San Simeon Point: Natural paradise or the next Pebble Beach?

"We are trespassing now," Hawley said on the other side of the fence.

Hawley postponed leaving for a vacation Friday so he could show yet another reporter the spectacular piece of property that the Hearst Corp. plans to develop with an upscale resort and 27-hole golf course being billed as the next Pebble Beach.

As he walked along a path lined with eucalyptus trees and cow pies, Hawley talked about stewardship of the land.

"I think this transcends property rights -- it shouldn't be diced up and eliminated from the public trust," he said. "This is the kind of area people gather around and say, 'Uh uh, the pavement stops here.'"

On the left side of the trail a sparkling view of San Simeon pier glistened through the trees. On the right lay a lush green meadow blanketed by native orange monkey flowers and studded with Monterey pine trees.

As he headed out toward the point, Hawley described native flowers and plants and talked about the wildlife that lives in the Monterey pine, cypress and eucalyptus trees planted by William Randolph Hearst.

Taking a path that turned inland, away from the coastal bluff, Hawley stopped when he reached a clearing in the pines where the Hearst Corp. plans to build the hotel.

The smell of wild sage filled the air. Tall green coyote brush grew in profusion, along with occasional tufts of coastal lupine.

"This is a national treasure. It's right in our back yard. We have become used to it -- blasé about it," Hawley said.

Moving off the path, Hawley climbed up a rocky outcropping. Worn in the rocks were two bowl-shaped depressions formed long ago by Chumash Indians grinding food.

And then for the grand finale, Hawley led the way through the edge of the forest and out onto a flat, short stretch of coastal blufftop that drops off dramatically to a rocky shoreline.

The edge of the point offered stunning views of the San Luis Obispo County coastline to the north and south.

"That's where the golf course is going," he said, pointing northward to an expanse of coast covered with dry brown grass and scrubby salt-whipped plants.

Fingering a stubby, endangered plant called a compact cobweb thistle, Hawley explained how bumblebees land in the purple flowers at dusk and wait for the petals to close around them and provide shelter during the night.

"Bumblebees -- that's their home. It's all over this property," he said of the thistle. "I love to play golf, but there's places where golf has no business," Hawley added.

The Approval Process

The Hearst Corp. proposal now winding its way through a slow, complicated development process calls for the golf course and up to 650 motel rooms in four phases and three separate locations.

The company also wants to build enough housing for 1,000 employees in the small, tourist-oriented town of San Simeon.

The most controversial part of the proposal involves the land across Highway 1 from the entrance to the Hearst Castle visitors' center.

The Hearst Corp. plans to build 350 hotel rooms, a conference center, restaurants, tennis courts, a health center and pools on San Simeon Point. The golf course would be next to the resort.

Jay Rockey, an attorney for the Hearst Corp., said company officials did not want him to discuss the project.

Nearly 1,000 North Coast residents have signed a petition asking that all proposed hotels, commercial development and the golf course be built on the east side of the highway, away from the ocean.

San Simeon Point, which covers about 60 acres, and the coastal bluffs to the north should be kept in an agricultural designation, the petition reads.

To date, the Hearst Corp. has not applied for the permits it needs to build the sprawling resort complex.

What is now being wrangled over is a hefty 1,000-page document called the North Coast Area Plan Update, which is basically a 20-year vision for development in the northern part of San Luis Obispo County.

If the Hearst Corp. development proposal is approved in concept in the area plan update, it doesn't mean it's time to crank up the bulldozers.

"It's a substantial commitment on the part of the county and the state Coastal Commission," said senior county planner John Hofschroer. "It gives them a foot in the door."

But it isn't a passport to develop, the planner added.

The Hearst Corp. owns 77,000 acres, nearly half of the 143 square miles of the North Coast planning area.

Before the plan is finished, it will need approval from the county Planning Commission, the Board of Supervisors, and ultimately, the state Coastal Commission.

The North Coast Advisory Council, an elected group that reports to the Board of Supervisors, has recommended against any development on the west side of Highway 1.

County planning staff recommended the hotel be moved slightly further inland from where the Hearst Corp. wants it.

But on June 17, the county Planning Commission voted 3-to-2 to approve the hotel and golf course concept as proposed by the Hearst Corp. on San Simeon Point. The area plan update will come before the Planning Commission on Aug. 8 for a final checkoff.

Hawley, who is the vice chairman of the North Coast Advisory Council, said he was outraged with the commission's vote.

"They in fact moved (the hotel) even closer to the ocean. They in essence slapped the face of the community, and they don't even live up here," he said.

The area plan update is expected to come before the county Board of Supervisors this fall, and be sent on to the Coastal Commission by January, Hofschroer said.

County Supervisor Bud Laurent, whose district includes San Simeon, said he has not yet taken a position on the development proposal.

"It wouldn't be appropriate. I have to keep as open a mind as possible," he said.

Some development is probably inevitable on the west side of the highway, however, Laurent said.

"There will be some who want nothing to happen there (on the point), but that's probably not going to happen," he said.

"There's some beautiful property there, and it deserves to be treated gently and wisely," Laurent added.

Hearst Corp. officials, who declined comment last week, have pledged to create an environmentally sensitive golf course.

Johnny Miller, a PGA Tour pro turned golf course designer, provided the preliminary plans for the course.

During a tour of the Hearst property in May, Miller had three words to say about the proposed course: "Drool, drool, drool."

"It has golf written all over it," he told a Telegram-Tribune reporter. "It's going to be a very special course and I know it will be done in a very sensitive manner."

A 27-hole golf course on the Hearst property could rival the course at Pebble Beach, a renowned Carmel resort that attracts more than 200,000 visitors a year.

The project could bring up to $3 million a year in tax revenues to the county, and provide an annual payroll of about $13 million, Hearst officials say.

A brochure produced by Hearst in December states: "The Hearst Corp. has been an outstanding steward of its coastal property for more than 130 years. Hearst has been planning the resort since 1977. Hearst has strived for excellence by retaining highly qualified experts and consultants who have worked literally decades to help Hearst make careful, sound decisions on this resort development."

Gearing for battle

He successfully piqued the attention of the Los Angeles Times, which ran a front-page story on the Hearst development proposal June 30. A week later, the San Jose Mercury News picked up the story.

"I just spent the whole morning with a Wall Street Journal reporter," he said Friday. "This is not just a little San Luis Obispo issue. It's an international issue."

"That was my mission, to get (the story) out of the county," Hawley added. "There's a lot of apathy here, and when they finally wake up, it's too late."

The Cambria resident has also been contacted by CNN and Newsweek magazine, which have both told Hawley they plan to run stories on the proposed development this week.

Hawley hopes the outside attention will bring pressure on local officials and the state Coastal Commission to protect the property.

He also wants to mobilize environmentalists across the country to rally against the proposed project.

"Since that article came out in the L.A. Times, I've gotten calls from all over the place saying they would be willing to help pro-bono," Hawley said.

Attorneys, geologists and environmentalists have volunteered to help in any way they can.

"It's not a done deal by a long shot," he said of the project.

It is the state Coastal Commission that will have the final say on the Hearst Corp. development plans.

The commission was formed to make sure projects that get developed in the coastal zone are in keeping with the state Coastal Act.

That act is meant to protect access to a limited public resource, the state's coastline.

With the recent major shift toward private property rights on the state Coastal Commission, however, many people are concerned that coastal protection is a thing of the past.

"I understand how people would be worried about that," said Steve Guiney, a coastal planner for the state Coastal Commission. "Certainly in terms of San Luis Obispo County and perhaps statewide, this will be a test of the Coastal Act and coastal protection policies," he added.