While California's Coastal Act of 1976 ensures beach access, the rich and famous who want to keep the state's dramatic coast exclusive have been posting bogus "no parking" and "private beach" signs here and elsewhere.
MALIBU, Calif. -- Before getting to some of the world's most beautiful beaches, it helps to know a few things about the law -- and the locals.
While California's Coastal Act of 1976 ensures beach access, the rich and famous who want to keep the state's dramatic coast exclusive have been posting bogus "no parking" and "private beach" signs here and elsewhere.
They've done it so effectively in Malibu for so long that unfortunate beachgoers occasionally get ticketed.
"It doesn't sound like a big deal to put in a sign or two," said Linda Locklin, of the California Coastal Commission. "But pretty soon if you have all the public access ways with signs or gates, it's a huge problem."
The promise of safe passage to the sea is just one front the commission concedes it's losing amid budget constraints.
Development projects the agency must review are put on hold, communities are left without an updated blueprint for regulating growth along their shore, and the state can't process paperwork to accept offers of free land.
Since 1980, while inflation has increased 160 percent, the commission's total funding has risen only 9 percent -- from $13.5 million to $16.3 million. At times it has been cut nearly in half.
The commission's full-time staff has been slashed from 200 in 1980 to 138 today; only 11 enforcement officers investigate violations along the 1,100-mile coastline.
"We haven't had an officer north of San Francisco since 2001," said Lisa Haage, the agency's chief of enforcement. "It's a full day drive and then we can't pay for a hotel."
With so few watching, residents have built illegal homes on wetlands near the Oregon line and developers have graded over coastal sage scrub in the Santa Monica Mountains. They were eventually caught and are in the process of being punished, but the damage was done.
Officers can only resolve about a dozen complaints a year, leaving hundreds of other cases languishing -- from complaints about neighbors constructing fences without permits to a developer not building a promised public walkway.
"We do the best we can but things fall through the cracks," said Peter Douglas, the commission's longtime director. "It's been an extremely frustrating experience."
Voters established the largely independent, quasi-judicial commission in 1972 out of growing concern that rampant development would eclipse the state's world-famous beaches, as well as the average person's ability to get to them. The commission is composed of 12 voting members appointed by the governor, the state Senate Rules Committee and the Assembly speaker.
The Coastal Act gives the Coastal Commision more reach and legal muscle than coastal programs in other states. The law placed a priority on public recreation over private development, created protection for nesting birds and other animals, and gave the agency authority to enforce the law.
But critics say the commission mismanages its funding by tackling minor land use issues that should be left to local communities. They say it should focus on development issues with statewide impact.
"They're a very aggressive, very pro-active bureaucracy," said Fred Gaines, an attorney who regularly represents property owners against the commission. "Their view of preserving coastal resources is being anti-development down to what size light bulb you can have in your front porch light."
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget for next year would keep commission funding levels near this year's $16.3 million.
The agency doesn't have enough money for a spokesperson. Times got so tough that the commission decided to save money by punching their own holes in paper instead of buying it prepunched.
"You have to understand that all of this translates into a lack of adequate protection for the coast," said longtime commissioner Sara Wan. "The real thing that suffers is the coast itself."
Only the most determined visitors find the gems hidden along the 27-mile stretch of Malibu coast.
Case in point: after orange traffic cones discouraged parking near Lechuza Beach on a previous Memorial Day, someone removed the sign this year that pointed the way to the beach.
State officials replaced the "Beach Access" sign last week so people can find their way to the water -- at least until another ploy stops a new wave of beachgoers.
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