Readers React: Malibu beach access: Paradise Cove vs. the people

To the editor: Over the years, the owners of the property at Paradise Cove have been involved in numerous violations of the California Coastal Act. While the area may be “private property,” the ocean and beach below the mean high tide belong to the people of this state, and the public has a right to access and use what it owns. (“Paradise Cove gets Coastal Commission warning over beach access,” Nov. 2)

This reminds me of nearby Broad Beach, where the “property” owners also aggressively prevented the public from using the beach. In that case as well, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was used by the homeowners to help enforce their objections to the public. When I went down to that beach years ago, five deputies tried to arrest me for sitting on public property.

Certainly it is time for the Sheriff’s Department to train its officers as to what the law is, and it is time for the owners of Paradise Cove to comply with state law.

Sara Wan, Malibu

The writer is a former chairwoman of the California Coastal Commission.

..

To the editor: As a former lawyer and a current beach rat, I need someone to explain to me why the Paradise Cove Land Co., a lessee of publicly owned land, is allowed to commit material breaches of its lease seemingly without consequence. Repeated violations of the public access requirements of California law and its explicit lease terms should certainly justify termination.

Oh, and isn’t the threat of taking criminal action — in this case, pressing trespassing charges — unless someone forks over some money one of the textbook definitions of extortion?

And if my recollection of that is correct, can someone also explain to me why the Sheriff’s Department has acted in complicity with these unlawful actions?

Gordon J. Louttit, Manhattan Beach

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion