Public Access to Beaches

Re “The Long, Bumpy Path to the Beach,” editorial, Nov. 26:

Protecting and expanding rights of public access to and along the California coast have always been and continue to be the Coastal Commission’s highest priority. The challenge is translating this policy into reality. Unfortunately, your editorial relating to potential public access ways along the coast (i.e., existing legal “offers to dedicate” easements for public use (OTDs), which have not yet been accepted and opened to the public, misstated several important facts. The editorial unnecessarily alarmed members of the public by incorrectly suggesting public coastal access opportunities could be lost as a result of inaction by the Coastal Commission. In fact, public access opportunities represented by OTDs will not be lost because the commission long ago took steps to make sure these OTDs would be preserved. The State Coastal Conservancy and the State Lands Commission have agreed to accept legal title to any OTD that would otherwise expire. Losing public access opportunities represented by OTDs is not the issue--finding a way to convert them into usable public access on the ground is.

The commission does not have the legal authority to accept and hold interests in land (i.e., easements for public use). Nor can the commission make the physical improvements needed before people can use an access way to the beach; nor can it accept maintenance and liability responsibilities for access ways. The Coastal Act prohibits opening potential access facilities to public use unless and until a public or private organization, other than the commission, steps forward to accept responsibility for liability, operations and maintenance of the access way. Unfortunately, due to fiscal constraints, potential liability costs and the politics of local opposition to access for the general public, few governmental or private, nonprofit organizations have stepped forward.

Disturbed and frustrated by the lack of progress in opening new access ways for public use, the Coastal Commission has taken the initiative to seek legislation to address the problem. The first measure would place coastal development permit fees that the commission collects (about $500,000 per year) and which now go to the state’s general fund into a special public access account that the Coastal Conservancy would use to make grants to local governments and nonprofit groups for the purpose of improving and opening access ways on the coast. Another proposal would expand protections against legal liability for any property owner who provides free coastal access to the public. In addition, the commission will increase its ongoing efforts to persuade public and private agencies and organizations to open and operate coastal access facilities.

PETER DOUGLAS, Exec. Dir.

California Coastal Commission

San Francisco