SLO County to Discuss Cerro San Luis Night Hiking Program

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San Luis Obispo City Council may soon make its controversial night hike on Cerro San Luis Mountain permanent as part of its city law.

A pilot program has been in existence for three years.

Council continued its discussion from Tuesday’s meeting through November 9 to allow staff to further consider public comments regarding the environmental review of the matter.

The city’s winter night pilot program, from November to March, when daylight saving time is not in effect, could be adopted permanently as an ordinance in December of this year, if it is approved.

The board voted 3-2 to support further discussion of the issue at its Tuesday meeting. Council members Jan Marx and Deputy Mayor Carlyn Christianson, both opposed to a night-time hiking program, objected to moving forward.

The pilot program

Over the past three years, the pilot program has enabled the city to issue up to 65 permits per day for access to approximately 4.9 miles of trails within the SLO property in the 118-acre Cerro Nature Reserve San Luis (commonly known as Madonna Mountain) “from one hour after sunset until 8:30 p.m. when daylight saving time is not in effect.

The same schedule and permitting process are under consideration for an ongoing ongoing program.

During the city’s pilot program, a total of 3,160 permits were issued in the 2018-19 season, 2,747 permits were issued in the 2019-2020 season and 2,702 permits were issued in 2020 -2021, according to a report from municipal staff.

A total of 826 were for cyclists and 6,957 for hikers based on self-designation at the time of the permit reservation, the staff report notes.

“During the holiday season in December, however, permits were generally fully subscribed and (SLO) Ranger Service had to deny many interested parties access to the reserve at the trailhead and cases of non-compliance were followed up.” , added the staff report. .

An initial study and an environmental review were prepared for the project with the assistance of the city of the firm Rincon Consultants which concluded “that there is no substantial evidence, in light of the whole of the file before agency, that the project can have a significant effect. on the environment ”and therefore a full environmental review is not necessary.

But the city received extensive written correspondence ahead of its meeting on Tuesday to review the new ordinance – including a report from California Fish and Wildlife that the city has not had a chance to review – thus contributing to the delay in the discussion of the issue on November 9.

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The sun sets over Cerro San Luis. David Middlecamp [email protected]

The public intervenes

The city has received several letters of support and opposition to a night hiking program.

“We need to provide safe outdoor outlets for the community,” said Chris Malloy, SLO resident. “Mental health is a constant and growing problem. Providing better access to safe outdoor activities, like evening hours in Cerro San Luis, are simple steps we can take to provide these important outlets. Please keep it up.

The late Fred Collins, representing the Northern Chumash Tribal Council, wrote to the town on August 18 to oppose the winter program.

“The NCTC opposes any night hike with bright lights and the sound of human voices,” Collins said. “Human voices have interrupted the lifestyles of our wild animals. When I walk during the day, I can hear human voices over great distances, and I find most of the humans on our trails to be very loud.

Collins died on Oct. 1 after sending the letter in August, adding in the note: “The NCTC speaks for the voiceless, our animals and our little creatures.”

SLO resident Janine Rands said in a public comment Tuesday that the fires should ban nighttime use, and cited the nocturnal impacts of wildlife, saying that “we humans are in great need and great need. responsibility to hike during human time “.

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Beautiful thunderstorm clouds hover over Cerro San Luis after a break in the rain on Wednesday, November 27, 2019. Laura Dickinson [email protected]

Members of the SLO Council in opposition

Marx said the average resident cares deeply about protecting open spaces and opposes the ordinance.

“I think this is something that needs to be taken very seriously,” Marx said at the meeting. “I hope tonight the council has the courage to stand up and do the right thing.”

Marx called on the council to let animals such as pumas, deer, foxes, skunks and birds “recover and heal from this human intrusion that lasts three years after dark.”

Marx said night hiking and biking would violate the city’s promise to protect open spaces, as well as the city’s general plan policy, and set a bad precedent for trespassing on open spaces.

She also said it would cause night and light pollution through the use of flashlights from those recreating themselves on the trails.

Christianson added that a night hike policy “would tilt the city’s approach to our open space more towards human needs, then open space needs, and I disagree that this change would be. good for our city as a whole in the future. “

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Mountain lions explore the Irish Hills Nature Reserve at night in 2016. The town of San Luis Obispo said mountain lions are present on Cerro San Luis where people have hiked and biked after dark. during the winter as part of a pilot program. City of San Luis Obispo

SLO advice in support

SLO board member Andy Pease said the night hike with limited hours at one location is “a balance for us.”

Pease noted that several other trails in the city would be off-limits to night hikes.

“We were able to identify that maybe this is a suitable location,” Pease said. “I always support being able to move forward with the program. ”

Calling it a “difficult problem,” board member Michelle Shoresman said “we have over 7,000 acres of land that we have conserved, and I don’t think allowing night hiking for four months a year is essentially putting us down. in complete conflict with our with our conservation record.

Shoresman added, “Looking at the list of animals present… I don’t see any that are endangered.”

But she added that more data is needed to assess the presence of animals on Cerro San Luis.

“I wish we had more data and would support getting more data on it,” Shoresman said.

During the discussion, SLO’s Director of Natural Resources Bob Hill said that one of the reasons the city chose Cerro San Luis for its pilot program is because Highway 101 and the city lights already have more impact on the mountain than on other natural areas.

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Nick Wilson covers the city of San Luis Obispo and has been a reporter for The Tribune in San Luis Obispo since 2004. He also writes regularly on K-12 education, Cal Poly, Morro Bay and Los Osos. He is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and UC Berkeley and is originally from Ojai.

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