"Really, no one wants to be around surfers. We’re
pretty gross, honestly."
For surfers in California, Hollister Ranch exerts a
unique hold on the imagination.
Whispered stories of perfect waves pass from one generation to
the next. Surfers scheme for access, by boat or by land. Countless
misadventures involving offshore winds, balky outboard motors, or
machine gun-wielding landowners enliven parking lot story
sessions.
Covering nearly 14,000 acres, the Ranch is a postcard from a
California that mostly no longer exists. It’s not untouched, by any
means, but there’s a time machine quality to the rolling
grass-covered hills, stream-cut canyons, dirt roads and roaming
cattle.
You shoulda been here yesterday, it seems to say.
This week, the Ranch is back in the news.
On 24 September, the Coastal Commission posted a draft plan for
public access. Created by four California agencies, the plan runs
close to 200 pages, and it will be the subject of a public workshop
during the Coastal Commission’s October session.
Now, I understand that you may have forgotten all about this
whole Hollister Ranch public access saga. I get you. It is hard to
remember all the things. Allow me to remind you briefly how we got
here.
About two years ago now, the
California legislature passed a law that required public access to
the Ranch. The legislation directed state and local land management
agencies to develop a plan.
The result of their efforts would
govern what access might look like and what infrastructure it might
require. The law imposed a deadline of April 2022, which is
approaching quickly.
Much pearl-clutching followed the passing of this legislation.
Purists decried the dirty hordes of kooks descending on their
untrammeled Eden.
Really, no one wants to be around surfers. We’re pretty gross,
honestly.
Though it’s easy to mock some of these arguments — and I do mock
them, regularly — the diverse land use patterns of the Ranch
complicate the planning process. Cattle from the area’s ranches
roam freely. Fragile habitats and environmental treasures deserve
protection. Wealthy landowners demand privacy and unobstructed
views.
Surfers, well, they just want to surf.
How will all the dirty hordes of kooks make it to the beach?
Well, that’s one of the big questions.
Any future trails or roads would require easements across
private land. Where will those easements fall? How much
infrastructure will there be? And who will maintain it? It’s all
enough to make even the most dedicated public policy nerd throw in
the towel.
Like, forget this. Let’s all just go to Malibu.
The planning agencies did not go to Malibu. Instead they have
released a draft plan, which calls for a two-year trial period of
access.
So far, there is no agency charged with managing that access.
That’s one of the plan’s first steps.
What does it look like?
For the first two years, up to 100 people per day could be
allowed to visit the Ranch. A shuttle might carry them to the
Ranch’s sought-after beaches, and the staging area for the shuttle
would run about $2 million. The first phase does not envision any
significant beach infrastructure, just porta-potties and
trashcans.
The first two-year period is designed to buy time to sort out
additional details.
A trail for bike and hiking access is one example. Actually
building anything could take years of wrangling, because any trail
would almost certainly cross private property. That means
negotiating easements with landowners. The state legislature wrote
$11 million into this year’s budget for Hollister Ranch
projects.
After two years, the draft rather optimistically envisions a
more permanent set-up. Access would be managed by shuttle, trail,
or both. Sewer lines and bathrooms might be built. And, the number
of daily visitors could increase up to 500 people.
So, roughly the lineup at Trestles on a good day. Eat your heart
out, Los Angeles.
Predictably, land owners are not that excited about this
process.
After all, they have fought long and hard to keep the gates to
their slice of paradise firmly shut. But just as the tides swing,
change comes even if we’d prefer that it did not — and perhaps,
especially when we’d prefer that it did not.
You can read the full draft plan via
the Coastal Commission.
The Coastal Commission’s October 14
workshop is open to the public and will be held over
Zoom.
The Commission invites the public to submit comments ahead of
time to [email protected] and you can also submit a speaker
request.
Early next year, the Coastal Commission will meet again to nail
down the details, including just how many people will be allowed to
visit the Ranch during the initial access period.
Expect some form of reservation system. Get your refresh keys
ready.
It is one of the joys of California that beaches are public
space, and the Ranch’s beaches, however precious should be
open.
But in its efforts to be everything to everyone involved, this
process feels a little like the worst of all possible worlds.
Public access, yes, but not really.
Preservation of the area’s unique qualities, but not really that
either.
I don’t think there were porta-potties in Eden.
The best moments in surfing are born of uncertainty and the
weird, unexpected things that happen along the way.
For the foreseeable future, scoring good waves at the Ranch will
still likely depend on the same things it always has: the vagaries
of an outboard engine, a willingness to trespass or friends in the
right places.
And, I’m not sure that’s such a bad thing.
