Up for a two-mile paddle? Photo: hollisterranchlistings.com
The Hollister Ranch Owners Association and the State of California quietly reached a settlement on Tuesday to grant public access to a stretch of pristine beach (and surf!), that is, if the public is willing to work for it. The settlement concedes that soon wealthy property owners, visitors with guides, or those willing to get on a boat or paddle the two miles from Gaviota State Beach will be granted access to a three-quarter-mile section of the coast at Cuarto Canyon.
In turn, state officials agreed to forfeit the only public access route to the ranch via land, a move that’s being criticized by coastal access advocates.
“We’re about public access for all, not just for some. … This is a lot to give up,” Susan Jordan, director of the California Coastal Protection Network, told the L.A. Times. “I’m also troubled by the whole getting there by boat. … Most people don’t have boats. It limits who can go there. Right from the get-go, that’s a huge problem.”
For decades, Hollister Ranch landowners have vehemently fought to restrict access to their 8.5 miles of beaches, and 2.2-mile-long shoreline preserve just west of Santa Barbara. A guard shack, gates, and security patrols have kept the place mostly free from the scourge of overcrowded line-ups that plague nearly every quality surf spot south of Point Conception. According to the L.A. Times, “some owners also have resorted to intimidation and harassment, even when outsiders were in state waters or on the public portion of beach below the mean high-tide line.”
In other words, even if a member of the general public does have a boat or is willing to paddle the two miles to state waters, as explained in the settlement, they’ll no doubt get hassled.
The ins-and-outs of the lawsuit that resulted in Tuesday’s settlement are convoluted, to say the least.
“The clash over property rights and public access began about 40 years ago when a group of landowners sued the Coastal Commission for requiring public easements as a condition of their development permits,” explains the L.A. Times. “They ended up paying an in-lieu fee of $5,000 that was created by the Legislature.
“With Hollister Ranch essentially exempted from the typical coastal access provisions required of most beachside properties, the last shot the state had for public access by land was a rugged, difficult-to-navigate road that the YMCA had offered in 1982 as a condition of approval for a recreational center.
The ranch association successfully sued in 1982 to halt the YMCA’s construction and obtained the property as the result of a settlement. Attorneys since have argued that the proposed easements should be canceled because the YMCA never had the authority to grant them to the state.”
In today’s climate where advocacy groups are fighting hard to uphold the rights of Californians propagated by the Coastal Act – namely the public’s right to access the state’s beaches – the settlement is seen by many as backsliding. Property owners beg to differ.
“We believe the settlement reflects an appropriate balance of interests — including managed public access to the beach and the continued privacy and security of the Ranch residents,” said Monte Ward, president of the Hollister Ranch Owners Association. “It also assures that the valuable natural resources along the coastline will be respected and protected into the future.”
