Dana Point Agrees to Stop Blocking Strand Beach Access, Ending 6-Year Legal Battle

Dana Point will stop blocking surfers from catching early morning sets and beachgoers from watching the sun set off a popular stretch of coast.

City officials agreed Monday to lift restrictions on public access at Strands Beach, ending a six-year legal battle with repercussions up and down the California Coast.

If the agreement between the city and the Coastal Commission holds up under review, gates limiting access to Dana Point Strands Beach could soon come out, and restrictive hours of access would be scaled back, according to Surfrider Rick Erkeneff, chairman of Surfrider Foundation South Orange County Chapter. For Surfrider, which sued the city in 2009 over the restrictions on public access, the agreement sends a signal to developers and city leaders statewide that they can’t preemptively declare stretches of beach a potential nuisance to justify restricting public access.

“That would have set a very dangerous precedent up and down our coast if developers and the city can create the pretext that there is potential for illegal activity, noise, and other nuisances to limit access to the beach in violation of coastal access law,” said Erkeneff. “The locals use the beach a lot. They estimate over 2 million people a year come to Dana Point alone. Coastal access is just crucial to the public.”

As part of the agreement, the city will pay for $300,000 in mitigation measures including the construction of connector trail loops, bike racks, removing the gates, and an educational program for students through the Ocean Institute. The Coastal Commission will vote on the agreement April 15.

On Monday, Dana Point City Manager Doug Chotkevys took pains to point out that a majority of the current City Council did not support the access restrictions and weren’t part of the lawsuits.

“The Settlement Agreement puts the past litigation behind the Coastal Commission and the City, and reflects a renewed effort, by both agencies, to work very collaboratively in the future on matters pertaining to the Coast,” said Chotkevys. “The Settlement Agreement also includes important public improvements that will enhance the coastal experience for visitors to Dana Point.”

Prior to the settlement, the city argued in court documents that by keeping beach access closed from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. Oct.-April and from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. May-Sept., it was helping keep beachgoers safe.

Judge Joan M. Lewis didn’t buy it, criticizing the city for acting "arbitrarily and capriciously" by installing the gates.