Spectacular. Stunning. Breathtaking.
Driving south on the California coast, you quickly run out of superlatives to describe a view that has fired the imagination, inspired song and sparked romance.
Then you hit Malibu, and the show is over.
OK, so I’m exaggerating a little. You can still see white foam and blue surf here and there.
They pass these zoning ordinances … that say one thing. But if you’re developer X or billionaire Y… guess what? … They get a zoning variance
— Former Malibu Mayor Jefferson Wagner
But much of the beach disappears behind walls, the view obliterated by miles of homes only an elite few can afford, and many of those houses often sit empty because the owners’ primary residences are elsewhere.
This is nothing new in Malibu.
When I first started writing about the coast more than a decade ago, it was because big tuna like entertainment mogul David Geffen not only blocked views, but they also blocked access to public beaches. They’d get permits to build up, or out, in return for surrendering easements to allow public access to the beach.
Then they’d renege on the deal.
It seemed only fitting, on my 1,100-mile trek along the coast from Oregon to Mexico, to revisit the Malibu story.
It’s been 40 years since the Coastal Act was established to limit development, protect the environment and allow greatest possible public access.
The record in Malibu is not good.
Despite the recent openings of three access points, there are still roughly 20 locations where you can’t get to the beach because an entry doesn’t exist or is blocked.
Why?
Lack of money to build and maintain stairs or trails.
Lack of will by bureaucrats and public officials who figure if one beach is blocked, there’s an accessible one just down the road.
And lots of interference from the entitled elitists who hold sway with public officials and sue to keep out working folks — even though in California, wet sand is public beach.
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Columnist Steve Lopez looks at the Dan Blocker Beach scenic viewpoint that denies beach access in Malibu.
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A “no beach access” sign is posted at Dan Blocker Beach scenic viewpoint and is one of several beaches that don’t allow beach access in Malibu.
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A large sign is erected at the Dan Blocker Beach scenic viewpoint that denies beach access in Malibu.
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Columnist Steve Lopez walks between two beach-front homes, where signs marked “private beach, no trespassing” are misleading or inaccurately posted on Malibu Beach Road.
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RV campers have an ocean view, just across from Pacific Coast Highway at the Malibu Beach RV Park.
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A body boarder checks the waves from his campsite at the Malibu Beach RV Park.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Dan Blocker Beach, named for the late “Bonanza” star and donated to the public decades ago by his co-stars, offers one of the most head-slapping examples of unreachable sand in all of Malibu.
Driving along Pacific Coast Highway, you might be lured by the beach sign, parking lot and public restrooms, which normally would make it a good place to spend a few hours body surfing or contemplating the glory of California sunsets.
But pull into the lot, where you have to feed the meter, and the first sign you see tells you there is no beach access.
Then what are you paying for?
The view, I guess. Or maybe the toilet. But the experience isn’t exactly ideal because 10 feet away, traffic roars by.
L.A. County is responsible for this beach, but there’s no trail or stairway to the water from the parking lot — and no current plan to build one.
“The whole thing is like a Marx Brothers routine,” said Jenny Price, creator of the Our Malibu Beaches app that helps you locate and get to hidden or blocked-off public beaches.
On Price’s advice, I visited Point Dume Natural Preserve last week to check out another absurdity. The state beach there may be the most beautiful public cove in all of California that you can’t get to.
Again, that’s a bit of exaggeration. You have to negotiate a long, steep staircase if you want to walk on the sand. But there’s a bigger obstacle:
There are only about 10 public parking spaces — and no parking after sunset, by the way. I watched streams of drivers come by hoping to get lucky, only to leave in disappointment.
So why not park on nearby residential streets? Because for blocks all around, every street has ”no parking” signs. There’s a long history of homeowners opposing more parking, and that battle continues to flare.
With some people in Malibu, “it’s all about me, me, me, me,” said former Mayor Jefferson Wagner, who thinks City Hall is often too happy to accommodate the high-and-mighty when they want to either restrict parking or build more walls.
“They pass these zoning ordinances … that say one thing. But if you’re developer X or billionaire Y… guess what? … They get a zoning variance,” Wagner said.
In the case of the Zonker Harris public access way at Carbon Beach, the gate has been locked for months because a storm washed out a landing. Wagner is ticked because he runs Zuma Jay’s, a PCH surf shop, and customers who rent kayaks or surf boards from him can’t get through that gate.
This is not far up the coast from a public access gate that has been locked since 2002, near the Moonshadows restaurant, with no current county plan to reopen it.
In many such cases, county officials argue that they have limited funds and can’t afford to spend millions on every engineering challenge. So they focus on beach projects that benefit the most people. That’s understandable, but going back in time, you have to wonder about some of the decision-making.
El Sol Beach is another jaw-dropping cove you can’t get to, or even see, unless you own a hang glider or know exactly where to pull off PCH and look through a chain-link fence. The county decided in 1974 to buy the secluded beach and open it to the public.
That was not a typo. I said 1974.
Residents fought plans for a stairway to the sand, and the beach remains out of reach — just beyond a locked gate and private road down to homes that have been owned by former Disney chief Michael Eisner, among others. Price calls it the happiest beach on Earth, visible only from “the Disney overlook.”
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A woman takes a break from riding her horse on Imperial Beach, one of only a few places along the coast where horses are allowed.
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Palm fronds reveal a surfer, a couple and children taking in sunset at Windansea Beach in La Jolla.
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The tide splashes up on the beach at sunset on a warm summer evening at Windansea Beach in La Jolla.
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Backdropped by San Diego’s skyline, former Sen. James Mills, 89, stands at his Coronado apartment with the bike he rode from Sacramento to San Diego in 1972 to promote Proposition 20, which created the Coastal Commission and led to the Coastal Act.
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Children camping at Campland on the Bay paddle around on body boards in the warm waters of San Diego’s Mission Bay.
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A view from the Torrey Pines Gliderport cliffs, overlooking Black’s Beach and Torrey Pines State Beach in La Jolla.
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A California sea lions basks in the evening sunlight while resting on a rock in the La Jolla Marine Reserve, one of 11 California marine protected areas (MPAs).
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A bod surfer is upended amid the crashing shorebreak at Windansea Beach in La Jolla.
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A surfer heads in by a fire pit, hammock and palapa at dusk at San Onofre State Beach in San Clemente.
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Mila Renieri and Diego Merli of Milan, Italy, play on a homemade teeter-totter at San Onofre State Beach.
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A “no beach access” sign is posted at Dan Blocker Beach scenic viewpoint. The beach is one of several in Malibu that don’t allow public access.
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RV campers have an ocean view, just across from Pacific Coast Highway at the Malibu Beach RV Park in Malibu.
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A kayaker checks out the clear waters of Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach.
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A snorkeler swims around a reef/ rock formation at Crescent Bay, Laguna Beach.
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A snorkeler looks for fish at Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach.
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Garibaldi, the California state fish, swim and feed on rocks at Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach.
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Small fish swim at the reef at Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach.
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A surfer rides a wave at sunset at “Old Man’s” surf break at San Onofre State Beach.
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A bodyboarder rides a wave at Crescent Bay, Laguna Beach.
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Anders Hamborg rides a wave before his shift working as a Huntington Beach city lifeguard on a warm summer day in Huntington Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A view of the beach through a telescope at Pacific City, a new 31-acre mixed use development in Huntington Beach, also known as Surf City U.S.A.
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The site of the proposed Banning Ranch development now before the Calif. Coastal Commission.
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The tide rolls in at twilight at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) nuclear power plant located on the border of San Diego County and San Clemente.
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A view of the AES Huntington Beach Generating Station, where an ocean water intake pipe is located that uses a technique of once-through cooling that is harmful to marine life scheduled to be phased out by 2020. The California Coastal Commission is holding a hearing on the proposed Poseidon Huntington beach Desalination project September 7/8. Poseidon would operate next to the AES power plant and use it’s ocean water intake pipe.
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A dolphin leaps out of the water with a view of south Laguna Beach in the background on Aug. 12, 2016.
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A pod of dolphins leaps out of the water with a view of south Laguna Beach in the background on Aug. 12, 2016.
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The Spirit of Dana Point, a traditionally built replica of a 1770s privateer schooner used during the American Revolution, takes a sunset cruise past The Headlands, center, and The Strand at Headlands development, left, in Dana Point. The Coastal Commission approved the 121-acre development known as The Strand at Headlands in 2004, but only after a decades-long fight between conservationists and the developer.
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The orange glow of the setting sun shines through palm trees on a warm summer evening in Heisler Park, Laguna Beach.
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Beach combers enjoy a warm summer evening exploring the ocean and coastline of Main Beach, Laguna Beach.
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Couples enjoy a sunset on a warm summer evening in Heisler Park, Laguna Beach.
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Beach combers are silhouetted by the sky’s glow while exploring the rocks at sunset on a warm summer evening in Heisler Park, Laguna Beach.
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Children run along the beach at twilight near the Crystal Cove Beach Cottages.
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The sun sets over the Crystal Cove Beach Cottages in Newport Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Kayakers take a scenic cruise in Monterey Bay on a summer day in Monterey. In the background, sand dunes line the coast where the proposed hotel and condominium Monterey Bay Shores development in Sand City.
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Isabella, 9, and Holden, 7, roast marshmallows over a beach fire with their parents, Steve and Amy Knuff of Aliso Viejo at twilight at Crystal Cove Beach Cottages.
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Incoming tide rolls onto the beach at twilight at Crystal Cove Beach Cottages. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A photographer captures the sunset over the ocean in Rancho Palos Verdes. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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The Point Vicente Lighthouse illuminates the landscape at twilight in Rancho Palos Verdes. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A person climbs up the giant Point Mugu Sand Dune, across from Thornhill Broome Beach State Park in Ventura County.
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Taylor Geer and Marissa Acosta of Thousand Oaks relax on top of the giant Point Mugu Sand Dune, across from Thornhill Broome Beach State Park in Ventura County. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Kids play on a stand-up-paddleboard at Leo Carrillo State Park in Malibu. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Vivienne Lee, 7, of Thousand Oaks, jumps across rocks under the arches of a rock formation while watching the tide roll in at twilight at El Matador State Beach in Malibu. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Keenan Yoo watches the waves crash at twilight at El Matador State Beach in Malibu. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A tidal inlet reflects the surrounding landscape as a couple walk with their dog at twilight along Arroyo Burro Beach County Park in Santa Barbara. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A Blue Heron flies over the Naples State Marine Conservation Area. Phil McKenna, president of the Gaviota Coast Conservancy, says the portion down-coast of Point Conception contains approximately 50% of its remaining rural coastline.
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A man fishes in the ocean at sunset at Arroyo Burro Beach County Park in Santa Barbara.
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A deer takes a break from grazing to look out over the meadow in Cambria.
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A man walking his dog is viewed underneath a Cypress tree canopy over the beach boardwalk along Moonstone Beach in Cambria.
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A surfer rides a wave near a rock formation in Morro Bay.
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The sun, filtered by forest fire ash and fog, goes down at the Morro Bay Marina, with a view of Morro Rock and sailboats.
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Surfers walk down the beach after surfing in front of Morro Rock.
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A windmill lines an undeveloped stretch of coast along Cayucos’ Estero Bay with Morro Rock visible in the background.
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A child bundled up in a thick wetsuit, cap and life jacket, skips to the water’s edge with an adult taking them body boarding in Morro Bay.
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A child toting sand toys heads across the sand dunes at Morro Bay State Park in Morro Bay.
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The tide fills in between jagged rock and cliff formations at Montaña de Oro State Beach in Los Osos.
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The tide fills in between jagged rock and cliff formations at Montaña de Oro State Beach in Los Osos.
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Elephant Seals battle one another on the beach rookery at Piedras Blancas State Marine Reserve, San Simeon.
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A scenic view of the setting sun shining through the fog along the Big Sur coastline. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A scenic view of a waterfall spilling onto the beach at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Big Sur coastline.
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A scenic view of an iconic California coastline gem, the Bixby Bridge, Big Sur.
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Tourists sit together at a lookout point while exploring the Big Sur coastline.
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A scenic view taken from Rocky Point, looking out over the Big Sur coastline.
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Elephant Seals gather on the beach rookery at Piedras Blancas State Marine Reserve, San Simeon.
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Kayakers take a scenic cruise on Monterey Bay.
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A scenic view of Garrapata State Park in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
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A view of Carmel Sunset Beach on a summer day.
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A child climbs a dune on the site of a proposed, nearly 400-unit hotel and condominium development in Sand City.
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A Western snowy plover, a threatened species protected under the Endangered Species Act, stands amid critical habitat at the site of the proposed Monterey Bay Shores condo and hotel development in Sand City.
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Amid fog, Mark Massara, a decades-long coastal steward, surfs in front of Shark Tooth Rock at Martins Beach, where an access gate remains locked despite a judge’s order to landowner Vinod Khosla to to open the private gate and allow public access to the beach.
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Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez revisits Santa Cruz, where he surfed as a boy.
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Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez surfs in Santa Cruz.
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The sun illuminates the incoming tide as a child plays in the water near Twin Lakes State Beach in Santa Cruz.
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A harbor seal lets out a yawn while relaxing on the rocks at Pigeon Point Light Station near Santa Cruz.
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A sailor heads out to sea from Santa Cruz.
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A mural on a beach cottage wall at Martins Beach, where an access gate remains locked despite a judge’s order to landowner Vinod Khosla to to open the private gate and allow public access to the beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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The sun sets as a crew team glides through the water near Lighthouse Point in Santa Cruz.
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A tourist takes in the coastline scenery at Pigeon Point Light Station near Santa Cruz. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A view of the scenic Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park in Pescadero.
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Sailboats and stand-up-paddle boarders share the water off Lighthouse Point in Santa Cruz.
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Ash from a nearby forest fire creates a yellow-hued sky at sunset at Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz.
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A view of one of California’s most beloved coastal gems: the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco skyline from the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
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An egret searches for breakfast on a foggy morning at Bolinas Lagoon Nature Preserve in Stinson Beach.
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A family walks across the beach amid the fog at Dunes Beach in Half Moon Bay.
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A man checking the surf is silhouetted by evening sunshine reflecting off the ocean amid fog at Dunes Beach in Half Moon Bay.
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Harbor Seals relax in the mud at low tide on a foggy morning at Bolinas Lagoon Nature Preserve in Stinson Beach.
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A crab crawls through the mud at low tide at Bolinas Lagoon Nature Preserve in Stinson Beach.
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White pelicans and sea gulls perch on a sand bar in Drakes Estero, Point Reyes National Seashore.
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Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, left, gets a kayak tour through the eel grass from Amy Trainer, right, deputy director California Coastal Protection Network.
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A coyote hunts for food along the shore in Drakes Estero, Point Reyes National Seashore.
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Tom Baty, a local environmentalist, has a collection of Japanese glass fishing floats he found on the beach over the years. They are used to hold up fishing nets.
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Tom Baty has been involved in the fight to close the oyster farm on Drakes Estero, Point Reyes National Seashore.
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A harbor seal checks out kayakers in Drakes Estero, Point Reyes National Seashore.
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Steve Lopez, left, gets a kayak tour from Amy Trainer, in white kayak, Brett Miller and Cicely Muldoon.
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Remnants of oyster racks are part of a restoration project to remove 470 tons of marine debris and 5 miles of oyster racks in Drakes Estero
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Amy Trainer, deputy director California Coastal Protection Network, kayaks past oyster racks in Drakes Estero.
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Amy Trainer, deputy director California Coastal Protection Network, kayaks past oyster racks in Drakes Estero.
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The tide pools at the scenic Shell Beach in Sea Ranch, Calif. Sea Ranch rallied a generation of coastal stewards demanding public access to the rugged and scenic beauty on the Sonoma County coast.
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A view of flowers overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Bodega Head, Bodega Bay.
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A blue heron perches on a branch at The Hole in Bodega Head that was meant to hold a nuclear power plant. Photo taken at Bodega Head, Bodega Bay, Calif.
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A view of the rugged beauty of the Sonoma County coast.
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Couples take a scenic walk on the beach in Crescent City.
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The rocky coastline of Shelter Cove.
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Fog partially obscures the high cliffs of the Lost Coast, where early conservation activists fought development in Shelter Cove.
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A woman watches the tide roll in on Black Sands Beach in Shelter Cove along the Lost Coast.
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A woman walks along Black Sands Beach in Shelter Cove.
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An evening view of the Mendocino County coastline in Northern California.
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A full moon rises at dusk over the protected Ma-le’l Dunes in Arcata, which contain eight distinct habitats.
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Sunset illuminates Battery Point Lighthouse and sea stacks in Crescent City on July 18, 2016. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A surfer heads out at sunset to catch a wave near a sea stack in Crescent City on July 18, 2016. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Flowers overlooking Enderts Beach near Crescent City on July 19, 2016. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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The Battery Point Lighthouse illuminates the night sky near sea stacks in Crescent City on July 18, 2016. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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A couple walks along the beach at Pelican Bay State Beach after crossing the California border from Oregon on July 18, 2016.
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Empty half-acre lots and paved roads are now part of the Lake Earl Wildlife Area on July 18, 2016.
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A blue heron lands on a tree branch amid the rich habitat of the south Lake Earl Wildlife Area, which was formerly private Bliss Ranch and is now public land near Crescent City on July 18, 2016.
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Water ripples among reeds in the near-empty half-acre lots and paved roads that are now part of the Lake Earl Wildlife Area.
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Sunset illuminates sea stacks and the coastline at False Klamath Cove in Redwood National Park near Crescent City on July 18, 2016.
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The sun sets behind trees at False Klamath Cove in Redwood National Park near Crescent City on July 18, 2016.
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A view of the Smith River National Recreation Area in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park on July 19, 2016. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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Times columnist Steve Lopez, right, kayaks with Grant Werschkull, left, co-executive director of the Smith River Alliance, on the Smith River National Recreation Area in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park on July 19, 2016. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
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An elk grazes in the meadow at sunset in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park on July 19, 2016.
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Patterns formed by the wind and bird footprints in the sand at the Ma-le’l Dunes North, which contains eight different habitats, in Arcata on July 19, 2016. The dunes are highlighted as a victory for the coast after a years-long fight by conservationists to keep off-highway vehicles off the unique sand dunes.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) I sympathize with some homeowners who live on the beach and argue that more public access means more trash, with occasional disgusting and rowdy behavior. But I have nothing good to say about those who continue, after decades, to post unauthorized “no-parking” signs and misleading and illegal warnings about allegedly private beaches. Among those who lose out are the many Malibu residents who aren’t rich and don’t live on a beach to call their own.
The California Coastal Commission in the last year has stepped up a crackdown on offenders and is working with the county and other agencies on plans to open several more blocked access points. It wouldn’t be a bad idea, where possible, to continue the trend of partnering with the Mountains Recreation and Conservancy Agency to help open and manage those projects and let more people enjoy a public treasure.
Though we may not own castles on the sand, the beaches are yours, they’re mine, they’re ours.
Live Updates -- Follow along with Steve »
steve.lopez@latimes.com | Follow on Twitter: @LATstevelopez
Weigh in at @JerryBrownGov #SaveYourCoast and (916 445-2841) or email governor@governor.ca.gov.
To read the story in Spanish, click here.
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