SLO County pushes ahead with Bob Jones Trail land deals despite lingering stalemate

Chloe Shrager
·3 min read

San Luis Obispo County is moving forward with its longtime plan to complete the Bob Jones Trail, despite still lacking permission from all of the landowners the project would affect.

The Bob Jones Pathway Gap Closure Project aims to connect the trail’s existing fragments in San Luis Obispo and Avila Beach, allowing walkers and bikers to safely commute between the city and the sea.

The county has been making progress to acquire the rights to 4.5 miles of private and city-owned land along the proposed route of the path.

A map shows the plan for the full Bob Jones Trail with the missing piece between the Octagon Barn in San Luis Obispo and the parking lot on Ontario Road.
A map shows the plan for the full Bob Jones Trail with the missing piece between the Octagon Barn in San Luis Obispo and the parking lot on Ontario Road.

On Tuesday, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved over $450,000 in land use and construction easements to property owners in the area.

The Board of Supervisors pushed these payments through even though at least one landowner, Ray Bunnell, still refuses to sell a small portion of his land that the pathway would require. The board previously opposed using eminent domain to acquire the land rights.

The easements approved at Tuesday’s meeting are funded in whole by an $18.25 million grant from California’s Active Transportation Program awarded to the county to finish the trail.

“(These) are dollars well spent with respect to advancing this project,” said county Public Works Department project manager Aaron Yonker.

The county is working on a tightening deadline, though. Certain state requirements must be met by February 2025 in order to keep the funding.

Pressed for time by the slowly but surely approaching expiration of its grant funding, the county is pushing forward with its plan.

A cyclist glides by fossil-filled Monterey shale on the Bob Jones Trail on Sept. 22, 2023. The rocks were on the ocean floor about 14 million years ago, then uplifted to the surface by plate tectonics, according to a trail interpretive marker. The county wants to complete the trail from Avila Beach to San Luis Obispo but now will likely need to alter the route around at least one property whose owner has refused to sell a sliver of his land.

The county is still in negotiations with Bunnell over the rights to use his land, Yonker said, but is continuing to pursue agreements with other landowners in the meantime.

“We’re continuing to work towards getting a successful resolution with many property owners,” Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg said.

Bunnell seems to be the only apparent roadblock, and proponents of the project remain optimistic.

“We are demonstrating that the neighborhood is working with us,” Ortiz-Legg said. “We’re confident that he will come around.”

Land use easements allow for new development

A total of $458,300 in easements were approved at Tuesday’s meeting, funded entirely by the transportation grant funds.

Perpetual land use and temporary construction easements were made to the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo, the city of San Luis Obispo, and private property owners of land along the intended pathway. The agreements allow for three years of construction time and indefinite access to the lands to use as a public multi-use pathway.

The easements were made in perpetuity, meaning they do not expire, allowing for construction to begin at any time.

The Octagon Barn in San Luis Obispo is envisioned as a future trailhead for the Bob Jones Trail.
The Octagon Barn in San Luis Obispo is envisioned as a future trailhead for the Bob Jones Trail.

At least four parcels of land are within the northern part of the path near the Octagon Barn trailhead.

The remainder of the payments were made for rights to access and modify a state-owned cattle trail that runs through multiple private properties in the southern section of the trail near San Luis Bay Drive.

Other options for trail designs abandoned

Alternative path designs that would avoid Bunnell’s property were previously being considered, but the board ultimately rejected them over safety and feasibility concerns.

“We did take a look at different alternatives because we are in a timeline crunch with those funds,” Yonker said, but the county is now, yet again, pursuing the original trail alignment.

A number of other options were discussed, including taking the project to the other side of Highway 101 along Ontario Road to bypass Bunnell’s parcel, Yonker said. Another solution called for developing a barrier-protected path on the highway’s shoulder for a brief stretch.

Mary and Bruce Williams of San Luis Obispo walked the Bob Jones Trail five times a week between Avila Beach and the parking area at Highway 101. They would like to see the trail expanded, they told The Tribune on Sept. 22, 2023.
Mary and Bruce Williams of San Luis Obispo walked the Bob Jones Trail five times a week between Avila Beach and the parking area at Highway 101. They would like to see the trail expanded, they told The Tribune on Sept. 22, 2023.

The Board of Supervisors voted to stick with the original design in May, prompting county staff to continue negotiating with Bunnell and other property owners to sell their land for the trail.

Even so, Yonker said that no ideas are off the table.

“Our goal is to complete this project within the grant cycle,” said Yonker. “We’re considering all options moving forward.”