Golf Course Resort Proposal Rejected

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA

From San Juan Hill to San Simeon, from Patton's tanks to the Symbionese Liberation Army, the Hearst name has been at the forefront of American life over a century and still continues...

On January 15, 1998, the Hearst publishing family proposed to build a golf resort on one of California's last pristine stretches of coastline; however the 12-member, California Coastal Commission rejected the proposal due to testimonies from environmentalists, residents, activists, and ranchers who believe golf and other developments are a danger to the California coastline.

Analysts for the Coastal Commission recommended that the panel reject the plan, saying it violated the 1976 Coastal Act designed to protect the coastline. The area's scant water supply, its threatened species and its unobstructed vistas, among other factors, made it ill-suited to sustain a resort.

Despite this setback, another plan was approved in 1984 allowing the Hearst Corp. the capability to build a complex with 900 rooms and two golf courses in a more developed area of San Simeon, CA. Landscape Architect Courtland Paul, FASLA, in an interview with LASN, stated, "It's no question that the project is a tremendous opportunity, but it also has a tremendous opportunity to fail... the selection process of what is built there has to be very carefully programmed so that we both visually and physically harm that landscape as little as possible." He added, "That's why Landscape Architects are here-- to mitigate the impact of structures and man-made elements that are placed in man-made environments, and to be visual as well as practical and appropriate."

Landscape Architect Andy Bowden of Land Concern also responded, "Personally, I don't agree a golf course should be built because there are so many others close to it. It would be a shame to try to enhance what nature had already done in that area." He continued, "It is such a pristine piece of California coastline that should be retained for all to enjoy and not just a select few to play on the golf course."