We are blessed to live near the largest stretch of undeveloped coastline remaining in
Southern California, the Gaviota Coast.
It’s a pleasure to drive through and a special treat to walk through.
Unfortunately, most of it is for sale. For Big Bucks.
From rookie agents to veteran brokers, they all have the fantasy of selling a big ranch
on the Gaviota Coast and cashing in, for a big payday, similar to winning the lottery…
That’s nothing new of course. It’s the same story all over the world.
Find the most naturally beautiful, serene and perfect place in the world, and there’ll be a
line of potential developers, hoping to improve upon it.
And more importantly, make a quick buck.
While enjoying my pleasant Spring drive one day, I saw this happening.
I knew there were homes proposed for this parcel, but didn’t think it was a done deal yet….
I found out later the developers need to do some kind of “improvements” to retain their permits.
But, more than that, they were making a big wide path for their upcoming event.
The coast this time of year is especially spectacular. Everything is blooming and alive
and the birds and the bees are singing and buzzing.
Unfortunately, there was another noise this particular Saturday that wasn’t pleasant at all,
and it overpowered all the beautiful, natural sounds.
It was the sound of a private helicopter.
Hired by real estate agents to show potential buyers the expanse of the land they were offering.
It was constantly circling overhead, giving our afternoon walk the feel of a military mission.
Our little hike seemed even more like a conflict when a Rent-a-Cop made a bee line for us as
soon as we entered the property. He did not look happy, with a serious scowl on his face.
Officer Stadanko escorted us to the trail, as he was instructed to do by his superiors,
not saying more than a few words.
With a smile, I asked him if the party was open to the public, but he only mumbled something about
me taking his picture. Still not sure if he wanted me to, or not….
We continued on our merry way, with the constant thumping of rotor blades in our heads.
When we got to the old oil company road, things got even more surreal.
Brand new ATV’s, loaded with glamorous peeps
dressed like they were going to the Kentucky Derby kept whizzing by.
Military vehicles, a chopper circling overhead and fancy folks ; it was like we were at war with Beverly Hills!
They were being carted to and from this lovely picnic spot on the bluffs.
I guess the desired thought process would be,
“Such a beautiful and pristine setting, we should build a big house here.”
They had imaginary photos of your future dream home complete with floor plans.
We pondered long and hard, but we just didn’t dig the vibe of the house at all.
Way too Post Modern Barnish for our liking….Must have been designed by Frank Lloyd Wrong 😉
We made ourselves comfortable for a moment, but we knew our attire was lacking.
So we decided to beat it before the next load of aristocrats was dumped off.
We made it down to the beach to enjoy our picnic…..
….. all the while, potential developers buzzed overhead.
Like vultures, waiting to move in…..
Of course, we’ve got nothing against realtors, some of our best friends are in the real estate biz.
But when they want to sell a place that we have loved our whole life, when they want allow a carpetbagger
to tarnish the pristine coastal wilderness that generations of folks have enjoyed, just to make a buck,
we gotta hope they fail. Sorry about it…..
Here’s a link to the group that put on the gala event.
An article in the Montecito Journal raved about the event and said it was located
“just a tiara toss or two north of the Ritz-Carlton Bacara”.
I just tossed my cookies….
They really were from Beverly Hills! In fact, the guy that put this on is Paris Hilton’s daddy.
Here’s a link to their website,
If you want to help save the Gaviota Coast from development, check out this website.
