FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 27, 2025
Contact: Liv O’Keeffe, California Native Plant Society, lokeeffe@cnps.org
Sacramento, CA—The California Native Plant Society (CNPS), the Nipomo Action Committee (NAC), and NKT Development have reached a conditional settlement regarding the Dana Reserve Specific Plan in San Luis Obispo County.
The settlement concerns a proposed development located southeast of the City of Arroyo Grande on an approximately 288-acre site, which would involve the removal of oak woodland and chaparral habitat, including that of the newly described Nipomo Mesa manzanita (Arctostaphylos nipumu). A recent study published in the academic journal PhytoKeys identifies Nipomo Mesa manzanita as a rare species native only to the Nipomo Mesa.
The agreement incorporates significant mitigation for offsite biological mitigation to support long-term manzanita conservation, managed by the California Native Plant Society. All environmental mitigation funding will be directed back into the community for manzanita conservation on the Nipomo Mesa. With the revised plan, an additional 10% of oak trees and 3% of manzanita on the project site will remain intact as well.
“Our chapter has advocated all along for balanced development on this site—allowing for homes and retaining portions of the oak woodlands, rare species, and maritime chaparral,” said Melissa Mooney of the CNPS San Luis Obispo Chapter. “The Nipomo Mesa is a unique place, an ancient sand dune with a very specialized natural community and a rare manzanita that occurs nowhere else. We fought hard to save this habitat.”
Amid a global extinction crisis, California leads the nation for the number of plant species at risk for extinction. “As we grapple with pressing human needs, we also must take these sobering statistics seriously, doing everything we can to protect rare and threatened plants before they are gone forever,” said CNPS Executive Director Dr. Jun Bando.
Manzanita and oak trees and are what Ecologist Doug Tallamy calls “keystone species,” meaning they support a disproportionate amount of life in the ecosystems where they occur. This distinction is one reason Assemblymember Steve Bennett (D-Ventura) introduced AB 581 this year, which would make the more common bigberry manzanita (Arctostaphylos glauca) the official state shrub.
“We worked tirelessly in this settlement process with all parties,” said Alison Martinez, Director of the Nipomo Action Committee in a joint news release addressing community impacts with NKT Development. “We appreciate all the work and support of our community members and are ready to move forward. This settlement will provide significant financial resources to address future priorities of our community. I anticipate this settlement, as agreed, will now proceed through the county approval process”
The revised Dana Reserve Specific Plan now returns to the County of San Luis Obispo for review and approval.
###
California Native Plant Society is a statewide nonprofit organization that protects California’s native plants and their natural habitats through science, education, stewardship, gardening, and advocacy. CNPS has more than 13,000 members and 36 chapters supporting its mission throughout California and Baja California, Mexico. Learn more at cnps.org.
The post Parties Reach Conditional Settlement for Proposed Nipomo Mesa Development appeared first on California Native Plant Society.
