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The Haskell's Beach Access Dispute
Simmering frustration over limited access to Haskell's Beach has boiled over, prompting the Goleta City Council to consider measures as drastic as grabbing a portion of Bacara Resort & Spa's land through eminent domain. Signaling that they might move beyond efforts to negotiate a resolution to the eight-month dispute between beach-goers and the resort, council members are also considering enlisting the help of the state Coastal Commission or seeking a right of way through the resort's property. The council discussed the alternatives at a public hearing Monday where residents criticized Bacara management, with some alleging that intimidating security guards are being used to drive non-guest beach-goers from the picturesque stretch near Sandpiper Golf Course. "I really resent having them approach my teenage daughter, asking her what she's doing there and following her," Dr. Karen Engberg told the council. "My sense is this is being stonewalled to death." Surfer and business owner Ralph Brasacchio said, "The bottom line is they really don't want us around. Parking is an issue. Surveillance is an issue." Animosity stems from a Bacara decision last fall to close an emergency access lane, line it with "no parking" signs and place large rocks atop a connected dirt patch. That came after three years of allowing the public to use the roadway and turnaround to park as close to the sand as possible. Resort representatives, who did not attend the hearing, say the closure is a necessary safety measure. "Bacara's position was they did not want to incur liability for some drowning or some injured person not being able to have an emergency vehicle get to them or rescue them," resort attorney Richard Monk said Tuesday. Santa Barbara County Fire Marshal Tom Franklin said Tuesday that the department does not necessarily have a problem with cars parked along the lane. "With nobody parked in there, access is fine. If they want to have cars parked in there, we would need to come in there and actually designate where they can park. They really do need to park in designated spots, and that may require it to be widened," Mr. Franklin said. Mr. Monk said he did not know whether Bacara would consider working with authorities to carve some parking spots from the lane, and downplayed Mr. Franklin's comments: "He's not the guy who's going to have the liability." The hotel currently provides more than 50 spaces for non-guests in a paved lot linked to the beach by a dirt walking path that winds past private tennis courts. Providing public parking was one of several conditions required by officials when they approved the 360-room resort, which cost more than $220 million and occupies 78 acres. The public lot there is closed by the hotel after dark, drawing complaints from non-guest beachgoers, who also say the number of spaces it provides is inadequate, particularly with summer approaching and, they say, hotel vehicles sometimes left there. An October 2003 letter to Goleta City Manager Fred Stouder from Linda Locklin, Coastal Commission coastal access manager, said that the state panel "intended that the parking lot was to be open 24 hours a day." But Mr. Monk, in a June 3 letter to Mr. Stouder, suggests otherwise. "That was an opinion of a Coastal Commission staff member. Coastal staff is not the Coastal Commission. And, as you are aware, there is no reference whatsoever in the existing permit conditions imposed by the Coastal Commission as to limitations on the hours of access to the beach parking lot," said Mr. Monk. Bacara representatives drew the ire of residents Monday for not attending the hearing. "I consider it rude," Goleta resident Tom Hoffman told the council. "By ignoring the public needs, I hope they inspire an even bigger backlash." Mr. Stouder said he has spoken with Bacara owner Alvin Dworman up to five times, and that hotel executives believe nothing is served by their appearance at public meetings. Mayor Cynthia Brock speculated that Bacara will someday want to enlarge, and told the audience she believes the hotel is restricting its public parking lot partly as a set-up to gain support for expansion. "They will offer increased public parking," she said. "You all will be here telling us to approve it" Mr. Monk said her interpretation has no basis. The suggestion to seize part of Bacara's property drew support from Councilman Jack Hawxhurst, although council members acknowledged that taking the land through eminent domain or seeking an easement through it would prove costly. City attorney Julie Biggs was asked to return with information on each option. As a condition for approval, Bacara was required to offer first Santa Barbara County and now Goleta a 21-year option to dedicate an easement But, he added, local jurisdictions often shy from such commitments due to liability concerns. Councilwoman Margaret Connell described the dispute as a public relations debacle for the hotel. "They need to hear directly what is happening to their image." It's an image that, for some Goleta residents, has been tarnished from day one. Bacara's arrival drew the criticism of environmentalists, and some longtime beachgoers still pine for the days when Haskell's was a wildland. Responding to another criticism, Mr. Monk said that Bacara began recording license plate numbers to guard against vandalism at the suggestion of Sheriffs Lt. Julie McCammon, the Goleta police chief.
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