Chapman Estate Foundation, a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Public Benefit Corporation PO Box 3014, Shell Beach CA 93448
February 3, 2026
Subject: Public comment submission on Agenda Item 12.C: Declaration of City-Owned Property as Surplus Land and Implementation of Procedures Under the State of California Surplus Land Act and Making a Finding of Exemption under the California Environmental Quality Act (Graham) for the February 3, 2026 Pismo Beach City Council meeting
Dear Mayor Waage, Council Members, City Clerk Inderlied, and City Manager Jorge Garcia, This is to submit comment on behalf of the Chapman Estate Foundation regarding the above referenced item on today’s City Council agenda. The Chapman Estate Foundation appreciates the stewardship of the Chapman Estate by the City for the past twelve years and the opportunity that the Chapman Estate Foundation has been granted to operate the Estate for the public benefit, as a beautiful, irreplaceable community landmark and treasure, continuing Mr. Chapman’s philanthropic activities on the property.
As you know, it is the Foundation’s mission to protect, preserve and maintain the Estate for the community’s access and use, in the manner set forth in the contractual Distribution Agreement entered into by the City when it accepted the Estate from the Chapman Trust. Thank you for including a copy of that Distribution Agreement in your Board Packet. The acknowledgement of the contractual provisions under which the property was deeded to and accepted by the City should be the key driver in determining the future of the property. We realize that you are intricately familiar with these provisions. We submit these comments for the public record at this important time when the City is at a key juncture in determining the future of the Estate.
Mr. Chapman’s gift of the Estate to the community, held in trust for community benefit via the City, included very specific conditions. In accepting the property, the City agreed to these contractual provisions, which include:
A. Limitation to recreational and general public use
The property is restricted to recreational and general public use purposes. Specifically the agreement states that the City “Shall hold and administer the property primarily for recreational use and enjoyment of the general public.” The general public has certainly embraced this opportunity to enjoy the property gifted to the community by Mr. Chapman.
Letter to Council
Chapman Estate Foundation
February 3, 2026
B. Rezoning for recreational use
The Distribution Agreement requires the City to zone the property “in a manner that allows governmental use for recreational purposes”. The City Council adopted a resolution on April 20, 2021 that stated:
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Pismo Beach hereby directs staff to redesignate the Chapman Estate property for recreational uses through the Local Coastal Plan Update.
The City’s current draft General Plan/Local Coastal Plan update includes a “public facility” designation reflecting the property’s recreational uses, in accordance with the prior Council directive.
C. Preservation of the “Columbarium”
The Distribution Agreement states as a condition of the conveyance: “the portion of the property known as the Columbariam shall be kept intact and the names of the persons honored to have ashes interred must be preserved.”
D. Disposition of the Property - Private Non-Profit to Operate and Maintain the Property The City agreed as a provision of the Distribution Agreement to “use its best efforts to maintain and operate the property in perpetuity in the manner contemplated by this Agreement.” It is our understanding that the City determined that it could not be bound to perpetuity even though that was Clifford Chapman’s intention, and so a contractual provision was included in the Distribution Agreement that says that if the City ever decides not to keep the property, “it shall use its best efforts to identify one or more private nonprofit organizations which will continue to operate and maintain the property in conformity with the terms of this [Distribution] Agreement.” As such, a private nonprofit organization should in essence have a “first right of refusal.”
Declaration of Surplus Land
Due to the above specific contractual provisions under which the City accepted title to the Estate property, provisions that clearly restrict the use of the property for recreational purposes, require preservation of the Columbarium, and require a successor nonprofit entity to carry out benefactor Clifford Chapman’s Distribution Agreement provisions in the event the City does not retain the property, the alternative uses of the property referenced in this Resolution are contrary uses that conflict with the perpetual restrictions of the Distribution Agreement.
Offering the property to affordable housing entities and imposing a 15% affordable housing covenant for residential development is incompatible with the perpetual commitment to recreational public-use-only restrictions and the limitations outlined above. We realize that this requirement for housing has come down from the State HCD; nonetheless, we submit these comments for the public record to highlight the contractual restrictions of property use. We appreciate the City’s provision for “first priority” being given “to entities that agree to continue use of the property for park, open space or recreational purposes.” We suggest that this is the true only allowed use of the property under the terms of the Distribution Agreement.
Letter to Council
Chapman Estate Foundation
February 3, 2026
Requests.
We request that the Chapman Estate Foundation be listed as a park and recreation entity in the City of Pismo Beach and be included as an addressee on the mailing list for the Notices of Availability.
Further, in order to ensure disclosure of the contractual restrictions on the property use, we further request your consideration of the following:
1. Attach a copy of the Distribution Agreement to each Letter of Availability.
2. Modify the proposed Resolution to also attach the Distribution Agreement, which could be accomplished as follows:
Revise the fourth “Whereas” clause of the Resolution to read (proposed language in italics):
“WHEREAS, the City received title to this Property through a disposition agreement, depicted in Exhibit B (Distribution Agreement), with a restriction that the owner shall use the land for recreational and general public use purposes only;”
3. We request a copy of the mailing list for the Notices of Availability upon the commencement of the 60 day notice period.
Of course, because the mission of our Foundation is to preserve the Chapman Estate, it is our utmost interest to preserve the Estate for the community and carry out Mr. Chapman’s philanthropic intentions of community and charitable uses of the property, in a manner that adds value to the community of Shell Beach and the broader City of Pismo Beach and County of San Luis Obispo. The Estate has 100 years of local history, pristine coastal views, and is a landmark of the community that should be preserved.
We thank you for your continued stewardship of the Chapman Estate and for your time and consideration of these comments and requests.
Sincerely,
Lillian D. Jewell
Lillian Jewell
President
Chapman Estate Foundation