State’s residents love coast
Survey finds Californians care about oceans and beaches as much as ever, but many worry about barriers to access
At a time of deep political division, there’s one thing most Californians still have in common: They love their majestic coastline and sandy beaches.
Forty years after the passage of the Coastal Act, Golden State residents of all backgrounds care immensely about the condition of their ocean and beaches, according to a Field/ IGS Poll released Thursday. The survey also found widespread concern over continuing barriers to coastal access, including the cost and availability of parking and overnight accommodations.
In a survey last month of 1,800 registered voters, conducted online in English and Spanish, 90 percent of respondents said the condition of the coast is important to them personally, with 57 percent rating the issue as “very important” and 33 percent deeming it “somewhat important.”
The findings reaffirm that “the coast is central to our identity as Californians,” said Jon Christensen, who commissioned the poll as part of research he’s conducting at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. Christensen got similar responses this summer during a
survey of 1,000 Southern California beachgoers.
“The most striking finding is the high degree of unanimity of Californians about the importance of the coast across all demographic groups — age, ethnic and income groups — in coastal and inland California,” he said.
The poll found 26 percent of respondents visit the beach once a month or more, while 77 percent go at least once a year.
The survey comes at a time of heightened interest in coastal issues. The California Coastal Commission’s controversial February dismissal of Executive Director Charles Lester sparked outrage among coastal advocates. In the Bay Area, venture capitalist Vinod Khosla is locked in a high-profile battle with the Surfrider Foundation, state and local authorities, and other groups over his 2010 decision to cease public access to Martins Beach near Half Moon Bay.
The showdown at Martins Beach is one of many disputes along the coast pitting private property owners against state regulators and activists. In June, the Coastal Commission opened a new stairway leading down to a beach in Malibu, where some wealthy homeowners have discouraged visitors from crossing their property to reach the ocean.
Compounding these problems is sea-level rise, said Angela Howe, legal director of the Surfrider Foundation. Scientists predict climate change will cause the Pacific Ocean to rise several feet this century, eating away at beaches and exacerbating access disputes.
“With less and less sand for people to access, and more and more people living in and visiting California,” she said, “we will be seeing more controversies in the future with who can get to and enjoy the beach.”
But these conflicts are just one way that access is limited. The Coastal Commission and environmental groups are increasingly focused on improving access for minorities and low-income families, who often lack resources and opportunities to visit the coast.
The Field/Institute of Governmental Studies Poll found that people from households making less than $40,000 a year go to the beach less frequently — often considerably so — than wealthier Californians. And most respondents said limited options for affordable parking (78 percent), hotels (75 percent) and public transportation (68 percent) were obstacles to visiting the coast.
Ben McCue, executive director of Outdoor Outreach, a San Diego nonprofit that exposes disadvantaged kids to nature, said some children who join the program have never been to the beach, despite living just a few miles away. The barriers include lack of transportation and parents who work multiple jobs and have little free time, he said.
“When it comes to the youth that we serve, the Coastal Act’s promise of
“The most striking finding is the high degree of unanimity of Californians about the importance of the coast across all demographic groups.”
maximum access to the coast is unrealized,” said McCue, whose organization serves about 1,400 adolescents a year, roughly 90 percent of them Latino and black.
The Coastal Commission has taken note of the problem, holding several recent workshops on enhancing low-cost visitor services, said Carole Groom, a commissioner and San Mateo County supervisor.
“One of the constant discussions that we’ve been having lately is parking costs,” she said.
The commission balked this spring at a California Department of Parks and Recreation proposal to institute parking fees at eight beaches in Sonoma County, citing worries about the impact on lowincome beachgoers.
Groom said the Field/ IGS Poll’s findings on Californians’ love of the coast confirms what she sees all the time. She was among more than 200 people who attended this September’s Coastal Cleanup Day event in Pacifica. Howe, of Surfrider, said the foundation is busy cultivating the next generation of coastal stewards to carry the flame.
“This is a universal right that is ingrained in the consciousness of the people of California,” she said, “that people have the right to get to the sand.”
— Jon Christensen, who commissioned the poll as part of his research at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability