SLO County hiking, birding spot for sale for $1 million. This group is trying to save it
A beloved San Luis Obispo County spot is up for sale after decades of continuous ownership.
Known as the Cuesta Inlet, the 13-acre property at the southeast end of the Morro Bay estuary is popular with bird watchers, dog walkers and boat users — and many in the community want it to stay exactly the way it is.
Local residents formed the group Save the Cuesta Inlet to devise a way to keep the property, located at 1745 Doris Ave. in Los Osos, open to the public and free from development.
The group has filed to become a nonprofit organization.
“We want to make sure we’re doing the right thing for the community,” Save the Cuesta Inlet steering committee member Cheryl Dodge said.
Dodge said the group has heard from about 200 local community members about the Cuesta Inlet — and the majority of them want the property to remain “as-is.”
To do so, Dodge said Save the Cuesta Inlet has been in touch with several organizations with expertise in land conservancy and holdings. The group’s members hope one of these organizations will agree to obtain the land, she said.
According to Realtor Jack Franklin, the Cuesta Inlet property is priced at $1 million, which is a firm price.
He’s marketed the property on real estate websites around the world and received a few inquires — but nothing substantial yet, he added.
The original owners of the property once planned to develop it into an aquatic park, Franklin said, with a dock and possibly homes or restroom facilities.
However, their vision was never fully realized, he said, so the property remained undeveloped.
Instead, small walking trails line the banks of the estuary and the owners allow community members to store hundreds of kayaks and boats on the property.
Franklin said he can envision the property becoming an aquatic park, but any development permits would have to clear high hurdles from San Luis Obispo County and the California Coastal Commission.
The 13-acre property is zoned for recreational use and single-family housing. It’s also designated in the coastal zone as an archaeologically sensitive area, wetland, flood hazard area and sensitive resource area, according to the San Luis Obispo County Department of Planning & Building.
Those interested in joining in the effort to preserve the Cuesta Inlet property can email savecuestainlet@gmail.com or visit the group’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
