The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County announced this week that a substantial financial donation by the Forbes Family Fund significantly boosted efforts to complete the Octagon Barn Center project.

The amount of the gift will not be disclosed at the donor's request, but it will support The Land Conservancy’s endeavor to successfully usher the Octagon Barn Center through the County’s Conditional Use Permit (CUP) process and ultimately bring the site closer to opening for community use. The Octagon Barn Center will be a community gathering place to promote local agriculture, history, recreation and sustainability.

“The Forbes generous gift gets The Land Conservancy through one of several important processes, yet more funding and in-kind support is necessary to open the Octagon Barn Center,” noted Wende David, the Land Conservancy's membership and development manager. Land Conservancy leaders continue to seek out donors and partners to subsidize other critical site infrastructure.

Although the Barn structure has been physically restored, a variety of studies and site improvements are required by the County of San Luis Obispo before allowing public use of the overall site. Just like all other private landowners, The Land Conservancy must formally review and plan for fire safety, ADA accessibility, water and electric usage, traffic patterns, event parking, drainage, erosion and a variety of other occupancy contingencies. Study reports on possible impacts to biological, cultural and historic resources must also be provided. These essential components of the process are both time-consuming and costly which underscores the importance of private support from the Forbes Family.

During a recent design charrette, The Land Conservancy solicited input from several dozen local professionals who provided pro-bono site planning and design work critical to addressing the remaining site improvement issues. The next step is filing the formal Conditional Use Permit application with SLO County Planning and Building. The Land Conservancy has been working closely with County staff to make the permit process as efficient as possible.

Land Conservancy leaders expect the permit process to take most of 2010. “We are hopeful that we might be able to grade the site in spring 2011 and complete construction of other site amenities shortly thereafter. The Forbes Gift is an incredible endorsement of our vision and truly THE enabling gift for the CUP process,” said BK Richard, project manager and Land Conservancy board trustee.

The Land Conservancy began its effort to repair the Octagon Barn in 1998. The restoration of the Octagon Barn has been a community effort that has involved hundreds of local volunteers and businesses.

The Octagon Barn Center, when completed, will include:

• Fully restored historic Octagon Barn intended as a community gathering place
• Renovated Milking Parlor for use as a classroom/meeting space and educational displays
• Open air plaza/commons to serve as a park
• County trail head & staging area for the Bob Jones City to Sea Trail
• Ample parking, restrooms and bike racks to accommodate groups of varying size