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Grover Beach trying to create new city image

March 22, 2017

Grover Beach officials are trying to create a new image for the South County city that will attract businesses, development, tourism and new residents. Marijuana, as well the long-planned Grover Beach Lodge and Conference Center, factor prominently in the marketing strategy the city is considering.

During a Grover Beach City Council meeting Monday night, a consultant presented a draft economic development strategy. Grover Beach last updated its economic development strategy in 2008.

The draft strategy, which was presented by Matt Kowta of BAE Urban Economics, calls for exploring bringing marijuana businesses into Grover Beach and building the lodge and conference center to attract more visitors and capitalize on the city’s beach access. The lodge and conference center project has been discussed for decades, and it is still in the planning phase.

Last month, the Grover Beach Council voted unanimously to establish a marijuana business district in a 70-acre industrial zone located between Farroll Road, Highland Way, South 4th Street and South 13th Street. Initial plans only allow medical marijuana dispensaries to open in the area, but the district could include recreational pot shops when the state of California begins licensing them in 2018.

Grover Beach’s draft economic development strategy also calls for addressing the city’s highly visible homeless population, creating more family activities, expanding the city’s broadband network to increase internet speeds and launching marketing campaigns to build the image and awareness of the city. The draft strategy also suggests the city find ways to direct more people to Grover Beach from Highway 101.

According to Monday’s presentation, one of the obstacles to economic development in Grover Beach is the local rental market. The market rate for rental units is higher in Pismo Beach than in Grover Beach, which incentivizes development in the former South County city and not the latter.

Developers have about a 15.3 percent higher return on investment when building mixed-use projects in Pismo Beach, rather than in Grover Beach. Residential developments in Pismo Beach earn about 20.7 percent more return on investment than residential projects in Grover Beach.

The Grover Beach Council will deliberate and vote on the economic development plan at its next meeting.


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The beach at the end of Grand Avenue is Oceano State Beach and when you cross the creek to the north it becomes Pismo Beach. Grover never had a beach, which is what made the name change back in the late 90’s from Grover City to Grover Beach funny to all the old time locals.


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But Gordo It’s What Tom S. wanted , that ole Pipe smoking Knot head!They want to change Grover start By running all the dead wood out of town.


It was a joke in the 90’s & still is !


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I always thought the beach at the end of Grover was actually part of Grover Beach.


I also wonder who can afford to live here. There are no jobs to really support rents anywhere on the central coast. Have you all seen what is out there?


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What’ll be really nice is when the legal pot stores run up against the usual pot dealers. I’m guessing the pot store fantasy will last about 2 years. About the life span of most of their brains! (Now I’ll hear from the 5 who smoke every day and carry on successful lives……save it).


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This municipality has no beach, badly kept streets and rampant crime since the inception of the city. It should be obvious that it will always be “Grover City” and it has nothing to do with the ocean and everything to do with their blatant deception based on nothing but greed.


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Truthsayer, you are not. Grover Beach has of late had the lowest crime rate in the County. Check your facts lest you lie.


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the long-planned Grover Beach Lodge and Conference Center, factor prominently

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Ya, they’ve been talking about this thing for 15 years now. 15 friggin years to build one mediocre lodge. What a joke. So many good residents have given up on Grover. People have gotten old and died and this thing hasn’t even broken ground.


Grover’s main growth area right now is its homeless population. On a daily basis, there’s more homeless walking Grand Ave in Grover than there are good citizens. In a town that can’t even control the potholes.


In the 15 years Grover’s been working on this one beachside lot, the entire coast of California from San Diego to Malibu has been built out– and then again refurbished and updated.


Good luck with that lodge Grover. Give the homeless population a new place to hang out.


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