City of Dana Point LCP Amendment - Strands Beach

The City of Dana Point submitted an Local Coastal Plan (LCP) request to amend the Land Use Plan (LUP) to establish hours of operation for the Mid-Strand and Central Strand public beach accessways (5 a.m. to 10 p.m.) and to allow the issuance of a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) for the installation of retractable automated locking gates at the Mid-Strand and Central Strand public beach accessways to enforce the hours of operation. The LCP amendment also states that other accessways providing access to the beach, including the South Strand Switchback Trail, Strand Beach Park and the Strand Revetment Trail shall be open 24 hours per day.

Staff’s recommendation rejects the installation of gates and suggests, as an alternative to gates at the subject accessways, that the City could install simple single-strand ropes, or similar device (e.g. single chain), that can be draped across the accessways and hooked in a “closed” position during hours of closure and that will hang or be hooked in an open position at the accessways during hours of operation. A rope, along with the informational signage the City has proposed, will provide a less confrontational means of informing beach goers of when the accessways are available and not available for use by the public.

The presence of gates, whether open or closed, can give the impression that the accessways are not available for public use. Public access and recreation are among the Coastal Act’s highest priorities. The legislature expressly stated in Section 30001.5 of the Coastal Act that one of the state’s primary goals in the coastal zone is to “[m]aximize public access to and along the coast and maximize public recreational opportunities in the coastal zone.” Limiting such uses must be very carefully considered and only the minimum limitation necessary to protect public safety or to serve some other valid purpose should be allowed.