Dana Point, Surfrider still at odds over beach gate
It's been 10 days since a judge told Dana Point to seek permission from the California Coastal Commission if it wants to keep a gate up to limitaccess to Strand Beach. But the gate is still there, angering those who have fought for more than a year to get rid of it.
"It's hard to understand going to a beach anywhere in California and being met with a sign," Jim Moriarty, chief executive of the Surfrider Foundation, said at 7 a.m. Thursday in front of the locked gate at the Mid-Strand access point, which leads to a trail from Strand Vista Park to the beach through the multimillion-dollar Strand at Headlands housing development.
The hours the gate is unlocked are 8 a.m. to either 5 p.m. or 7 p.m., depending on the season – "banker's hours," in Moriarty's words.
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On June 6, San Diego County Superior Court Judge Joan Lewis rejected Dana Point's restrictions on public access, which include a city ordinance declaring a public nuisance at the site, because the city does not have a Coastal Commission permit for the gate. The Surfrider Foundation, a San Clemente-based nonprofit organization, filed a lawsuit against the city last year, opposing the access restrictions.
Dana Point and the Coastal Commission, a state panel that regulates beaches, have been at odds over the gate for more than a year. The commission said Dana Point needed to apply for a permit and keep the gate unlocked during the application process.
Dana Point City Attorney Patrick Munoz said after a City Council meeting Monday that the council hadn't decided whether to appeal Lewis' ruling. But he said the gate and access hours would stay as they are for now.
All the paperwork regarding Lewis' decision, including a document solidifying the ruling, hasn't made its way through the court system.
"There hasn't been a judgment yet," Munoz said. "Why would we (take down the gate)?"
Jennifer Kalnins Temple, a Surfrider attorney, said: "We're disappointed to see the gates and signs are still here. While the judgment technically hasn't been entered, that's a mere formality."
Andrew Willis, a Coastal Commission enforcement officer, said Thursday that the city hasn't reached out to the state panel since the ruling.
"We're hopeful we can work it out," he said. "But if the gates aren't removed, we'll have to use enforcement tools available to us."
Those tools include issuing a cease-and-desist order and fines.
"We intend to put a lot of resources into getting this resolved so the public has the access the commission asked for," Peter Douglas, the commission's executive director, said Wednesday at a commission meeting in Marina del Rey.
Sanford Edward, developer of The Strand at Headlands, said removing the gate is the city's decision. He said he believes the city will appeal Lewis' decision and that it will be overturned.
There are three other entry points to the beach, known as North, Central and South Strand. North and South are ungated, but access is allowed only during normal beach hours, 5 a.m. to midnight, according to court documents. A sign at Mid-Strand shows how to get to them. Central is gated and is used only by motorists who live in The Strand development. The Coastal Commission approved that arrangement with The Strand's development permits.
Rick Erkeneff, vice chairman of Surfrider's South Orange County chapter, said he would like access hours at Mid-Strand to also be 5 a.m. to midnight.
"I come down here before the sun comes up to see the dolphins and the birds," said Erkeneff, a Dana Point resident since 1972. "I come here well after dark to see the sunset. The gates are a detriment to my lifestyle.
"It's just a matter of time before they chip away the rest of our access," he said.
Local police officials have said that if Dana Point didn't have extra limits on Mid-Strand access, the Headlands would become "an amusement park" with teenage drinking, smoking and sex parties. The city declared a public nuisance at the site and described the gate as a way to protect public safety.
Surfrider called the move an attempt by the city to "create a private enclave for its tax-generating benefactor, the Headlands," according to court records. Edward has said that's untrue.
Lewis said in her ruling that the city's rationale for locking the gate was based on speculation and that the city acted "arbitrarily and capriciously" while declaring a public nuisance. She said the matter should be reviewed by the Coastal Commission for further action.
Contact the writer: blevine@ocregister.com, twitter.com/danapointnews or 949-492-5135
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