California State Parks advances plan to create new park in Carmel.

California State Parks is looking to reshape the visitor experience at Carmel River State Beach by creating a new state park that would encompass both coastal and inland areas of the Point Lobos Ranch property. On June 1, stakeholders met for an open house at the Rancho Cañada Golf Club to discuss options for the Carmel Area State Parks general plan.

“People told us they really wanted more conservation and the preservation of open space,” says Steve Bachman, a senior planner with California State Parks’ Monterey District. “After receiving hundred of comments last year, we’ve addressed that.”

State Parks first started planning a new state park in the fall of 2011, and officials are in the process of developing a draft general plan and an environmental impact report, which are due by the end of the year.

Past proposals included a zip line on the foothills of the Santa Lucia Mountains on Point Lobos Ranch. “We got the message loud and clear, people didn’t want that,” Bachman says.

While many want to improve the parking situation and traffic that sometimes comes to a halt on Highway 1 in Carmel, others say any new infrastructure will only exacerbate the problem, even the proposed creation of a 150-car parking lot.

“I don’t think we need a state park and more infrastructure,” says Kate Novoa, a 30-year Big Sur resident who runs the blog Big Sur Kate. “We’re already over-capacity. The last thing we need is to accommodate more people.”

The deadline for public comment (email plan.general@parks.ca.gov) on the proposed plan is June 15.