A web of agricultural communities, the Santa Maria Valley is surrounded on all sides by thousands of acres of pristine, open land. Unfortunately for hikers, bikers, and runners, almost none of it is permitted for recreational use.
Now, a grassroots movement comprised of local outdoor-minded residents, calling themselves the Santa Maria Valley Open Space Partnership, is looking to reverse the trend. Luis Escobar, a runner, photographer, and coach at St. Joseph High School, is heading the group.
“We’re the largest city in the county,” Escobar said. “We’re surrounded by open space and miles of trails, but none of it is available to the public. Every other city and town around us has some sort of recreational open space or public trail, but we don’t.”
For years, locals have hiked and jogged along unofficial trails on Orcutt Hill, in the Rice Ranch planned community, with the understanding that the area was open to the public. They experienced few problems, except for the occasional rancher or oil worker, who would notify them if they were close to cattle or oilfields.
Recently, however, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department deputies began patrolling the area, issuing tickets to dozens of hikers for trespassing, and sending the message they weren’t welcome anymore. The department cited complaints by the land’s private owners, worried about erosion and damage, as reasons for the closure.
Monica Wright, a member of the Open Space Partnership who frequented the Orcutt foothills for years, was ticketed while walking with a friend.
“I was hiking where I had always hiked before,” she said. “We were chit-chatting and an officer drove down a road that a patrol officer shouldn’t have been on. … He confronted us and gave us tickets.”
Wright’s citation was eventually dropped in court, as were a few others issued to hikers, but confusion remains in the community about what’s private and what’s public.
The same week deputies began cracking down at Rice Ranch, Escobar was preparing his cross-country team to run at Waller Park, when he was told by a park supervisor that he wouldn’t be allowed to race there until he paid a $325 permitting fee and provided insurance for the athletes.
Fed up, Escobar created the Open Space Partnership group page on Facebook, which has since grown to more than 100 members. Its purpose, he said, is to inform government agencies that there’s a dedicated community that believes running, walking, and hiking shouldn’t be against the law.
“Our goal is to work cooperatively with the property owners and the county and Sheriff’s Department,” Escobar said. “We’re not a mob. We’re just people who want to walk with their dogs.”
The group grabbed the attention of county supervisors Joni Gray and Steve Lavagnino, as well as officials from county parks department. Representatives for the supervisors and members of the group held a community meeting at Waller Park on Oct. 7 to discuss creation of a safe and legal trail system in the Orcutt area.
The partnership is using a section of the Orcutt Community Plan, passed by the county in 1997, as a basis for the system. The plan contains a 24-page section describing a network of trails for the Orcutt area that has yet to be fully implemented.
“It’s in writing,” Escobar said. “It’s physically there. The trails that are described in the Orcutt Community Plan exist. I walk on them every day, but it hasn’t been initiated and recognized and legalized.”
Escobar said county officials appear supportive of the idea and are open to cooperating on a solution. As of press time, representatives with Supervisor Lavagnino’s office were scheduled to hike Orcutt Hill on Oct. 25 to examine the feasibility of public trails there.
Hikers and mountain bikers in the Santa Maria and Orcutt area currently have few options for their activities, they say. Many enjoy Las Flores Ranch, but find the park too restrictive; it’s only open at certain hours, there are fees, the trails are short, and dogs aren’t allowed off leash.
The road to Point Sal is another area frequented by hikers, but it’s far from Orcutt and there are restrictions on bicycles, dogs, and off-roading, and the road is subject to intermittent closures.
Due to the lack of local access, hikers said they must make the drive to San Luis Obispo or Santa Barbara, cities that have incorporated open space into their planning. Members of the Open Space Partnership say they’d prefer their money to be spent locally.
Chuck Kossuth, a mountain biking enthusiast who lives near Rice Ranch, said he was planning a ride to celebrate his upcoming birthday, but it wouldn’t benefit his community.
“We’re going to finish that mountain bike ride, and then it’s time for beers and cheeseburgers,” he said. “That money’s going to go to the Paradise Store down by Red Rock, or into the San Luis Obispo tax coffers, where maybe we could have some sort of system here that’s actually supported by local merchants.”
The partnership is looking to incorporate “passive and spontaneous public space” into a trail plan, allowing for public use without reservations or paying a fee. They intend to model the plan after Bishop Peak near San Luis Obispo, which is close to residential neighborhoods and open at all times.
According to Partnership members, private landowners have expressed concern about liability in the event hikers are injured on their property. Rick Corbo, an attorney who frequented Rice Ranch before the citations began, said they have nothing to fear.
“The county attorneys went over this, and there’s immunity here for the landowners,” Corbo said.
Corbo, who helped start the Woof PAC dog park at Waller Park, said he hopes the Orcutt Hill area can be reopened.
“I love hiking with my dogs, and you can’t do that here now,” he said. “That’s something we really miss.”
Escobar said he’s been offered a spot on the county’s Riding and Hiking Trails Advisory Committee, literally giving him a seat at the county’s table. He said there are plans to turn the partnership into a nonprofit organization, which would improve and maintain the trails if necessary.
“We’re not asking for anything extraordinary. We’re just asking to initiate the Orcutt Community Plan as it’s written,” Escobar said. “We’re ready, and I don’t see why it can’t happen, and I don’t see why it shouldn’t happen.”
Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas walks where he wants, which is downstairs to get coffee. Contact him at jthomas@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 27 – Nov 3, 2011.
