As plans progress to expand Carmel-area parks, many local residents fume.

On March 24, just after 9am, a convoy of vans and cars rolls out of the former Rancho Cañada Golf Club en route to Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. To some passengers, the many vehicles may serve as a metaphor.

The aim of the day is for the California Department of Parks and Recreation to involve the public in developing a general plan for Carmel-area state parks.

The tour, led by state parks officials and members of the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District, the Big Sur Land Trust and Point Lobos Foundation, stops at four State Parks properties in the area, two of which have yet to be open to the public – Point Lobos Ranch and San Jose Creek, both east of Point Lobos, across Highway 1.

Most striking is San Jose Creek, a secluded canyon with a trail that will one day connect to Palo Corona Regional Park. The property, along with Point Lobos Ranch, was purchased by Big Sur Land Trust in 1993, then transferred to State Parks in 2003.

BSLT’s director of conservation, Rachel Saunders, speaks to people on the tour and says it’s a source of frustration to the land trust that these lands are not yet open to the public. “The wildflowers in this area are psychedelic in springtime,” she adds.

In the afternoon, State Parks commissioners convene for a workshop about the general plan back at Rancho Cañada, and the mood becomes decidedly less rosy.

Officials from the three partnering organizations – State Parks, Big Sur Land Trust and Point Lobos Foundation – introduce the workshop by emphasizing the collaborative nature of the process and their vision of connectivity between the various properties. They say they also want to ensure the parks don’t get “loved to death.” State Parks officials envision new parking areas in the region as part of a plan to make visitors more diffuse. But many in the audience oppose anything that would potentially draw more visitors to an area that is already heavily trafficked.

When the floor opens for public comment, about 30 residents get up to speak, nearly all of whom express alarm about Point Lobos being overrun by outsiders, and increasing traffic on Highway 1. For most who speak, the idea of adding another state park to the area is upsetting, and many suggest a reservation system at Point Lobos that would limit the daily number of visitors.

A handful of Native Americans add their thoughts, emphasizing the importance of preserving the cultural resources of the future state park at Point Lobos Ranch and San Jose Creek, and to advocate that the park be named after its Rumsen name: Ishxenta Village.

There are few speakers who strongly support the idea of the proposed park network, including MPRPD board member John Dalessio.

“What you’re hearing is a very white group that lives near a park that doesn’t want other people around it,” he said. “The parks are for all of us.”

State Parks officials expect a draft general plan and environmental impact report to be ready by late fall. The process is certain to remain contentious, but MPRPD General Manager Rafael Payan takes an optimistic view: “Sometimes in opposition you come out with a really nice diamond because you rub the rock the right way.”