Avila Beach: Oil Or Tourism?

Heavily contaminated by decades as an oil port, Avila Beach is undergoing a massive cleanup effort and hopes to become a tourist destination. Will it succeed?

1 minute read

July 5, 2000, 8:30 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen

"The story of the rise and fall of Avila Beach is the story of the rise and fall of Central Coast oil." Avila Beach is in the midst of a massive environmental cleanup to remove a pool of oil discovered under the town ten year ago. Much of the town has been razed to allow the cleanup, and is now being rebuilt. Unocal who owns the tanks that leaked over a period several decades moving oil through the area, has been footing much of the revitilization effort. Can Avila Beach make a comeback as a tourist destination?

Thanks to Chris Steins

FULL STORY: Newly Rebuilt Avila Beach Faces an Identity Crisis

Wednesday, July 5, 2000 in The Los Angeles Times

Community / Economic Development California

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