NARRATIVE TO THE APPLICATION FOR LOAN FROM FARMERS HOME ADMINISTRATION

The original subdivision was created by Mr. Dresser in 1889. The town was planned around the hotel which stood at the stagecoach stop, and the primary purpose was to eliminate the travel time to Paso Robles by horse and buggy.

However, the town was never developed beyond the planning and dedication stage and the family continued to farm the acreage. The title was passed down in the family, and in 1973—74, the ranch was divided and began selling off parcels. Since the townsite was already a declared subdivision, it was simple to re—dedicate it and begin selling the town blocks off. The deed restriction on the townsite lots are that it may not be split into smaller than one acre parcels, and similar restrictions apply to the larger parcels.

In 1974—75, the first family moved to the Dresser Ranch, as it was known then and now, and established a home. A county road was placed on the map, but no up—grading (paving) is contemplated other than to grade the ruts out of the road and maintain it as a gravel road. This is considered agreeable to most of the families on the ranch, because it was purchased with the rustic style in mind. Also, most of the first developed lots had access to the county road.

As the area continued to develop, homes began to be built in the Townsite of Linnet the original subdivision. Part of the subdivision is divided by the Huer Huero Creek, and a cement crossing was placed across it for access to the county road. Also during this time, a road was cut across the hills south of the townsite to connect to Creston Road, a paved county road.

During the last two years, the rains have washed out part of the cement crossing, and made the road over the hill impassable to all but four wheel drive vehicles, and they have problems in some spots. In an attempt to provide access for the people living between the creek and Creston Road, several voluntary contributions have been made totaling over $7,000.00. This has been contributed by the primary residents in the townsite, but it has benefitted more than twice that many people by being shorter, smoother, and quicker. However, the available funds on a voluntary basis have dwindled to a trickle. This is not enough to continue to develop the roads in the area to serve the homes, nor to maintain the status quo we now have.

The original roads in the subdivision were created by realtors driving on the boundary lines showing parcels to buyers. This was fine as long as traffic was light, and no construction was going on.

The primary purpose of the Community Service District as planned for our area is as follows:

1. To develop the roads in the District to an all—weather status, with drainage culverts, proper grading, slope, and width.
   1. This will have a number of benefits to the area. With proper roads, emergency vehicles can get to the residents at all times of the year. Currently, if it is raining very much, the road can become impassable or very hazardous. The community is made up on all ages of people, with their attendant ills.
   2. Better roads will increase the value of property, and will act to have the landowners maintain their own boundaries in a safer condition. This will assist in fire control, in the event a grass fire starts there, Wider roads than we now have will provide effective fire breaks between the parcels, unless the wind is blowing quite a bit.
   3. Life and property protection is currently provided by the San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s office and the California Division of Forestery. If the area is developed more fully, we can then pinpoint the areas of trouble for these units and direct them the best way.
   4. Current residents living in the service district total in excess of 50. Continuous building is being done there, and this should expand to one family per parcel in the next several years. Total potential at that time will be 86 families.
2. To build a fire station in the townsite to provide fire protection for the district and a wide service area as required by the California Division of Forestry. The potential area we will respond to is in excess of 300 square miles. This response will be in connection with the unit in Paso Robles in many cases.
   1. The need for the fire station was made very plain last year. One of the houses had a fire in the chimney, and called the Forestry. The response time was nearly one hour, we had no road signs and they turned the wrong direction off the main road. Luckily the fire was put out by the owner. A minimum response time from the unit in Paso Robles is in excess of 15 minutes, and a structure can be totally engulfed by then. The station in the townsite will serve the town of Shandon, Creston, Cholame, Whitley Gardens and Estrella. This is a large area, with small communities throughout.
   2. If the loan is approved, plans are to build a station which will have one full time fireman on duty, and the balance of the crews will be made up of volunteer people from the townsite and the communities affected. The California Division of Forestry will transfer a unit from south of Atascadero which is on a part time status now to the permanent status at this firehouse. The building will provide an area for training the volunteers, meetings, etc. , and living quarters for the resident firemen. It will be large enough to provide for the assignment of one or more additional firemen as the area develops or for dangerous periods.
   3. One plus for the assignment of a fire unit in the townsite is the availability of 31,000 gallons of water above ground in all year storage. This can be reached easily by CDP trucks, and can be pumped from there into the truck or into the hoses. There will also be another 15,000 gallon storage available in the end of May, 1979.

To sum up, the sole purpose of this district is to provide road development to enable all parcels to have the same type of access to county roads. This will consist of a gravel or road base material, 3/8″ thick, and should cover all the roads which will be cut and utilized. We will also be developing a fire station to protect the property of the people in the district and the surrounding areas. These two goals will be treated jointly, since without a road the fire station will be of no help in bad weather.

We have asked for a loan of $100,000.00, over a 40 year term and at a low rate of interest. This we feel will enable us to provide the goals of the district, and repayment will be coming from an assessment of each parcel in the district. The fire station, we feel, can be built with the labor of the people living in the district for approximately $30,000.00. The roads to be upgraded or developed at this time total just over 5 miles, and we would be spending the majority of the funds for this. We would keep a reserve of $5-10,000.00 to pay the first year’s expenses and insurance for the district. All the directors will serve without salary, and the only expenses covered will be for publication or notification to the residents of the district, of the district’s status, liability insurance, and the various fees as required by the county for legal assistance.

We have enclosed a copy of the service district boundary’s where the roads will be developed, and a map of the area determined by the CDF to be within the response frame of the fire station.

The goals of the district are simple, but of great importance to all who live in the area. Many people living outside the district will benefit from our actions, but we feel that something must be done.