River access talks reflect coastal battles
In 1972, California voters approved Proposition 20 – a voter initiative which created the California Coastal Protection Act. It was enacted into state law in 1976 and has been the law of coastal development and public access of the entire California coastline since.
As an architect who practiced on the coast for 30 years, and during these early times, I saw many worthwhile, land-saving actions, as well as abuses by this new state agency that affected my clients and a great many others, including cities. In all of this, there really was no ambiguity about creating access to public lands.
I often wondered how it might have gone in these past 40 years had there also been enacted Sierra Nevada and California Rivers Protection Acts. Would the same voters have voted as overwhelming in favor of protecting coastal lands if their properties were literally taken to provide access for the public?
Well it looks as if the time has finally come for these people to face the reality of property ownership to the San Joaquin River as their fellow coastal property owners have done all these years. Fair is fair. Keep politics out of this decision.
This story was originally published December 11, 2017 at 2:29 PM with the headline "River access talks reflect coastal battles."