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January 2, 2010 -

New Year

Not much new on coastal access law lately, though enforcement and services are remaining pretty bleak due to California’s ongoing budget crisis.  The reductions in lifeguard services, particularly at state beaches, is particularly bad news and will undoubtedly, inevitably, lead to more bad news.

On the bright side, your host did do some “field research” at the Del Mar Penguin Plunge yesterday with the husband and several hundred of our closest friends.  Happy New Year!

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November 5, 2009 -

Keep The Feet Wet

Laguna Beach has approved a new ordinance restricting beach use between 1 and 5 am to ‘wet sand’ activity.  According to the OC Register

Walking, jogging, diving and fishing will continue to be legal all hours of the night at beaches, but any other activities between 1 and 5 a.m. will be grounds for citation when a new ordinance goes into effect next month.

The City Council passed the beach and park closing time ordinance Tuesday night at a council meeting. In its second reading of the originally broader ordinance, the council opted to allow what they called “wet sand activities.” The only time a person may be on the dry sand during the closed hours is if they are crossing to the wet sand.

The ordinance text clarifies that the sand in question must be wet as a result of “the wash of waves or tidal action.” Rain and personal misters presumably do not a loophole make.

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October 22, 2009 -

New ‘Clothing-Optional’ Policy Upheld

The California Supreme Court unanimously declined to review a July appellate court decision that upheld the state’s right to overturn the Cahill memorandum, a 1970s era document that created informal clothing-optional beaches in California.

The case arose from a proposed change in policy at San Onofre State Beach.  While the ruling confirms park authorities’ authority to change policy at other parks, including San Diego’s Black’s Beach at the Torrey Pines State Reserve, there’s been no announcement of any intention to do so.

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October 19, 2009 -

Coastal Commission Gets Tough

An article in the San Diego Union-Tribune details a case here in San Diego where homeowners failed to remove riprap ‘temporarily’ installed on an emergency basis in 2001.  Under the emergency permit the riprap was supposed to have been removed by May 2001.  Eight years later the homeowners have agreed to a $45,000 fine and to correct the violations.

The Coastal Commission has issued fewer than 10 such fines in the county in the past 20 years, because usually homeowners make an effort to comply with the rules, said Nancy Cave, a supervisor with the commission’s enforcement division. In the case of the Browns, Cave said, the commission’s decision came after years of inaction by the homeowners.

“This isn’t a common thing, and when it does happen it’s really important to take action because other people have gone through the process, and it would be unfair to exempt someone from the same requirements,” Cave said.

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July 21, 2009 -

Clothes Expensive, Nudity Moreso

A California state appellate court has upheld a change in policy by the state Parks and Recreation Department that allows $500 citations for beach nudity, even in areas that have historically, if informally, been designated ‘clothing optional.’

Non-enforcement of a legal ban on public nudity in state parks has been the practice of the department since the Cahill memo in the 1970s.  That policy limited enforcement to cases where a private citizen complained to law enforcement.  Park officials are now free to patrol and cite violations in those beaches where a clothing optional area has not been designated.

The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit brought by the Naturist Action Committee to preserve the status of a portion of the San Onofre State Beach as clothing optional.  Unless overturned by the California Supreme Court the ruling ends clothing optional sunbathing, swimming and surfing at San Onofre.

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April 10, 2009 -

Local Government Liable For Big Surf Injuries?

Good article in the O.C. Register on the issue of local government liability for injuries sustained in heavy surf.  The article focuses on two cases in Newport Beach, one of which involved a drowning while the other involved a broken neck.

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March 2, 2009 -

Shell Beach Access Litigation

Good article at MSNBC on ongoing litigation over public access at Shell Beach in San Luis Obispo county, and a ruling last month that a disputed trail is actually public due a prescriptive easement.

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December 31, 2008 -

Litigation Moot?

Interesting article in the L.A. Times on the continued erosion of the oft-litigated Broad Beach in Malibu.

“If the latest projections of sea level rise are right, you can kiss goodbye the idea of a white sandy beach,” said Bill Patzert, a climatologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge. “You are going to be jumping off the sea wall onto the rocks below.”

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December 19, 2008 -

Beachmen in Black

The feds have stepped in on two ongoing coastal disputes in Southern California in the last few days:

• Federal judge in San Diego orders protection for seals at Children’s Pool.
• Feds back Coastal Commission and block San Onofre toll road.

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December 11, 2008 -

Fire Rings Going From San Diego

San Diego is reportedly going ahead with the removal of 186 fire rings from city beaches as part of its effort to deal with current budget problems.  Savethefirepits.com details the issues and discusses local efforts to save the fire pits.

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Interesting Sites

70 Percent Good site focusing on reporting and documenting break conditions for waveriders
Coastal Marine Resource Center Non-profit from the New York-New Jersey Harbor Bight
Free PB Opposition to additional beach regulations at San Diego’s Pacific Beach
Race for the Oceans A forum for swimmers and swimming fans to dive in to ocean conservation.
Surfrider Foundation Activities and campaigns for clean water, beach access, beach preservation and protecting special places.
Wave Ride Net Surfing and surf spots