Fix in works for Pismo Beach ‘stairway to nowhere’

The “stairway to nowhere” might be going somewhere before long.

The popular stand-alone spiral staircase in Pismo Beach was temporarily dismantled in November amid worry that the structure could collapse from the weight of the existing steel staircase. Workers removed the staircase, but left the concrete core until a decision could be make on how to improve the aging structure.

Now the project is scheduled to go before the Pismo Beach Planning Commission on Tuesday.

Martin Resorts, which owns Ventana Grill, is asking for a permit to replace the spiral staircase, reconstruct an existing perimeter beach wall below it and build a new retaining wall above the structure, at the restaurant. Martin Resorts is also asking to build a new coastal trail and pedestrian bridge between the Best Western Plus Shore Cliff Lodge and Pismo Lighthouse Suites, both of which are owned by Martin Resorts.

“The project would protect fragile bluff, create new beach access, restore the historic staircase and add 1-mile of California coastal trails,” Martin Resorts CEO Noreen Martin said. “And it would be done at no cost to the taxpayers.”

The giant spiral staircase has been a popular, though relatively inaccessible, destination for locals in the past decade.

It was first approved by the Planning Commission in 1972 as part of the Shore Cliff Lodge and restaurant construction. The staircase, which was attached to the cliff via a pedestrian bridge, provided access to Elmer Ross Beach – a stretch of beach between the staircase and the Dinosaur Caves Park in Shell Beach that was named for a former city building inspector. The staircase was dedicated to the city in 1979, though that dedication wasn’t officially accepted until 2001, according to a city staff report.

The staircase is no longer accessible from the top of the cliff because the bridge connecting the structure to the cliff was removed in 2007 after it collapsed in a storm. Now the only way to reach it is by water, whether by swimming or kayaking.

Since it lost its bridge, the staircase has become a popular destination for locals – and some adventurous tourists – earning the moniker “the stairway to nowhere.” The stairway has also shown up on numerous abandoned places lists and websites.

If the Planning Commission approves the plans Tuesday night, a 30-day appeal period will follow before the project could officially move forward.

This story was originally published February 8, 2016 at 11:06 PM with the headline "Fix in works for Pismo Beach ‘stairway to nowhere’."