Many of Malibu’s finest beaches are deserted due to access issues. A new app aims to inform the public of access points. Photo: Shutterstock/Steve Heap
A new Smartphone app aims to provide public access to many of Malibu’s alleged private beaches. For years, Malibu residents have managed to restrict beach access, preventing the public from entering the area’s gorgeous beaches.
According to USA Today, “The California Coastal Commission, a powerful state environmental agency, says the law allows everyone to frolic in the waves and the damp sand below the point of the highest tide.”
Malibu has huge sections of coastline that are open to the public, yet most are deserted due to the fact that access has been obstructed by walls and private property gates from wealthy and celebrity landowners. The Our Malibu Beaches App will reveal access points in the area, which is information that has, at times, been difficult to find.
According to the Our Malibu Beaches App website:
“For years, we’ve had to put up with obstacles to finding and using these incredible beaches. And even with courts ruling over and over and over and over to mandate public access, finding and using these beaches is still really tough.
Until now.”
The app resurfaces broader beach access issues as well as the reach of the California Coastal Act, which maximizes beach access. In February, five surfers were charged with trespassing for surfing at Martin’s Beach, which at the time, had been obstructed with “No Trespassing Signs.” The charges were dropped in court and the group was able to walk away from the trial with nothing but a warning, which in some ways paved the road for such apps to exist.
Jenny Price, beach access and LA River expert, made the Our Malibu Beaches App, which even shows you where to park. According to Price, all California beaches are in some part public and it is her goal to make this information readily available. While there are currently 17 known public access points, this app will open it up to roughly 105.
