San Luis Obispo City acquires 266 acres of open space
–The City of San Luis Obispo has just acquired an additional 266 acres of open space land that is a part of the Miossi Brothers La Cuesta Ranch. The City Council’s action to approve the acquisition on Sept. 18 brings the total available open space land owned by the city to more than 4,000 acres. The added property, located at the headwaters of San Luis Obispo Creek in the northern portion of the City’s Greenbelt within the Cuesta Canyon area, will be used for conservation while also allowing for trail use by the community.
Permanent protection of the added property will provide recovery benefits to a variety of rare plants and vegetation, as well as known habitat and migration corridors for steelhead trout, mountain lion, and California black bear. The land will also link existing trails connecting Poly Canyon to the West Cuesta Ridge area, where outstanding views of the Pacific Ocean can be seen.
“This acquisition represents the keystone piece of the conservation vision set forth for the Cuesta Canyon area to protect its outstanding wildlife and natural resource values,” said Robert Hill, Interim Deputy Director of the City’s Office of Sustainability. “The City of San Luis Obispo has established a proud legacy of land protection and responsible public use of open space lands.”
An appraisal report assessed the fair market value of the 266-acre property at $1,300,000. The city expects to purchase the land at the fair market value using Open Space Acquisition Funds form the City’s Local Revenue Measure in the amount of $1,000,000, grant funding from the State of California’s Habitat Conservation Fund in the amount of $200,000, and a charitable donation of $100,000 from the Forbes Family.
The Miossi Brothers La Cuesta Ranch property is expected to open to the public in 2019.
Video of property, courtesy of the City of San Luis Obispo:
City Of SLO Open Space: Miossi Ranch 266 Acres from Oak House on Vimeo.
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