Controversy sparks among Stinson Beach homeowners

STINSON BEACH, Calif. ( KRON ) — Stinson Beach residents are disputing private fencing laws surrounding their beachfront homes. The debate was sparked after a complaint was filed with Marin County about multiple homes roping off part of the beach without proper permits.

“It doesn’t really bother me, but rather have them not there,” Robert Pedla, a Petaluma resident, told KRON4 about the fences around homes along Stinson Beach. “It’s always been a problem; some people just want to push out their boundaries,” Pedla said.

Earlier this month, Marin County received a complaint that five properties on the beach have installed fencing that may be on public beach land.

“Whenever we receive a complaint like this, we take them very seriously,” Laine Hendricks, Communications Director of the County of Marin, told KRON4. Hendricks says the county issued code enforcement personnel out to the area.

“They are determining whether or not this is something that occurred on public versus private land, and really, the concern there is any attempt to rope off public beach or public land is considered privatization,” Hendricks said.

Hendricks says privatization violates the Coastal Act, and any development on the coast requires a coastal development permit. So as far as the county is concerned, none of these fences are permitted.

One of the homeowners told KRON4 off-camera that she is “not doing anything wrong,” that her fence “is around her property,” and that she is taking the necessary steps to get a permit.

According to the California Coast Commission (CCC), all beaches are public up to the mean high tide line.

It’s important to remember that beaches are ambulatory. There’s no fixed line throughout the state, but as a rule of thumb the public has access over wet sand at a minimum. In many cases public access extends further than the MHTL, such as when a beach is publicly owned by the state or a local jurisdiction, or where a public access easement has been recorded.

The California Coastal Commission told KRON4

The Coastal Commission has enforcement jurisdiction in the Coastal Zone. “However, local governments are ideally the first line of defense when enforcing the Coastal Act’s public access protections,” the CCC said, claiming they were “very pleased that Marin County code enforcement is responding to the alleged violations.”

A conclusion with Marin County’s findings should take weeks, officials said.

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