans to begin fuel reduction to reduce fire hazards at the site as the region heads into the summer season.
Overnight camping and fires are not permitted within Cave Landing Natural Area and will be enforced by patrolling park rangers and local law enforcement agencies.
This fall, work on the remainder of the project will begin and the project is expected to be complete by December 2021.
Comments
