SLO County won’t redesign Bob Jones Trail as it races to convince landowners to cooperate

For a decade, San Luis Obispo County has been working to connect the the city to the sea via the Bob Jones Trail — but the clock is ticking on the project, and at least one property owner could block the county from building a section of the trail on his land.

County staff originally designed a 4.5-mile pathway to link the Octagon Barn in SLO to the existing Bob Jones Trail in Avila Beach. Aside from the recreation opportunities, the project is important because it allows folks to commute to work and school safely by bike.

The county must meet state guidelines to keep a $18.2 million grant from the state’s Active Transportation Program for the project.

The project halted because at least one property owner, Ray Bunnell, refused to sell a sliver of his San Luis Obispo land to accommodate the original trail design.

In order to keep the grant, the county must complete land acquisitions and the state must approve the project design for construction by February 2025.

County staff prepared an alternative design that relocates part of the trail to Ontario Road to avoid Bunnell’s property — but California Transportation Commission staff said that design likely doesn’t have enough safety features to keep the grant funding.

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 to stick with the original design, prompting county staff to continue negotiating with Bunnell and other property owners to sell their land for the trail — hopefully in time to meet the grant deadline.

Supervisor John Peschong recused himself from the item because he accepted a campaign donation from the Bunnell family. Supervisor Debbie Arnold dissented.

“We can’t blame Mr. Bunnell for holding his ground,” Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg said. “On the other hand, as I said to him: ‘I am sorry that you have property that runs along the 101.’ That fact is that we cannot have safe routes, which is very important in this day and age for our electric bikes, for transport for workers, for our tourism business — this is why everybody and their brother wants to see this trail be completed.”

County supervisor won’t force property owner to sell land for trail, blocking the project

The original design calls for the trail to follow San Luis Obispo Creek on the east side of Highway 101.

It would start at the Octagon Barn parking lot and run adjacent to South Higuera Street until it reaches Clover Ridge Lane. The path would then pass through fields parallel to Highway 101, cross under San Luis Bay Drive, then cross under Highway 101 along the creek before connecting with the existing trail parking lot on Ontario Road

This trail design keeps users off and away from Highway 101.

The problem is, a piece of the proposed trail clips Ray Bunnell’s 142-acre property. The county asked Bunnell to sell a 1.36-acre easement on the edge of his land, but after a long negotiation process, he refused.

The 1.36-acre plot is away from residential and ranching facilities on the property, and 1.1 acres already include utility and floodplain easements that prevent development on the plot.

The county could force Bunnell to sell, but it would require four votes for the board to pass a Resolution of Necessity initiating an eminent domain process.

That idea is dead in the water, however, because Peschong cannot vote on the resolution due to the campaign donation, and Supervisor Debbie Arnold said she doesn’t support using eminent domain to acquire land for this project.

When the county first started pursuing trail development, the board decided it wouldn’t use eminent domain for “recreational projects,” Arnold said. She considers the trail a recreational project, so she opposed forcing Bunnell to sell his plot to the county.

“It would be a sad thing for us as a county to start using eminent domain on private property owners,” Arnold said.

Ortiz-Legg, however, said the Bob Jones Trail is not just a recreational project. While the trail could be used for recreation, it also would offer a safe route for bikers commuting to work and school between SLO and South County.

“If this was a park, I could see the opposition,” Ortiz-Legg said. “It’s not a park, its a multi-modal transport system that runs along the 101.”

Trail redesign not feasible, county staff said

An alternative design would move a portion of the trail to Ontario Road to avoid Bunnell’s property.

The county would narrow the vehicle traffic lanes on Ontario Road to make room for Class II bike paths in both directions, Diodati said. Trail users traveling on Ontario Road would have to cross South Higuera Street three times, where the county would install protective measures including cross walks and flashing lights, he said.

The California Transportation Commission would need to approve the new design in order for the county to keep the $18.2 million grant, however.

Unfortunately, commission staff told the county that the new design likely does not have enough safety features to keep the grant funding. The county could turn one lane of Ontario Road into a Class I bike lane and the other lane into one-way vehicle traffic, the commission said — but this would increase vehicle traffic congestion in the area, reduce evacuation access for the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, and county staff couldn’t finish the design by the grant deadline, Diodati said.

County staff recommended that the board stick with the original design and continue negotiating with property owners like Bunnell to acquire the necessary land for the trail.

“We do think it’s feasible to move forward,” Diodati said.