WHAT'S THE NEWS? Is Avila Beach In Jeopardy?

HELP NEEDED AS “PIRATES COVE” (AVILA) NUDE BEACH IN JEOPARDY

October, 2006:

Pirates Cove at Avila Beach, just outside San Luis Obispo, has a forty-year tradition as a privately owned clothing-optional beach. However, SLO County is now working on a deal to purchase the beach along with 120 acres of undeveloped land along the shoreline and turn it into a county park. The deal could put the nude status of the beach in jeopardy. The county has no law that prohibits a nude beach. And Pirates Cove’s isolation makes it suitable for that purpose because people who go there know that it’s a clothing-optional beach. The beach can be reached only by a trail from a parking lot at the end of Cave Landing Road. County park officials have benignly accepted its status for many years, and tickets are only issued there for lewd conduct.

Improvements to the park, should the county take it over, would be an upgrade to the Pirates Cove parking lot at the end of Cave Landing Road and improved access to the beach, Jenny said. The property contains a closed dirt road between Avila Beach and Shell Beach, which could be turned into a hiking trail or upgraded to provide an additional exit route from Avila Beach in the event of an accident at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, Jenny said.

These improvements could make access to the beach easier for the general public and thus put pressure on the County to reverse course and ban nude sunbathers from using the area. An added benefit to the deal is that the property comes with a built-in funding source. A cellular telephone tower is located on the property and would provide $80,000 a year, which would be used for operation and maintenance of the park.

The land is expected to cost at least $3 million, and the conservation group is trying to tap into federal funding to complete the deal. County parks officials have asked the Board of Supervisors for permission to sign the loan application. Additional funding sources, such as the state Coastal Conservancy, will likely be needed to complete the deal, Jenny said.

ON-LINE POLL ABOUT KEEPING BEACH NUDE

In response to the probable sale of the land, the San Luis Obispo Tribune newspaper ran an on-line poll last week, asking its readers to vote, "Should Pirate's Cove remain a nude beach?”

In response to that request, SCNA and several other local naturist clubs and organizations sent an email to their members asking those who have visited Pirate’s Cove and who wish to keep it clothing-optional to go on-line and vote.

The response has been overwhelmingly in favor of keeping the beach nude. As of 10/28/2006, 1376 people have voted and the results show:

AVILA BEACH LAND PURCHASE DEAL HITS FINANCIAL SNAG

December, 2006:
The proposed sale of the nude beach and its adjoining property near San Luis Obispo from a private corporation to the County has hit a $6 million snag, according to a local newspaper report last week.

SLO County was hoping for a $3 million grant from a federal coastal conservation program to cover half of the purchase price, but their grant proposal was submitted 3 months passed the annual grant deadline and the next money will not be awarded until the Fall of 2007 at the earliest.

Last month we wrote about the need for members to text-message their support to maintain Pirate’s Cove at Avila Beach as a nude/clothing-optional location. We are happy to report that the on-line poll conducted by the San Luis Obispo Tribune there showed 95% of those voting in favor of the nude beach.

One of our members called a Tribune reporter after the vote and told us the reporter was “shocked” at the lop-sidedness of the preference. County officials were quoted as saying the overwhelming preference for the nude beach means the County will probably lean toward maintaining its clothing-optional status should any sale take place in the future.

Directions to Avila/Pirate's Cove Beach

Affiliated with the Southern California Naturist Association (SCNA) 23679 Calabasas Rd #160 Calabasas CA 91302-1502 (818) 225-2273