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U.S. NEWS Friday 13 July 2018

$ 10

California regulators weigh

public access to gated beach

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) lion-dollar homes right by District. "The commission
— The California Coastal the ocean. . This is a case has enormous social jus-
Commission was set to de- that could set really bad tice issues up and down
cide Thursday whether ac- precedents." the coast — this isn't one of
cess to a secluded beach The Opal Cliffs Recreation them."
can be restricted by a District rebuilt the wooden With the gate's future in
9-foot iron fence, a locking stairs leading to the seclud- limbo, the district has taken
gate with a $100 annual ed beach and cleaned steps to appease its crit- This Aug. 31, 2016, photo shows a staircase from Opal Cliffs
key fee and a gate atten- trash and graffiti from the ics. It began opening the Park that leads to Opal Cliffs Neighborhood Beach, more
dant. area that was a popular beach free of charge last commonly known as Privates, in the Live Oak neighborhood of
The commission will vote spot for parties. year from Memorial Day to an unincorporated part of Santa Cruz County, Calif.
Associated Press
on whether the resident- The commission's decision Labor Day.q
run program that has reg- comes as high-powered in-
ulated access to Privates terests across the state are
Beach south of San Jose fighting to keep beaches
for more than 50 years is al- to themselves.
lowed to continue, the Los At Hollister Ranch, the
Angeles Times reported . public was outraged that
Santa Cruz County regula- coastal officials quietly
tors first allowed residents of agreed to give up their
a winding road dotted with only shot at public land ac-
multimillion-dollar homes cess after a decades-long
near the beach to install battle with wealthy owners.
the gate and issued keys to At Martins Beach, a Silicon
control access to it in 1963. Valley billionaire is trying to
But the commission now bring his fight to the U.S. Su-
will take into account a preme Court.
new state law that asks it Opal Cliffs residents say
to consider not only envi- they have been unfairly
ronmental effects but also lumped together with the
the impact of its decisions billionaires as the commis-
on underrepresented com- sion focuses on environ-
munities. mental justice.
"It's like a private beach "They're chasing ghosts and
club," said Patrick Veesart, fighting a problem that
who oversees enforcement doesn't exist," said Mark
of the state's coastal law in Massara, a coastal advo-
Northern California. "You're cate who fought against
using money to filter out the Martins Beach owner
people who are not local, and is now representing
who don't live in multimil- the Opal Cliffs Recreation