Texas-based landowner Ray Bunnell was thrust into the spotlight when he refused to sell a sliver of land to San Luis Obispo County to complete the Bob Jones Trail.

But he wasn’t the only proprietor fighting the project.

The county has spent more than a decade trying to connect the existing Bob Jones Trail in Avila Beach to the Octagon Barn in San Luis Obispo — and it’s been an uphill battle.

Bridging the 4.5-mile gap in the trail would allow walkers and bikers to safely commute between the city and the sea.

The trail as designed would run through eight properties and across a Caltrans-owned cattle trail used by six other properties, according to the county’s Right of Way Unit agent Valerie Moore. During negotiations, one of those property owners relinquished their right to use the cattle trail, she said.

Five property owners, however, have refused to sell — effectively blocking the project, according to county documents obtained by The Tribune through a Public Records Act request.

The county can buy access to land on those properties in three ways, Moore said.

The first is a perpetual easement, which grants the county the right to use a piece of the property indefinitely. The second is a temporary easement, which allows the county to build on and use a portion of the property to store construction materials for up to three years.

The third is a cattle trail access rights modification agreement, which states that the county will own the land instead of Caltrans. The county will build the Bob Jones Trail over the cattle trail, but the nearby property owners will retain their right to use the cattle trail, Moore said.

In 2021, the city won a $18.25 million grant from the California Transportation Commission for the project — funding that the county used to purchase easements and cattle trail use agreements from eight property owners, records showed.

But the clock is ticking.

The county has until March 2025 to start construction to keep the grant, which means county staff must convince those five property owners to sell sooner rather than later to meet the deadline.

The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors will hear an update on the county’s options for the project at Tuesday’s board meeting.

Five property owners refuse to sell land for Bob Jones Trail

As of Monday, the county was still negotiating with five property owners — three of whom are suing the county over the trail.

Originally, four parties — Bunnell, Robert Kruse, Edward Pollard and James Warren — sued the county in 2021, saying that they were “unwilling to sell or donate a trail easement for the project,” the petition said.

Bunnell alleged that the trail would create noise, dust pollution and garbage, increase fire danger and attract homeless encampments — endangering the riparian corridor on his property, according to court documents.

Kruse, however, agreed to sell after a lengthy negotiation process with the county.

On Nov. 28, 2023, Kruse refused to sign a cattle trail agreement and referred Moore to the lawsuit. He used the trail frequently to move cattle, and he thought sharing it with the county would “be a big inconvenience,” Moore’s meeting notes said.

However, Kruse eventually decided to give up his accesses rights to the cattle trail entirely rather than coordinating with the county.

Kruse requested $25,000 for the sale on Feb. 22 and again on March 13, which the county finally agreed to on April 24.

Though Kruse agreed to sell to the county, he is still a party to the lawsuit, according to attorney Edwin Rambuski.

Also on Nov. 28, 2023, Moore called Sharon Pollard to discuss buying access to the cattle trail. Pollard staunchly opposed the idea, Moore’s meeting notes said.

“(She) mocked my use of the word ‘pathway’ and even corrected me and said ‘it’s a trail.’ She also suggested that it be built on the west side of the highway, and shared concerns about homeless people living on the trail,” Moore’s meeting notes said.

Meanwhile, the county offered Warren $1,500 for access to the part of the cattle trail he uses, but he has yet to agree to it, according to county documents.

As of Monday, the Pollards still hadn’t sold to the county, nor had Warren or Bunnell, and the lawsuit remained open.

Finally, the county offered Thomas Reynolds of Reynolds Resorts $22,300 for temporary construction and permanent access easements on his property, county documents showed, but he still had not signed the agreement as of Monday.

An upcoming hearing for the landowners’ lawsuit is set for Jan. 13 in Department 2 of the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court.

Meanwhile, the Baron Canyon Ranch Association had its own concerns with the trail. Baron Canyon Ranch is a gated community in San Luis Obispo just north of Avila Beach beside the proposed Bob Jones Trail.

Members of the association’s board worried that errant trail users would wander onto their property and tamper with a new well, Moore’s meeting notes said. They asked the county to protect the well and ensure that the cul-de-sac at the end of Monte Road would not be an access point for the trail, according to Moore’s meeting notes.

The county was still negotiating with the association as of Monday.

If the county loses the grant funding, it may have to return the money it already spent, according to a county staff report for Tuesday’s meeting.

As of Friday, the county had spent almost $1.4 million of the grant on engineering costs, including planning, design and land acquisition, the report said. The county had been reimbursed $803,257 from the grant — funding that may need to be returned if the grant expires.

San Luis Obispo County Parks and Recreation Department assistant director Shaun Cooper said the county will continue with the project whether or not it loses the grant funding.

The county would retain the easements it purchased and apply for additional funding to complete the project, he said.

County spent more than $458,000 on easements

As of Tuesday, the county had purchased $458,300 of easements and cattle trail access agreements from eight property owners.

The first property owner to agree to sell was Ronald Rinell, who owns land on South Higuera Street. The county bought a $500 temporary construction easement from him, according to an agreement he signed on June 30, 2023.

The second to agree was Steven Brett Whitaker, who sold a $1,500 cattle trail access rights modification agreement to the county. He signed the agreement on Feb. 14.

Whitaker was a strong supporter of the Bob Jones Trail. He told Moore that he “had hopes it would be completed when his kids were young so they could use it to go to Avila Beach, but they are in their 20s and have kids of their own,” Moore’s meeting notes from Nov. 22, 2023 said.

On March 6, the Colorado-based corporation Hobson Ranch Inc. agreed to sell the county a $17,100 easement and a $1,500 cattle access rights agreement.

Later, the county agreed to pay Dr. Sarjit and Rupinder Malli $29,000 for a perpetual easement and temporary construction easement on their Octagon Way property. The Mallis signed the agreement on March 11.

After much debate with Moore, Christopher Goodman sold the county a $9,400 perpetual easement agreement and a $1,500 cattle trail use agreement on April 5, the document said.

On June 13, 2023, Goodman shared concerns about homelessness and fire risk with Moore.

“Goodman got very upset and said that he is the one who has all the liability,” Moore’s negotiation notes said. “If the homeless start a fire, he will lose everything. He will lose his fire insurance.”

In April, the county purchased one perpetual easement and one temporary construction easement across three parcels on South Higuera Street for $67,700 from the city of San Luis Obispo. Mayor Erica Stewart signed the agreement on April 9.

Kruse was next, agreeing to a sale on April 24.

The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County, a longtime partner with the city on the Bob Jones Trail, then signed an agreement on June 24 — granting the county one perpetual easement and one temporary construction easement over two parcels. The county paid the Land Conservancy a total of $305,100 for the two easements.

The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the sale agreements on July 16, according to the meeting minutes.