08 • 22 • 2016
Shell Beach Access
Victory! The CA Coastal Commission voted to deny the appeal to lock the bicycle/pedestrian gate to Bluff Drive, aka Cave Landing in Shell Beach
Bluff Drive is the only way to cross the bluffs that go from Shell Beach to Cave Landing, which is the dirt parking lot above Pirates Cove and beach. Pirates Cove is a popular beach especially with nudists. If the Bluff Drive access is locked, people coming from the Shell Beach side have only one option: to climb down the very steep bluff that has jerry-rigged ropes, which is very dangerous. Their other option is the ten minute drive up to the 101, down almost to Avila and then up to Cave Landing, where the parking is often full. That motivates people to try to make the risky climb down the bluff. The homes along Bluff Drive are in the $5 million+ range, so they fought very hard to close pedestrian access.
A recorded easement that allows public access along its entire length. This easement was granted in the 1960s when the Bluff Drive subdivision was developed, and it was intended to ensure that the public would have access to the bluffs and Pirates Cove Beach. However, In 2016, the Bluff Drive Homeowners Association (HOA) attempted to close Bluff Drive to pedestrians. The HOA argued that the easement was no longer valid, and that it was a nuisance to have pedestrians using the road. However, the California Coastal Commission ruled that the easement was still valid, and that the HOA could not restrict public access to Bluff Drive.
The Coastal Commission's ruling was based on a number of factors, including:
- The fact that the easement was granted in perpetuity, meaning that it cannot be revoked.
- The fact that the easement was intended to provide public access to the bluffs and Pirates Cove Beach.
- The fact that the public has used Bluff Drive for pedestrian access for many years.