BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 968
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 16, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
SB 968 (Hill) - As Amended: June 19, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 22-11
SUBJECT : Public lands: Martins Beach property: access road
SUMMARY : Requires the State Lands Commission (SLC) to enter
into negotiations to acquire a public access right-of-way or
easement to the beach at located at the Martins Beach property
south of Half Moon Bay. If negotiations fail, or if the owner
fails to voluntarily provide public access, requires SLC to
acquire, by eminent domain, a right-of-way or an easement to the
beach.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Declares, pursuant to the California Constitution, that the
right of eminent domain exists in the state to all frontages
on the navigable waters of the state.
2)Prohibits, pursuant to the California Constitution, an
individual claiming or possessing the frontage or tidal lands
of navigable waters from excluding the right of way to such
waters whenever it is required for any public purpose or from
destroying or obstructing the free navigation of such water.
Requires the Legislature to enact such laws as will give the
most liberal construction to this provision, so that access to
the navigable waters of this State shall be always attainable
for the people thereof.
3)Protects, pursuant to the common law doctrine of the public
trust, the public's right to use California's waterways for
water-dependent commerce, navigation, fishing, boating,
natural habitat protection, and other water-oriented
activities. Provides, pursuant to the public trust doctrine,
that filled and unfilled tide and submerged lands and the beds
of lakes, streams, and other navigable waterways (i.e., public
trust lands) are to be held in trust by the state for the
benefit of the people of California.
4)Requires SLC to be the steward and manager of the state's
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public trust lands. Gives SLC direct administrative control
over the state's public trust lands and oversight authority
over public trust lands granted by the Legislature to local
public agencies.
5)If SLC has public land, including lands subject to the public
trust for commerce, navigation, and fisheries, to which there
is no access available, authorizes SLC to acquire by purchase,
lease, gift, exchange, or, if all negotiations fail, by
condemnation (i.e., eminent domain), a right-of-way or
easement across privately owned land or other land that it
deems necessary to provide access to such public land.
THIS BILL :
1)Makes findings and declarations regarding Martins Beach and
public access to the coast.
2)Requires SLC to consult and enter into any necessary
negotiations with the owners of the Martins Beach property to
acquire a right-of-way or easement for the creation of a
public access route to and along the shoreline, including the
sandy beach, at Martins Beach.
3)Does not prohibit the owners of the Martins Beach property
from voluntarily providing public access to and along the
shoreline at Martins Beach upon terms acceptable to SLC.
4)If, by January 1, 2016, SLC is unable to reach an agreement to
acquire a right-of-way or easement or the owners do not
voluntarily provide public access, requires SLC to acquire, by
eminent domain, a right-of-way or easement for the creation of
a public access route to and along the shoreline, including
the sandy beach, at Martins Beach.
5)Requires SLC to consult and enter into negotiations with local
stakeholders, including, but not limited to, nonprofit
entities, local and regional governments, and governmental
entities, to address the ongoing management and operation of
any property acquired pursuant to this bill.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)Unknown one-time costs, likely in the hundreds of thousands to
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low millions from the General Fund for the purchase of a
right-of-way or easement for access to the public lands at
Martins Beach.
2)Unknown ongoing costs from the General Fund for the
maintenance of the right-of-way or easement.
COMMENTS :
1)Background . The Martins Beach property is a 53 acre beachfront
property located on Highway 1 south of Half Moon Bay. There
is a road on the property commonly referred to as Martins
Beach Road that leads from the entrance on Highway 1 and to
the beach. Martins Beach Road is the only road to the beach.
The beach is sheltered from the north and south by high cliffs
that stretch out into the Pacific Ocean forming an isolated
cove. As a practical matter, there is no reasonable access
from other beaches to the north or south as Martins Beach is
separated from other beaches by the high cliffs. Short of
rappelling down the cliffs, the only access is by Martins
Beach Road (a private road) from the east or by boat from the
off-shore Pacific Ocean tidelands to the west. There are also
45 cabins on long-term leases (through approximately 2021)
that sit above the beach on a bluff that rises 180 feet above
the ocean.
2)The beach was recently purchased on July 22, 2008 by two
limited liability companies (hereinafter referred to as
Martins Beach, LLC). The former owners of Martins Beach-the
Deeney Family-owned the beach for over 100 years and welcomed
the public to the beach with "open arms" upon payment of a
fee. Martins Beach was a popular community beach that was
used for picnicking, fishing, surfing, and other recreational
uses under the business run by the Deeney family whereby they
charged a fee for entry to the beach; originally 25 cents.
The Deeney family also provided a general store and public
restrooms. This changed when Martins Beach, LLC purchased the
property, closed the gate to the road, and put security guards
on the beach. Martins Beach, LLC has attempted to support
criminal prosecution of those who are allegedly trespassing on
the property.
In response, a group of citizens staged rallies and generated
press coverage in an attempt to regain public access to the
beach. Eventually public access related lawsuits were filed
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against Martins Beach, LLC. One case has been brought by the
Surfrider Foundation asserting that Martins Beach, LLC
violated the Coastal Act by not applying for a coastal
development permit when closing the road to the beach. This
case is currently pending in the trial court. Another case
brought by Friends of Martins Beach claims, under several
legal theories, that the public has the right to traverse the
property to access the beach. This case is currently on
appeal after the trial court ruled in favor of Martins Beach,
LLC.
The committee staff notes that the trial court in the Friends
of Martins Beach case based one of its findings on an
unprecedented and questionable holding in which it claimed,
without supporting authority, that the California
Constitution's provision prohibiting an individual from
excluding the public's right of way to navigable waters
codifies the common law public trust doctrine. However, the
common law public trust doctrine-which protects the public's
right to use tide and submerged lands for commerce,
navigation, fishing, boating, natural habitat protection, and
other water oriented activities-does not confer any right on
the public to use non-trust lands to access the water. In
fact, the trial court, in a different section of the opinion,
inadvertently supports this point by citing an Attorney
General opinion explaining that "the few reported cases in
California [regarding the Constitutional provision on public
access] have adopted the general rule that one may not
trespass on private land to get to navigable tidewaters for
the purpose of commerce, navigation or fishing."
This distinction between the Constitution and the public trust
is significant because the trial court mistakenly relied on a
1984 U.S. Supreme Court decision on the public trust doctrine
to determine the applicability of the constitutional provision
on public access.
The Supreme Court case held that the public trust doctrine
does not apply to an area of tide and submerged lands if all
of the following apply:
a) The tide and submerged lands were part of a Mexican land
grant (i.e., grants issued to individuals by the Mexican
Governor of California prior to the Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo in 1848);
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b) Those lands were patented by the federal government
through a process established to protect the property
rights of Mexican landowners, which was an obligation the
U.S. committed to under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo;
and
c) The federal patent was confirmed without any mention of
a public trust easement.
The Martins Beach property was transferred by a Mexican land
grant in 1838. In 1865, the landowner obtained a federal
patent that, according to the Friends of Martins Beach trial
court, includes "off-shore submerged tidelands." During the
federal patent proceedings, no mention was made of any public
trust restriction on the tide and submerged lands. Therefore,
according to the rule established by the US Supreme Court, the
public trust doctrine does not exist on the tide and submerged
lands contained in the Martins Beach land patent.
However, the Friends of Martins Beach case is about public
access, not whether the tide and submerged lands are subject
to the public trust doctrine. But since the trial court held
that the constitutional provision on public access codifies
the public trust doctrine, the court mistakenly used the U.S.
Supreme Court decision to find that the public access
provision has no jurisdiction over Martins Beach. If the
appellate court overturns the trial court's decision on this
issue, then the focus will likely be on what kind of impact
the public access provision of the Constitution has on the
Martins Beach property.
While these issues are sorted out by the courts, this bill
seeks an alternative solution. Specifically, this bill will
require SLC to enter into negotiations with Martins Beach, LLC
to reopen the road for public access. If a settlement cannot
be reached by January 1, 2016, the bill requires SLC to
acquire access to the road and beach using its existing
eminent domain authority.
According to the author, the hope is that the bill does not
lead to the state's exercise of eminent domain on the Martins
Beach property, but instead brings the parties to the table to
reach a compromise.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Azul
Black Surfers Collective
California Coastal Commission
California Coastal Protection Network
Coastside Beach Coalition
Committee for Green Foothills
Environment California
Environmental Action Committee of West Marin
Ocean Conservancy
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors
Save the Waves Coalition
Sierra Club
Surfrider Foundation
WILDCOAST
Opposition
None on File
Analysis Prepared by : Mario DeBernardo / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092