Coastal Commission says gate at Privates is too be removed or 11k a day fine

[IRideYellow]

I wandered over to Privates on Sunday to check out the surf and was talking about getting my pass for the next year.  Someone pointed out that the CCC is going to fine Opal Cliffs 11500 a day for everyday they restrict access.  Hmm maybe I should hold onto my 100 for now.

I like it as it is. There is someone watching your stuff, the place is clean and tidy and it never seems too crowded. 

However, as a member of the great unwashed I'd also like to not pay 100 a year for a card to open the gate.  Though as a never to be member of the 1% I signed the petition to keep the masses from the break.

Anyone have a link to the details of what the CCC wants and what how has Opal Cliffs organization responded? 

[SUPcheat]

I saw the signs up last week about the Coastal Commission action.

  I don't know how taking the gate down will effect the dynamics of Privates i.e. make it more crowded, not maintained etc.  I also signed the petition to keep it the way it is.  $100 to me is a cheap price for parking and courteous, non aggro access.  The Privates break is acknowledged to be a spot where standups can go without being harassed.

I am sure that the neighborhood isn't happy about it. The local neighbors do a nice job of keeping the place up and using their kids as gate monitors.

I think that even if it becomes non cost public access, though, not that many people will routinely use it, but who knows.  There will be more, but how many more??  I imagine more people will be using the nude beach as well, if they continue to allow it to be such.

I know there has been a pretty long history of complaints about the gate and the Coastal Commission wondering what to do.  I had the impression they had already worked it all out to keep the gate.

I believe that legally a paid permit through a gate is permissible if there is a park that requires access through private property.  However, I also know that there are supposed to be unrestricted access points at regular points along the coast, private property or no private property.

I will regret the loss of the gate, but it is what it is, and there are plenty of ways to get out there, so we will have to see how it goes.

[southwesterly]

Here's everything you want to know about Privates and the California Coastal Commission.
Well, almost everything except why they want to take away the gate after they approved it in 2008.

http://documents.coastal.ca.gov/reports/2009/1/W13b-1-2009.pdf

I signed the petition to leave it the way it is. It's open to the public just like any state park that you have to pay for. I don't want to spill the beans, but it's the best 100 dollars I've ever spent. The access key goes from June to June and I get my moneys worth of waves by June 2nd.

My friend Kirby has kept a surf journal for Privates last year. We surfed there 218 days with a conservative estimate of 1753 waves ridden for each of us. That's counting just eight waves per session (most days we triple that and then some). That comes out to just over 5 cents per wave; a pretty good bang for your buck.

I say to the California Coastal Commission... Keep your hands off my Privates!

[SeaMe]

Well, almost everything except why they want to take away the gate after they approved it in 2008.

from Page 13 of the application:

The high cost of a key card, however, is exclusionary to those who may wish to access the
park once or a few times a year, such as visitors from out of the area or other nearby local residents who
may only wish to access the park on a very limited basis. It is highly unlikely that these persons would
pay $100.00 (or even $25.00 in April) to obtain a key card in order to enter the park and access the
beach once or twice a year. And, if they did, the cost of such access would be extremely high, and
certainly not the free/low-cost access envisioned by the Coastal Act and the LCP. Therefore, as
currently implemented, the access program is discriminatory to those who wish to access the park and
the stairway access to the beach on an infrequent basis. For this reason, the access program is
inconsistent with the Coastal Act’s requirements to maximize public recreational access opportunities,
and to provide lower-cost visitor recreational facilities.

It sounds like they're going to replace it with a day-fee of about $5, so you'll just end up paying your $100 little by little.

[TallDude]

Sometimes the Coastal Commission is all about lip service. How that plays onto SouthWesterly's Privates, I'm not sure?

[SUPcheat]

A naked beach is bad enough.  Lip service for Privates will get everybody banned.

Uh, Oh, the Great Carnac sees a political correctness storm coming!

[PonoBill]

Coastal commission is pretty whacked, but being the nut I am I read the entire finding. Seems actually kind of consistent with their charge of keeping coastal access for everyone. California could easily have gone the way of the East Coast, with little public beaches and a million miles of inaccessible private coast. It didn't. they still suck, but even a blind squirrel...

[TallDude]

We have the same thing going on here in Dana Point.

http://www.danapointtimes.com/coastal-commission-responds-to-citys-dana-strand-gates-cdp-city-council-meets-in-closed-session-to-discuss/

[SUPcheat]

The Coastal Commission has a point about day use at Privates.  A 15 dollar monthly pass ought to do it, even if people only plan to use it for a day/days/week.  Heck, the harbor charges something like that for a daily launch fee if you bring in your SUP on the top of your car.

[Subber]

You would think they would handle Privates similarly to parking on the Santa Cruz wharf.
An annual pass or a reasonable daily rate.


--
Having it named "Privates" probably didn't help.
 

[southwesterly]

Having it named "Privates" probably didn't help.

At the meeting Tuesday night Mark Massara, a San Francisco–based surfer/lawyer/environmentalist representing the Opal Cliffs Park Association said that very thing. The name Privates alone is a major stumbling block.

Publics anyone?

[supdiscobay]

I have surfed privates at various times over the last 40 years.  Never once walked through that gate though. Always paddled down from the Hook. And on a stand up paddling up from Capitola is easy.  Even when there was no sign up, everyone knew where to buy a key.  But I remember when it was $20.  At $100, that would make me think twice.
Read the entire document and the staff recommendations make sense.  Day passes and annual passes. Hard to argue against that.  I fully support the arguments they presented for access.  Well written report.  Might even spend $100, if they added a parking lot too! 4 spaces in front of the gate isn't enough.  I am sure the neighbors are not excited about the possibility of more cars parking in front of their houses.  This is a step in the right direction for the commission, expanding coastal access.

[SUPcheat]

I always thought the name "Privates" was a riff on the au natural beach, and not meant to be a reflection of the neighborhood's attitudes.  I don't really know the specific history of the moniker, though.

I have to admit that $100 is pretty effective in screening out the cheapskates and freebie monsters, so I couldn't deny an ulterior motive.

[johnysmoke]

Here in the northeast, it'sgoing to be $60 for a 3 month "season" parking pass to get jostled in with the unwashed masses, especially at high tide when beach real estate is tight. $100 for a year to play with your Privates on a west coast beach seems like a deal.

[Badger]

 I feel very fortunate. I've been surfing almost four years now and I've never paid to park.