The right to access California’s coast, enshrined in both the California Constitution and the California Coastal Act, is something your San Diego County Chapter fights hard to protect. Because public beach access can be chipped away in many ways, it takes constant watchdogging to ensure the rights of all residents and visitors to enjoy a day on the coast are protected along San Diego’s 70+ miles of coastline.
Our friends at the Environmental Center of San Diego (ECOSD) feel equally adamant about protecting public coastal access. One important way they’ve helped maintain your access is through acceptance of six “offers to dedicate” (OTD) from La Jolla to Encinitas. An OTD is an offer by a landowner to create a public easement across their property to ensure that public access to the coast is maintained. OTDs are not typically offered voluntarily; they are mandated by the California Coastal Commission as a condition to develop/build in an area where coastal access (or viewpoints) previously existed, i.e. construction of a beachfront or blufftop home that would otherwise block our ability to reach the beach. In other words, a public access OTD is imposed upon certain coastal developments as mitigation for having a negative impact on coastal access.
The Coastal Commission can require such public access easements thanks to the California Coastal Act, the landmark environmental law that seeks to protect coastal resources and maximize public access vis-a-vis the continuous pressure to develop on the coast. Without the Coastal Act, many more of our beaches would likely be walled off by private property with zero regard for your desire to get to the beach. Indeed, areas where private homes form an uninterrupted barrier to the beach were typically built prior to passage of the Coastal Act.
Without the Coastal Commission sticking up for public access, none of the coastal access points cataloged in this 2011 OTD report for San Diego County would exist!
An OTD can be required for lateral access, vertical access, or both. Vertical access denotes a path to reach the beach from the land, i.e. a path or stairway down to the beach. Lateral access refers to your ability to walk across the beach in front of a private property that would otherwise extend all the way to the water. While vertical access is generally considered the highest priority, both are crucial for maintaining coastal access.
However, an OTD offer is only the first step; it must be accepted by a public or private entity who then becomes responsible for managing the easement. While lateral OTD easements typically require only passive management, a vertical access OTD can be a large undertaking if it necessitates building a beach access pathway/staircase from scratch. OTDs have an expiration date as well, and must generally be accepted within 21 years. If an OTD expires, then the opportunity to open that area to the public is lost. Although the California Coastal Conservancy assists both government agencies and nonprofit land trusts with OTD acceptance and funding, many of them expire without a taker. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s the one we have.
Surfrider chapters cannot accept OTDs, but ECOSD does and has accepted six between La Jolla and Encinitas (one vertical, five lateral). As our two orgs work closely on coastal access issues, we’re looking for a few dedicated volunteers to help us survey their five lateral OTD easements. This helps us ensure there are no impediments to access, or any other type of foul play from the landowners. If you’re interested in helping out, please sign up HERE or email us at beachpres@sandiego.surfrider.org!