California Coastal Commission Public Access Action Plan June 1999 REPORT PREPARED BY: LINDA LOCKLIN PUBLIC ACCESS PROGRAM MANAGER UNDER THE DIRECTION OF: TAMI GROVE DEPUTY DIRECTOR PETER DOUGLAS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WITH ASSISTANCE FROM: AUDREY BLUMENEAU TIM DUFF REBECCA ROTH SPECIAL ASSISTANCE FROM: ROBERTO BOFILL MELISA ARELLANO WORD PROCESSING: CECELIA MITCHELL TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..........................................................................................................................................................i CHAPTER I. CALIFORNIA’S COASTAL ACCESS PROGRAM AND THIS ACTION PLAN ....................................................1 A. INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................................................................1 B. BACKGROUND................................................................................................................................................................4 1. State Coastal Access Program..................................................................................................................................5 2. Federal Coastal Zone Management Program.............................................................................................................6 3. State Planning and Program Enhancements..............................................................................................................6 C. COASTAL ACCESS PARTNERSHIPS .............................................................................................................................7 1. California Coastal Commission..................................................................................................................................7 2. State Coastal Conservancy .......................................................................................................................................8 3. California State Lands Commission......................................................................................................................... 11 4. California Department of Parks and Recreation ....................................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER II. THREE TOP PRIORITIES FOR THE COMMISSION’S ACCESS PROGRAM.................................................. 13 A. FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OFFER TO DEDICATE (OTD) PUBLIC ACCESS EASEMENT PROGRAM ............. 13 1. Vertical OTDs ......................................................................................................................................................... 18 2. Outstanding OTDs .................................................................................................................................................. 19 3. Accepted OTDs....................................................................................................................................................... 27 4. LCP Modifications for OTDs.................................................................................................................................... 28 B. COMPLETION OF THE CALIFORNIA COASTAL TRAIL ................................................................................................ 30 C. THREATS TO PRESCRIPTIVE RIGHTS........................................................................................................................ 38 CHAPTER III. OTHER PRIORITY ISSUE AREAS ................................................................................................................. 42 A. ARMORING THE COAST............................................................................................................................................... 42 B. PUBLIC INFORMATION................................................................................................................................................. 47 C. CUMULATIVE IMPACTS................................................................................................................................................ 50 1. Encroachments ....................................................................................................................................................... 50 2. Temporary Events................................................................................................................................................... 52 3. Beach Curfews........................................................................................................................................................ 54 4. Managing competition among users ........................................................................................................................ 55 5. Railroad Crossings.................................................................................................................................................. 56 D. TRANSPORTATION....................................................................................................................................................... 57 1. Traffic Congestion................................................................................................................................................... 57 2. Inadequate Parking ................................................................................................................................................. 58 a. Joint Use Parking ............................................................................................................................................ 58 b. Exclusionary parking........................................................................................................................................ 60 c. The Impact of Parking Fees............................................................................................................................. 60 E. WATER QUALITY AND BEACH CLOSURES................................................................................................................. 62 CHAPTER IV. IMPLEMENTING STATE ACCESS POLICIES AT THE LOCAL LEVEL: LOCAL COASTAL PROGRAMS.... 66 A. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................................ 66 B ASSESSMENT OF LCP STRUCTURE, CONTENT AND OPERATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS......................................... 67 C. LCP AND PRIORITY ISSUE AREAS.............................................................................................................................. 72 D. EFFECTS OF RECENT TAKINGS CASES..................................................................................................................... 73 CHAPTER V. INVENTORY OF EXISTING ACCESS CONDITIONS ALONG THE CALIFORNIA COAST.............................. 74 A. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................................ 74 B. STATEWIDE OVERVIEW............................................................................................................................................... 74 C. COUNTY BY COUNTY INVENTORY ............................................................................................................................. 75 APPENDIX: FULL SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................... 92 PAGE i Public Access Action Plan Executive Summary his Public Access Action Plan was prepared by the California Coastal Commission pursuant to direction and funding under former Governor Wilson’s “Coastal Initiative” in T1998. A comprehensive evaluation of the coastal access situation in California, as well as the Commission’s roles and responsibilities, this Plan identifies a number of key issues and makes recommendations for addressing problem areas. The Plan also includes a broad overview of not only the Commission’s public access program, but also its inter-workings with other government agencies and nonprofit groups (Chapter I). The Commission is one of several agencies in California charged with protecting and providing public coastal access. Amendments to the Coastal Act in 1979, for example, created a Joint Access Program between the Commission and the State Coastal Conservancy. That mandate established a unique partnership that gives the Conservancy authorities to fund, acquire, develop and manage access sites in concert with the Commission’s authorities to plan and regulate development that affects coastal access. Several other key players complement the Commission’s public access program, including the State Lands Commission, which owns substantial coastal properties, and the Department of Parks and Recreation, the largest single provider of public recreation along California’s coast. At the local level, California’s coastal program is structured so that state Coastal Act policies designed to protect and enhance public access are implemented through Local Coastal Programs (LCPs). It is through this partnership that the Commission and coastal cities and counties make decisions every day that affect the public’s access to the coast. Also, an important relationship has developed in recent years between the Commission and the nonprofit land trust community, which has facilitated the opening of many new accessways to the coast.