GSA Completes Unacceptable Sale of 1352 Lighthouse Ave. Despite Community Opposition

The Federal Government’s General Services Administration has sold the former National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration property at 1352 Lighthouse Avenue in Pacific Grove.

It was recently transferred to private buyers for $4.8 million after escrow closed on June 6, 2022.See this recent story in the Herald.

This, despite –

•   The City of Pacific Grove passing resolutions in 2012, 2021 and 2022 requesting a public benefit conveyance of the property to be used for marine scientific research and education.

•   Congressman Jimmy Panetta requesting the property be taken off the auction block and “transferred in a manner consistent with retaining public benefit.” In another letter, Panetta brings up security issues pursuant to the building's sensitive location.

•   More than 2200 residents, including leading oceanographers, marine biologists and other scientists, signing a petition that the property be used for marine scientific research and education, as required in the Pacific Grove Local Coastal Program and the California Coastal Commission.

•   The California Coastal Commission pointing out to the General Services Administration that it failed to adequately disclose to potential buyers the restricted uses of the property as set out in the Pacific Grove Local Coastal Program. The Coastal Commission required that specific disclosures be made before approving the sale, and the General Services Administration knowingly withheld that information from potential buyers, including those who have now purchased the property.

•   A gathering at the site last month of members of the Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation (OCEN) and area residents, with Tribal Chairwoman Louise Ramirez identifying the land as a tribal “cemetery.” OCEN asserts that the land should not be further disturbed in any way.

•   The building's acclaimed Blue Seas, Green Seas mural created by Guggenheim-honored Alaskan artist Ray Troll. Identified by many as a national treasure, this irreplaceable mural was commissioned a dozen years ago with tax-payer money provided, ironically enough, by the NOAA Preserve America Initiative – which challenges federal agencies to increase efforts to preserve and showcase federally-managed historic resources and to foster tourism in partnership with local communities.

•   The Monterey Audubon Society identifying the property’s forested acres as the site of the return of nesting Western Bluebirds to Pacific Grove in 2012 after an absence of nearly a century. Bluebirds can now be seen along the coastal zone, further establishing the property’s immense importance for conserving biodiversity.

Hope remains that the property can be preserved. If you feel strongly about these issues – including COAST's mission for ocean science and art, as well as the ancestral rights, archaeology and conservation of the property's Indigenous wild acres, and saving its brilliant sea murals – please immediately communicate your concerns to our local newspapers and publications (Letter to the Editor), the City of Pacific Grove, the California Coastal Commission, and our Congressman Jimmy Panetta.
 
Thank you for your ongoing support,

COAST Steering Committee