In 1971, California state legislators passed the Coastal Act, an initiative designed, in its own words, to: “maximize public access to and along the coast and maximize public recreational opportunities in the coastal zone.” That objective has seen significant challenges in recent years – a major dispute at Martins Beach, where tech billionaire Vinod Khosla has refused to acquiesce to demands for public access, has even made its way to the Supreme Court. Across the state, though, there is perhaps no stretch of coastline that has quietly managed to preserve its privacy and exclusivity more than an area of Santa Barbara County known as Hollister Ranch.
Back in May, we reported that the Hollister Ranch Owners Association and the state reached a settlement effectively eliminating any land-based access for the general public. The concession on the part of the Hollister Ranch Owners Association, if you can call it that, was public access by boat, surfboard, or kayak to a three-quarter mile section of the coast at Cuarto Canyon. A Santa Barbara Superior Court judge granted preliminary approval of the settlement on May 21, subject to a final “fairness hearing” on September 10.
In a scathing opinion piece for the New York Times, writer Kathleen Sharp lambasts the settlement for its exclusivity mixed with racial and classist undertones.
“Some homeowners feared that allowing the public onto the beach would lure hordes who would litter it,” writes Sharp. “Since Santa Barbara County is 46 percent Hispanic and has the highest rate of child poverty in California, at 28.8 percent, one could argue that there’s a whiff of economic and racial discrimination in that fear.”
Sharp goes on to point out that if the objective of local landowners were to retain the area’s natural beauty it’d be one thing. But preserving a community for the rich and famous for its own sake isn’t just problematic, it’s against the spirit of the law as defined by the Coastal Act.
“Hollister Ranch residents have themselves distressed this environment,” Sharp goes on. “They’ve hauled in heavy machinery to level hilltops and poured concrete for tennis courts, infinity pools, multicar garages and trophy homes. They’ve introduced non-native species such as Bosch dishwashers, Wolf stoves, and French oak wood floors. Some land their helicopters there. In other words, they create plenty of their own pollution, waste, and noise.”
Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, and director James Cameron all own property in Hollister Ranch.
Sharp’s criticisms aren’t without a proposed alternate solution. “The access road could be improved so people could hike — not drive — the two miles to the beach, perhaps under the supervision of Gaviota State Park next door,” she suggests. “Hikers could also reserve time spots as visitors do at the adjacent Arroyo Hondo Preserve to prevent overcrowding.”
Check out Kathleen Sharp’s piece in the New York Times here.
