In Reply to: Re: New LA County Beach Usage Regulations.... posted by Elaine on June 06, 2013 at 17:04:01:

This is just plain stupid. Its shakedown by the County for money and the Supervisors should be ashamed of this policy.

First, the majority of people who show up for activities like rough water swims, paddle board yoga, scuba, free diving won’t need a lifeguard anyway. It’s the throngs of casual beach users who are not part of any organized group using the beach that will need lifeguard assists. They don’t pay any special fees. They are the ones leaving cigarette butts, dirty diapers, beer cans, and other nasty items. Surfers, swimmers and true water people care for our beaches... we’re the ones who show up for clean-ups. We know how to swim and when to no enter the ocean.

Second, the County will not bring out more lifeguards or pay them more for groups that do register and show up. This money doesn’t go to our lifeguards, regardless of Zev’s empty words. Remember our White Point clean-up of a few years back? We had to provide an insurance policy indemnifying the County and other paperwork and no one from the County ever showed up (except for Janice Hahn’s CITY representative and that was from the City of LA and not the County) – that includes the lifeguard who arrived after we were done. One of the reasons we cleaned it up is because Beaches and Harbors does such a poor job of maintaining our beaches and far too many people who use LA area beaches are filthy pigs.

Third, we Californians already pay the highest TAXES in the USA not to mention expensive parking or entry fees at beaches? What do we get for our tax dollars? Just more fees and ever poorer services to the public. Where do those parking fees go? I certainly hope they go toward paying lifeguard salaries. Nine percent of every dollar you spend goes to California government -= that is more then most business owners receive in profit from their sales revenues! And they take all the risk of opening a business, buying insurance to pay for often frivolous lawsuits, hiring and paying employees, etc. Ask yourself, ‘am I getting a fair return for my sales tax dollar?’ Then there’s the income tax, property tax, and hidden fees and costs that drive prices ever higher.

Fourth, where is the California Coastal Commission when these government restrictions are imposed? As a beachfront owner, you must allow access, but her is government denying access unless people pay this shakedown “fee”. Naw, they are too busy denying The Edge his right to build a house that you’d never even see from the coast!