It looks like this will happen within the next year or so. The town of Samoa will become a Community Service District through reorganization of the Samoa Peninsula Fire District. The attic of the Samoa Cookhouse is being remodeled through "green" processes and will become an "Ecohostel." The old fire department gathering hall by the Cookhouse will also become a "Ecohostel" with a "green" themed RV Park. I will update as I learn more.
4 hours ago
10 comments:
What's "with" the "unusual" use "of" quotes? Do you not think ecohostel and green are words?
So, is the restaurant closing down?
That would be too bad. I'm all for an "ecohostel" with or without quotes, but I'd hate to lose the Cookhouse.
On the other hand, I'm glad something is happening there. In between my kids' indoor soccer games at the gym there on Saturdays, we've walked through Samoa and it looks like the midwest post-industrial decline. Beautiful old homes not being painted, and a huge field with disintegrating buildings. Why haven't developers been out there making plans instead of trying to jam big boxes into already crowded areas?
I remember a few years back Oracle looked at Samoa. It would be great to entice a company like that into town.
What's with the quotes? I don't know. Maybe I was looking to upset someone. Hello "someone."
Erik: The Cookhouse is not planning to shut down. The Ecohostel is a good fit for the peninsula. Samoa is waiting for transition. Robin and I have lived here for over 30 years. Dan Johnson of Danco has been readjusting his plans for Samoa many times over to garner approval from the Coastal Commission. 10 years and counting.
The Sand Dwellers are coming up with some pretty fancy ideas lately. Maybe their time would be better spent cleaning up their front yards, trying to sober up, or bothering to use a condom.
So basically it's the Coastal Commission's fault it's laid dormant? Okay, well, I don't know enough about the issue to dispute the claim.
In any case, Jen Kalt sent me a link to the plan. I'm glad to see that there's some development vision beyond residence and retail.
"Why haven't developers been out there making plans?" The answer is two words = Coastal Commission.
Richard, thank you for bringing us the news. I learned a few things today, Mr. Kirk bringing that a bit further into deeper focus.
Mr. Kirk (@10:14) and Ms. Kalt, thank you for the link to the 2002 Samoa master plan prepared by RNL Design. A fascinatingly comprehensive, detailed, and informative read-- the first I've seen-- presents a thorough review, evaluation, and planning of this flying-jinny in a very long and complicated process reviving Samoa.
I encourage readers to give it a look. I liked it-- and liked the plan.
Build it, Danco and the CCC.
Samoa already has an economic plan that the locals seem to do really well with. Its called using the streets as a place to park wrecked cars. Hell, the Indians used the place to dump off their used oyster shells. For thousands of years it has been used as a dump. Nothing new here.
Rich and Eric, readers may enjoy todays Newsweek article on Scotia, "The Last Company Town" and its similarities to Samoa:
"There was a time when employers provided everything: houses, hospitals, bars. Such a place still exists—but not for long. Welcome to Scotia, Calif."
"...Indeed, Scotia has a quasi-magical feel that’s accentuated by its distance from any major city—five hours north of San Francisco by car through fog-choked, prehistoric redwood groves, until you finally arrive at the tiny hamlet on the banks of the Eel River..."
More of Justin Fantl's full Newsweek article is here for interested readers, residents, and Danco alike.
(Thanks goes out to Kym Kemp's site for her quick reporting of this)
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