State Parks: Governor’s Plan Won’t Spell Relief

Gov. George Deukmejian’s new state budget will continue the course of slow expansion of the state park system, but promises little in the way of relief for the tens of thousands of campers who are turned away each summer at filled-to-capacity state parks.

The proposed spending plan for the 1985-86 fiscal year contains requests for the purchase or development of new parklands--including a 42,300-acre ranch in Fresno County for an off-road vehicle park and development of a 200-unit campground at San Onofre State Beach in San Diego County.

More projects will be proposed for funding in March when the Deukmejian Administration makes recommendations for the first round of expenditures stemming from the $370-million Park Bond Act approved by voters in last June’s primary election.

But the nature of parks development is such that it could take years before the new facilities open for campers. And even then the projects may put only a small dent in demand, particularly for campers who want to stay at the highly prized beach parks along the coast in Southern California.

Early Reservations Required

“It’s like buying a ticket to a prime play. If you don’t get your reservation in early, you don’t get a seat,” said Les McCargo, chief deputy director of the state Department of Parks and Recreation, which manages the state’s 1.2 million-acre park system.

About 60 million people are expected to use the state park system this year, up slightly from last year, including about 6 million overnight campers who will sleep under the stars, pitch tents or park their trailers and motor homes at state campgrounds.

Just how many campers will be turned away is not known. A report released this month by the state auditor general said 65,000 vehicles were turned away from state parks two years ago. Unknown numbers trying to make reservations through the Ticketron reservation system also were turned away. The state’s most popular campgrounds are filled to capacity from June to September.

The auditor general blamed the problem on the failure of the Parks and Recreation Department to develop the general plans for state parks that are necessary before permanent development of new facilities can take place. The auditor’s report said part of the problem was due to staffing reductions last year made by the governor. Deukmejian eliminated 85 positions in the department’s capital outlay staff.

55 Years of Planning

Given the current level of staffing, the report said, it will take the department 55 years to develop plans for all the parks that need them.

But William S. Briner, director of the department, said it is unfair to connect the shortage of park space during the peak summer season to the lack of general plans.

He said the scarcity of good parkland close to urban areas, coupled with the department’s other mission of preserving sensitive areas from overuse, may mean the state will never be able to meet the public’s demand for parks.

“I don’t know that we will ever be able to say that we meet all of our needs,” he said.

While Deukmejian has cut office staff, he has budgeted increased staff for operation of parks and proposed adding nearly $5 million to buy new equipment and upgrade park facilities.

Longtime observers of the state park system say that Deukmejian is interested primarily in developing existing parklands rather than acquiring new ones. His predecessor, former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., pursued an active acquisition program.

Deukmejian has recommended spending $33 million on new park acquisitions for the fiscal year beginning July 1, not counting proposals for spending 1984 Park Bond Act money that will be available later this year.

The bond act reflects the governor’s philosophy in that, of the park system’s $155-million share of the money, $45 million is earmarked for land acquisition while $110 million is pegged for development, rehabilitation and restoration of existing parks.

One project proposed in the budget calls for development of 200 campsites at San Onofre State Beach, which is designed to relieve some of the pressure at beach campgrounds on the south coast.

Filled to Capacity

The proposed facility is off Interstate 5 about a mile south of San Clemente State Beach, which is filled to capacity 150 nights a year. San Clemente and two other campgrounds along a small stretch of shoreline in Orange and San Diego counties turn away 50,000 campers a year, according to a Department of Finance report.

The San Onofre proposal calls for spending $4.6 million, of which Southern California Edison Co. will contribute $3 million.

The proposal, on the drawing boards for several years, has been held up by a legal challenge to beach development in connection with Edison’s San Onofre nuclear power plant. But state officials believe the suit may be resolved in time to get the project under way later this year or early in 1986.

The biggest parks projects now under way have an urban character to them, including continued work on development of the more than 10,000-acre Chino Hills State Park, located near the junction of Orange, Riverside, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties; a major urban park in Baldwin Hills, being undertaken with Los Angeles County, and several off-road vehicle projects.

The largest acquisition in the proposed budget calls for the purchase of the 42,300-acre Martin Ranch in western Fresno and eastern San Benito counties. Negotiations are still under way and the sale may not go through, officials said.

Martin Ranch Project Briner said the state’s contract with Ticketron will expire in 1986 and the department is considering alternative ways to take park reservations, including a proposal for a computerized system staffed by state prisoners.

State parks are expected to generate $31.7 million this year, and about the same next year. Fees provide about 22% of the total Parks Department budget.