Making One Wave Too Many : Coastal Commission flexes muscles, misses point

Concerned that communities will limit access to the waterfront, the California Coastal Commission pointedly has reminded cities and counties that it retains authority over beach curfews and park- ing lot closures. The intention is good, but the effect is to make unnecessary waves.

We live in a violent society, and law enforcement agencies in beach communities are just trying to deal with reality. Amid dwindling budgets, they must protect lives--even on the beach, where crime increasingly is a problem. The commission says it understands that burden, but already it has overruled a new Long Beach curfew, imposed after a man was killed in a seaside neighborhood.

Faced with such imperatives from the state, local authorities are right to wonder whether the commission is just complicating matters even though that’s not what it meant to do. For years, the Coastal Commission has fought the good fight, protecting coastal areas, often state tideland property, from overdevelopment while ensuring that the public retains access. This is important work that can preserve the shoreline for future generations.

But there is uneasiness on the beach today. And law enforcement is a local responsibility, quite separate from questions of whether municipalities, at the behest of waterfront residents or special interests, can keep people out.

Nor have localities initiated curfews with any enthusiasm. Several cities in Orange County that have imposed curfews, or moved them up in response to earlier closings at state-operated beaches in Huntington Beach, did so with reluctance. Nobody needed to tell them that beach visitors bring revenue to city coffers and that it would be better for the local folks too if they had access to beaches 24 hours a day.

Public safety concerns may differ from the letter of the the 1972 California Coastal Act, cited by the commission. The agency is concerned that an earlier curfew, for example, might cause a “change in the intensity of use of water, or of access.” But what if unfettered access means there are guns and gangs on the loose on the beaches? Local authorities must be allowed to keep the peace so all can enjoy the waterfront.