Free our beaches. This has been a
slogan in Sonoma County for well over 25 years. State Parks launched an
effort to charge for parking at our iconic beaches in the late 1980s, resulting
in litigation and public protests throughout the early 90s. Subsequently,
economic conditions changed for the state budget and the plan to charge for
parking was dropped.
In 2012, the California state
legislature mandated that State Parks begin to search for ways to pay for its
operations and wean itself off of the general fund - which in the past had
funded up to 90% of State Parks operations and has been slashed over
time. This led to a renewed effort by State Parks to charge for parking
at Sonoma County's beaches - and at other North Coast beach parking lots.
State Parks lost their bid to charge at
beach parking lots at the local government level, and their appeal of their
proposal will be heard before the California Coastal Commission on April 13th
in Santa Rosa. At this writing, the time has not been set, but it is expected
to be heard in the afternoon at the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building.
In a rural area like Sonoma County -
where our wild and beautiful coastline has been mostly preserved in its natural
state and our population centered over 25 miles from our beaches - in order for
most people to get to the beach, travel by car is a necessity.
"Free our Beaches" doesn't
entirely describe the dilemma that State Parks faces - having to maintain
access to the coastline at a cost which the Governor and Legislature has
declined to support with general fund dollars. Yet, the Constitutional and Act mandates for maximum access
stand with clarity.
For Sonoma County, it comes down to
defending the constitutionally protected rights of citizens to get to the
beach. This is a fight for our right to access the beach at Bodega Head
(an irreplaceable Sonoma County icon), the Kortum trail at Shell Beach, the
incredible beaches at Goat Rock, which are over 2 miles west and a steep route
from Highway One, and Stump Beach, the only free parking access along our North
Coast.
These locations offer little to the
public but parking lots and access to amazing coastal areas. Some have
bathrooms, but none offer services or permanent staffing. Allowing State
Parks to charge for parking in these locations opens up the potential for
similar parking lot charges up and down our State. A similar proposal was
denied by the city of Fort Bragg, and State Parks did not appeal the
decision. They will make their stand here in Sonoma County, and have
publicly stated the urgency of this case so that they can begin to charge
elsewhere.
Fee collection along the rural coast is
not unheard of. State Parks currently charges for access at 7 sites along
our coast, (Bodega Dunes, Wrights Beach, Reef, Fort Ross, Gerstle Cove,
Woodside, and Fisk Mill) and Sonoma County Regional Parks
charges at Doran and Gualala Point. The stark difference in the situation
is that these are staffed parks with camping, programming and other
amenities. This is quite different than charging to park at a parking lot
access point.
The County and the Wildlands
Conservancy have both offered to manage parking areas along the coast for State
Parks to reduce their costs and overhead. Our offers have been ignored or
rejected, and this appeal has marched on toward the April hearing.
This is personal for me. When I
was five, our family of four moved to Sonoma County, where we lived in a one
room apartment in Roseland. Our family struggled to make ends meet, and
had to make hard choices every day. It is very unlikely that my parents
could have found room in their budget for regular trips to the beach if parking
lots charged a fee equivalent to what my dad made for an hour's work. It
was hard enough to pay for gas to get there.
We were lucky. We enjoyed access
to the coastline, the Russian River, redwoods and other natural wonders of
Sonoma County. I developed a love of nature that led me to pursue an
environmental science degree and to now be in a position to form public policy
and help protect open space in Sonoma County.
Children today deserve the same access
to wonder and nature - no matter their family's income level. It is their
right, and the right of all citizens, no matter their economic status. We
need to preserve access for our citizens and for our future – or risk raising
future generations who are disconnected from nature and lack the necessary
passion for the continued preservation of our coast.
Please come to the Coastal Commission
hearing on April 13th. Bring your family, bring your friends. Speak
out about why these charges are unconstitutional, precedent setting, and completely
wrong.
