ORANGE COUNTY VOICES / LINDA MOULTON-PATTERSON : Unlocking Gates to Coastal Access : It’s been a rocky road to beach access. Patience is needed in the search for fair solutions that balance public and private interests.

If you have ever basked on a sun-washed beach listening to the song of breaking waves, or seen the wide-eyed delight of a child discovering the magic of a tide pool, or quietly closed the day watching a deep red sun sink into a sparkling sea, you know how precious our coastline is.

As Californians we are blessed with a birthright and heritage: Our beaches seaward of the mean high-tide line are public property. Moreover, the state Constitution explicitly guarantees each of us the right to get to the ocean’s edge.

But in the 1950s and 1960s, new subdivisions with locked and guarded gates turned miles of this public beach area into the private preserve of the fortunate few who could buy beachfront property.

In 1972 that trend, compounded by many unsightly and environmentally destructive projects, spurred California voters to take direct action, first by placing the Coastal Protective Initiative on the ballot, and then by passing it by a substantial margin. The law, made permanent in 1976, specifically mandates the Coastal Commission and local governments to carry out the public access requirements of the state Constitution.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of approval of the Coastal Protection Initiative. Protecting and maximizing opportunities for public access to and along California’s magnificent shoreline has consistently been one of our highest priorities. I join my colleagues on the commission in our commitment to public access.

Since 1972, the commission has fought hard to expand public beach access opportunities. More than 40 miles of California coastline have been opened or protected for public recreational use as a result of commission action. Our most difficult challenge has been how to gain public access to state tidelands on beaches in gated communities like Three Arch Bay, Treasure Island, Irvine Cove and Blue Lagoon in Orange County. Unfortunately, these coastal communities were approved and allowed to exclude public beach access before 1972. As a result, neither the commission nor local governments have been able to achieve public access to the beaches or the public tidelands below these beaches that lie behind the guarded gates.

The need for more coastal access grows as our population expands. But as Will Rogers observed about land: “They ain’t makin’ any more of it.” With an expanding demand against a finite supply, legal and feasible ways must be found to open exclusive beaches to public use. Since it is unlikely owners of these exclusive communities will voluntarily allow public access for beach use, the only available means include public acquisition through condemnation or regulation in these communities. Realistically, this means it will be a long time before the public will be able to enjoy beaches and public tidelands a fortunate few have used for decades.

I am convinced that over time, as older, exclusive coastal communities recycle as a result of population growth, development pressures and economic realities, new opportunities will arise. It is important that we be prepared by having policies and strategies for achieving new public access when the times are right. These strategies should include both regulatory and acquisition scenarios. Additionally, it is important that plans for public access be prepared to manage public use so they do not overwhelm a neighborhood or destroy the natural living resources in areas that have seen only limited use in the past.

The Coastal Commission has encouraged cooperative arrangements between exclusive coastal communities and nonprofit organizations to provide new public access opportunities. Sadly, nowhere have public and private coastal interests clashed more bitterly than over access behind gated residential communities. Like so many other barriers intended to keep people out, I am convinced these too will fall in time.

In our advocacy of public rights, we must be sensitive to private property rights as well. We must be patient. However, we should be constantly searching for fair solutions that balance public and private interests and allow all the people to share and enjoy a priceless natural heritage that now only a privileged few call their own.