The Illegal Beach Patios on Property in Newport

For many years Newport Beach City Councils have sanctioned and defended the illegal occupation of land dedicated to public use. Since laws regulating such lands are clear enough, I assume the “complications” cited by Councilwoman (Evelyn) Hart refer to the council’s current machinations to subvert those laws by making legitimate existing occupations and rewarding the scofflaws responsible with exclusive rights of perpetual tax-free use of the lands they unlawfully occupy.

The article failed to mention that many of the portions of dedicated alleys lying between beach-front lots on the Balboa peninsula have also been illegally occupied by adjacent owners for more than 40 years.

I have grave concerns about public officials on whom we must rely to uphold the law who flagrantly violate their public trust by surrendering valuable portions of dedicated lands to individuals with the justification that the public already has more land than it needs. The proposal to allow those individuals to continue their unlawful tax-free occupation of such dedicated lands, of which the city is merely the trustee of the public’s rights, by paying a token fee is too ludicrous for comment.

WILLIAM J. McGEE

Newport Beach