Posted by jas on July 29, 2002 at 20:52:29:
When I say local, I mean very local.
The California Coastal Commission received a tip regarding an illegal fence put up at the East side of Corral Cyn. The fence started from a beachside property line out into the water. Even at low/med, the fence was in water. For those of you that know the area, the pink house at the East end of Corral Cyn starts a long row of houses going down Malibu Rd towards the Colony. The house is a beater that was divided into multiple dwellings. Sort of like condos or apartments. Apparently from what one of the tenant/owners told be, they put this fence up every year per the recommendation from the Malibu Sheriffs Dept. That could mean just one Sheriff made a suggestion one day. Who knows? I'm not an investigative reporter. Though I don't mind dropping an email or picking up the phone and calling the California Coastal Commission.
The fence ran well into the water. Matter of fact, I had never seen a tide low enough there to where the water wasn't touching the fence. At med to high tides, the fence was a potential hazard.
In the photo above, the tide was almost at it's lowest that day. During medium to
high tide: If you were boogie boarding, surfing, kayaking, swimming or body surfing (kid or adult), this fence was something that you had to stay way clear of in order to stay out of danger. Though Mother Nature doesn't always wash us up exactly where we'd like to go/be. The fence posts were made of steel. You can easily ram into one when the water was moving. Also, if you got stuck walking along the beach at high tide, it was possible that you would have to either climb the fence, turn back or wait 4-6 hours for the tide to go back out. To add insult to injury, they posted a sign on the fence that said "Private Property, No
Trespassing". That's a LIE!!! That is not private property!!! In California, you can only own to the high tide mark.
Thumbs up and hats off to the California Coastal Commission. They were tipped and immediately responded. They gave the owners a time frame to comply. Though very hesitant, they complied in the neck of time. The fence is no longer there. They had to pay to put it up and they had to pay to tear it down. I love it!
If you know of any similar fences, keep out signs or barriers, contact the California Coastal Commission. We have them linked in our links section. Know your rights! Know where you are allowed to access when it comes to "ALL" of the coastal areas.
Regardless of where you live, whether it's a province, an island, a
state, etc; Protect your rights!!! A lot of people aren't aware of their rights to access the beach.
In California, your rights to the beaches don't start and stop w/ these huge designated public beach areas. You can enjoy the beach down the way with all of those lovely homes on it. Just know your rights and respect the beach front homeowners' property lines. I've met some great beachfront homeowners that don't conform to this "reclaim the public beach for the rich" mentality.
Certain states have already given up their ownership to the beach. California isn't so protected that it can never happen to us. Some of the Malibu residents are paying a lot of legal/attorney fees to pursue this issue until the end.
If anyone knows of any fence like this or any other obstruction. If anyone has run into private security guards
shushing them off of the beach......contact the Coastal Commission. Check our links section for the California Coastal Commission.