Faster Action by Agencies Is Preserving Beach Access

Hundreds of potential access ways to the California coast apparently will be preserved for future public use because of improved planning and coordination among a string of state agencies.

Beach easements from Mendocino County to San Diego had long been promised for public use, but were in danger of reverting to private hands because of inaction by state and local governments.

In the last year, however, the California Coastal Commission has spearheaded an effort among several agencies to secure legal access to the trails, paths and bluff tops for future generations.

“We were on the verge of an impending disaster five years ago, with easements potentially being lost,” said Sara Wan, commission chairwoman. “But there has been a renewed effort to get these things set aside so they are not lost. And then, gradually, they can be opened to the public.”

Despite the attempts to preserve the coastal paths, a Sierra Club official said the government should be doing more to accommodate a booming population that seeks access to the coastline.

Preserving and enhancing access to the shoreline have always been two of the core missions of California’s 24-year-old Coastal Act. Over the years, hundreds of property owners have agreed to open small sections of their property to let the public onto the beach. In exchange, they received permission to build on or near the shore.

But most of the legal “offers to dedicate” land were written to expire in 20 years. It was assumed that period would give counties, park districts or other agencies plenty of time to claim the land and to build stairways and paths and to install signs where needed.

The Coastal Commission has found, however, that many agencies hesitate to assume oversight of the easements. Some complain that they do not have the budget or staff to patrol the properties. Others say they fear lawsuits by beachgoers or neighboring property owners if conflicts erupt or someone is injured.

As of 1995, only one in five of the 1,269 potential access ways had been secured for public use. The Coastal Commission’s staff in a report this month said that more than one in three has now been secured.

More important, the coastal agency has enacted procedures that it believes will prevent the easements from being lost to the public. Perhaps most critical, the state Coastal Conservancy, a sister agency, has agreed that it will move to claim any properties that are in danger of reverting to private hands.

Next month the conservancy’s board is expected to lay claim to access points in Laguna Beach, Del Mar and San Diego.

The work of preserving the strips of land will grow more intense in coming years. About 815 of the easements remain unsecured, and are due to expire at the rate of more than 100 a year.

To preserve public rights, the properties must be surveyed and cataloged and their legal descriptions closely scrutinized. More important, a city, county, special district or land trust must then step forward to claim the land and agree to keep it open.

The Coastal Commission added a staff member in the last year to help complete the intensive paperwork--focusing on Southern California properties where easement agreements were close to expiration.

The agency also identified 55 easements adjacent to state park lands. It is asking the state Department of Parks and Recreation to consider preserving those access ways.

In Malibu, the state Lands Commission has agreed to secure dozens of strips of coastal land for public use. Large homes on the community’s 27-mile beachfront make it particularly difficult for the public to reach the shore.

A hodgepodge of other groups has claimed other beach paths. In the past year, for instance, the Mendocino Land Trust opened a trail to Cantus Cove, a spot particularly popular with abalone divers. In Santa Cruz County, the Surfers’ Environmental Alliance opened a bluff-top trail with views of a prime surfing spot and of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Despite the new spirit of cooperation, “everyone knows there is still a whole lot of work left to be done,” said Linda Locklin, manager of the Coastal Commission’s coastal access program.

The agency’s ability to claim access points has been significantly curtailed since 1987, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was illegal to routinely force property owners to dedicate access in exchange for building rights.

Agency staff members say they now must meet the much more difficult threshold of proving that construction will reduce existing access. Only then can they require a property owner to dedicate a beach pathway. In the last five years, the agency has received just a few dozen offers to dedicate access ways, compared with the hundreds it once received annually.

Environmentalists say that makes it much more important for the state to assure that access promised in the past is ensured.

Mark Massara, director of coastal programs for the Sierra Club, said the Coastal Commission has not fought hard enough for public access.

“A lot of these developers got the benefit of building 20 years ago and we still do not have the guarantee of public access,” Massara said. “I’m concerned about the two-thirds of the access ways that are still not open to the public.”

Massara said that, despite the Supreme Court decision, he believes more property owners can still be forced to give up easements.

“The state of California could be a whole lot more aggressive about protecting historic beach access all along the coast and securing new access,” Massara said.

To that end, Coastal Commission officials said that in the next year they will pursue another public-access initiative.

A staff member has been hired to survey the entire coast for areas of historic use by surfers, fishermen, divers and other beachgoers. The commission can then attempt to permanently preserve those strips of land.

Commission Chairwoman Wan agreed that preserving those historic access ways is another urgent need.

“That is an area where the commission was not as aggressive as it could have been,” Wan said. “But we didn’t have the funds or the support of the attorney general. Now we have both.”