San Luis Obispo County beaches: Recognitions and threats

October 4, 2025

OPINION by KEITH T. GURNEE

As a resident of the Central Coast for more than 50 years, my family has loved this place. After all, what other areas have such beauty as San Luis Obispo County?

With its scenic hills, its diverse views of the Pacific Ocean, its great weather, and the small-town ambience of its coastal communities, our area has garnered serious national attention.

Magazines, newspapers, and tourist publications have recently ranked our county’s attributes near the top of many “lists” extolling the virtues of our coastline. We have become a national magnet for tourism.

Recognitions

The lists outlined below contain glowing remarks about our coastal communities that should give a boost to an already healthy tourist economy. But that economy could be threatened by the forces at work by energy companies that (a) covet our coast for windfarm developments and battery storage facilities and (b) the local politicians who support their efforts.

But before discussing the threats that face us, let’s confirm what these lists tell us:

1.   “USA Today” recently ranked Pismo Beach as its “best small-town beachfront community in the nation” crediting its distinctive Pismo Pier and its “award winning waterfront promenade” while touting its “scenic views, tasty food offerings, historical sites, and plenty of activities.” Morro Bay came in fifth place in its review making Morro Bay and Pismo Beach as “the only California towns to make a list.”

2.   Sunset magazine’s “Sunset Travel Awards” “ranked Pismo Beach and Avila Beach as the top two “most beautiful beaches in California”.

3.   In its evaluation of the top 10 beaches in the nation, “HomeToGo” extolled Avila Beach as its best beach in the entire United States calling it “a hidden gem as a vacation spot.”

4.   The “American Automobile Association” recognized Cayucos as “one of the best quaint coastal towns to visit in the West” calling it “the coolest little beach town.”

5.   “Yardbarker” called San Luis Obispo County as one of the best “perfect places for an outdoor getaway in the United States” citing its “great access to outdoor activities for hiking and surfing.”

6.   “Mixbook” ranked Cambria as the third best “peaceful spring break destinations for families in 2025.”

Amidst such praise, San Luis Obispo County’s waterfront communities have become some of the most popular California destinations and in the nation. But will they continue to be recognized and serve as the ongoing economic engine of these communities well into the future?

Threats

Given the forces that are currently at work in San Luis Obispo County and Sacramento, the answer to that question is no! Both local and state politicians as well as energy companies are determined to dramatically affect these thriving tourist destinations by impacting them with unsightly and hazardous industrial developments.

Indeed, Morro Bay and Avila Beach have become targets for massive industrial development while the entire coastline of San Luis Obispo County could become an unsightly corridor of up to 600 wind turbines stretching up into the sky at 1100 feet in height and floating over waters that are 4000 feet deep. The windmills would be twice the height of Morro Rock!

Then, there’s the Vistra Corp’s proposal to develop a 22-acre battery energy storage system on the site of the former Morro Bay power plant right next to the Embarcadero. This comes right on the heels of the disastrous Jan. 17 Moss Landing fire that consumed a similar lithium battery facility that took firefighters days to get under control.

These projects would forever change the character, the ambience, and the livability of our coastal communities.

While Assemblywoman Dawn Addis has thankfully introduced AB 303 that would give local governments the power to review and approve such facilities, action on this bill was continued indefinitely this past April. In checking with Addis’ office, it appears that the bill might be reconsidered in Jan. 2026.

While local attorney Saro Rizzo and Mandy Davis, president of REACT Alliance, are keeping a close watch on these projects, those of us who care about our coastal resources need to be vigilant in resisting these projects.

Should these projects be approved with the help of certain members of the SLO County Board of Supervisors, it’s highly doubtful that our county would ever again receive the strong recognition that our coastal communities have already received.

Part two of this commentary will address the particulars of these proposals and the local and state political forces behind them. Indeed, the local and state political races of 2026 will most certainly determine the fate of these projects and our coastline’s pitch. Stay tuned.

T. Keith Gurnee is a former city of San Luis Obispo councilman. He also served as the planning director for the city of Morro Bay where he obtained a grant from the California Coastal Conservancy for its comprehensive Coastal Waterfront Access Plan that included such projects as waterfront parks, trails, and Morro Bay’s Waterfront Promenade that its citizens and visitors enjoy today. As an urban designer, he designed the distinctive Pismo Pier after it was destroyed by the floods of 1983 and helped the city to obtain funding to build the Pier that was completed in 1986.