Homeowners encroaching onto public sand
A resident waves to a neighbor from the balcony of her beachfront home on Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach. Recently, the California Coastal Commission sent letters to homeowners along East Oceanfront, saying that the lawns, shrubbery and flowers they installed are “unpermitted landscaping on public beach.” (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
A metal shark sculpture on East Oceanfront in Newport Beach might be on public land. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Landscaper Ron Rogers mows a lawn on East Oceanfront. Some neighbors said they are mobilizing as a community and hiring a lawyer to fight the Coastal Commission’s crackdown. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
A fire pit, shrubs, flowers, trees and an underground irrigation system extend out onto the beach. When Newport Beach put up “public welcome” signs several years ago to remind people whom the beach really belonged to, most disappeared in the middle of the night. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
A child’s basketball hoop, beach chairs and a spacious lawn sit on the public beach behind a home on East Oceanfront. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
This view behind a house on East Oceanfront shows very little alteration to the public beach. Private property ends at the low brick wall. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)