A park set along the bluffs of coastal San Mateo County could soon triple in size following a sizable donation from a local nonprofit.
The Peninsula Open Space Trust, or POST, is working with California State Parks to donate over 132 acres of coastal property in Pescadero to the agency, the Palo Alto-based environmental nonprofit confirmed to SFGATE via email. The donated land would add to the existing Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park, home to one of California’s tallest and oldest lighthouses.
“This will roughly triple the size of the iconic Pigeon Point Light Station Historic State Park, and we are delighted to be in a position to donate this land to the people of California and our visitors,” POST spokesperson Beatrice Kilat said in an emailed statement.
Once zoned for a luxury housing development, the soon-to-be-donated parcel has been in POST’s hands since the late 1990s, Bay Area News Group reported. Its transfer will grow the state park from 75 to 207 acres. The transfer was announced at a California State Parks public meeting on Monday, though it has not yet been finalized. The deal is subject to new regulations under Senate Bill 630, Kilat said, which aims to streamline the real estate acquisition process for state parks.
“We look forward to sharing more details as we get further along in the process,” California State Parks spokesperson Adeline Yee said in an email.
Lit in 1872, the 115-foot-tall Pigeon Point Lighthouse was closed to visitors in 2001 after a structural element in its tower collapsed. It is currently undergoing a $16 million renovation process, which is expected to be completed in spring 2027.
Along with the news of the Pigeon Point expansion, California State Parks announced plans to expand multiple state parks at Monday’s meeting, Bay Area News Group reported. Parks expected to benefit from future land transfers under the new Senate bill include Mount Diablo State Park, Big Basin Redwoods State Park and South Yuba River State Park.
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This article originally published at Once zoned for luxury homes, Bay Area park to soon triple in size.