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Reclamation of Ocean Beach scrapped
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Nicky Baumohl plays fetch with her dog Barnaby at Crissy Field.
Many off-leash dog advocates had hoped that The City’s Commission of Animal Control and Welfare would stand up for their fight to reclaim Ocean Beach, which is now under the control of the National Park Service’s Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
Tempers flared when the GGNRA issued an emergency prohibition of off-leashed dogs between July 1 and May 1 on parts of Ocean Beach and Crissy Field, claiming that the dogs disturbed the threatened western snowy plover, which lives in the area.
(Courtesy photo/California State Parks) At the center of the Ocean Beach controversy is the tiny Snowy Plover, a bird that has lived on California beaches for thousands of years but now faces possible extinction due to disturbance of their habitat by humans and dogs, according to national and state parks services. The Plover is protected by the federal Endangered Species Act.
A group of off-leash dog advocates issued a number of complaints about the prohibition, prompting the commission to consider legislation that would urge The City to bring back under city control sections of Ocean Beach and Crissy Field that were handed over to the GGNRA in 1975.
The commission voted last month to kill the legislation, however. The decision disappointed some off-dog leash advocates who were hoping the legislation would at least pressure GGNRA to be more accommodating to off-leashed dogs.
“The commission could have helped,” said Steve Sayad, a lawyer with the Ocean Beach Dog Owners Group. Sayad also said that there really was no “emergency,” making the prohibition a violation of law.
The GGNRA is currently in the second year of a two-year court ordered negotiation process with interested parties to come up with dog walking rules for Ocean Beach and other GGNRA land.
The chairman of the commission, Richard Schulke, said that it wasn’t the right time to approve such legislation. “I can’t think it’s fair to ask the city to sue to take back the park before the negotiation rule-making is done,” Schulke said. He added, “I still believe that the National Parks Service will do a lot better job looking out for all the animals at the park.”
A draft of the rules for dog walking at Ocean Beach and other GGNRA land is expected to come out sometime in 2008, according to GGNRA spokeswoman Chris Powell.
Comments from Examiner Readers
10:28 PM MST on Tue., Aug. 12, 2008 re: "A new vision emerges on the horizon"
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Examiner Reader said:
Not sure where you get your information from...Obvisously, not first hand... There ARE restrooms all up and down Ocean Beach....Go look... I was in one Friday....
1 agree | 1 disagree
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Tigi said:
I live here and i agree with the comments below about a. the unpredictable fog, and b. the unpredictable weather. it is usually COLD here, WET (fog is damp) and often WINDY. There is no point in trying to entice hundreds more people to come out here only to be disappointed when they get here. Sure, Java Beach Cafe will benefit from that, they obviously already have, which is why they are opening a second one. We (residents) are already used to the sight of visitors piling off the N-Judah train on weekends where it is obviously warm and and sunny downtown, only to be horrified at the 20 degree drop in temperature when they get here. The parking lots are already full on weekends, and the section of Great Highway between Lincoln and Fulton at a absolute standstill. Not to mention the N-Judah train ALREADY taking an hour to get downtown (4 miles!?) So aside from a clean-up, why make something into something its not? There is a reason Funland is not here anymore. Asbury Park anyone
3 agree | 3 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Ocean Beach is not a resort/ vacation type of beach. You Can Not Change that it is NOT a beach for sun, swimming and sailing, so don't waste time and money trying. How can it be made to be a place to go with the kids???? A.)Make the Fog stop. B.) Bump up our normal temperature to 78 to 83 degrees. C.) Make the water temperature around 78 degrees. D.) Change the Rip Tide currents so people can Swim at Ocean Beach with out fear of being sucked out to sea and drowned, as the GGNRA tells us. Best of Luck...oh, please use your own money to waste and Save My Tax Dollars for Pot Holes, Street Traffic Lines Painting, Enforcing Sound Laws (do we have any?)for loud motorcycles, car stereo's with BOOMING BASS, incessant car alarms where the owner lives 3 or 4 blocks away from his car, Drunken Bar Drinkers shouting and whooping outside the bar while they have a smoke since they can't have that loud fun in the bar as before..who came up with that stupid sleep depriving idea???..can we vote again?
9 agree | 3 disagree
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Examiner Recycler said:
The rag got tossed on my stoop again despite my efforts to make it stop and save some trees. To my surprise I find that OB is in a "Sad State of Decline". Uh, oh. I walked down the street and checked it. Luckily, I found it to be the same wildery place of solace I love, have loved, and will love. I went home and checked on the status of the Vision Council. Only a couple of suits included--keep your eye on them--our clowny Mayor (Sacto bound, good luck, we'll forget all about you, please don't paddle out, we don't need another oil slick), and our dead duck Supe, heir to Tapioca Ed. I smell something fishy and it ain't the sea breeze. Watch a developer or two allied with an architectural firm (check the Vision Council members list) try to pull out the plans for some greenwashed condo project. Follow the money trail. Always follow the money trail, pal. I'll pick up garbage as I go. The restrooms are already full of crap. No more please. See you all at the zoo, apropo.
5 agree | 3 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
This is an outrage!! Ocean Beach is not in a "Sad State of Decline"..This is called irresponsible journalism.There are,by the way,3 public restrooms...Judah,Taraval,and Sloat.This is just another area to explote.But good news,as the other writer pointed out...the crazy winds and the fog will scare away any potential investors or real estate folks. Vison?Another restroom for homeless people to wash up at?A hotdog stand?You've got to be kidding!Why don't you try to concentrate on another area that's in a sad state of decline....it's called "downtown"!!! Nan Hinze
5 agree | 3 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Mr. Reisman states: "The National Park Service owns the beach property" This is not true. When the City deeded Ocean Beach to the GGNRA, the deed made clear that the feds only took ownership "to the high water mark". Then Mayor Joseph Alioto knew better than to deed sovereign tidelands to the federal government. Indeed, it would have violated the California Constitution (and other State statutes) for the City to have deeded the tidelands to the federal government. Thus, public trust responsibility for tidelands remains with the City and there is no federal jurisdiction over the tidelands at Ocean Beach. The problem is twofold. On the one hand, most City officials are not aware of the terms of the deed and not aware that they have trust responsibility over the tidelands. Other City officials (including Mayor Newsom) do not want management responsibility over the tidelands. Don't allow them to continue to give away your rights to recreational uses of OB. Stephen Sayad
5 agree | 5 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I've been out at night on the beach a few times lately, and every time there were bonfires outside of the lawful boundaries, practically right next to the dunes! It's a shame the National Park Service can't police this, at least on the weekends.
6 agree | 4 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The beach seems to have some serious problems with water quality or sanitation. There are constantly dead sea birds littering the beach. And at least since the 4th of July, there has been a headless seal carcass sitting 100 feet away from the newly refurbished outflow terminal. There is no way that the crew working on that terminal OR the beach patrol have not seen this health hazard.
6 agree | 6 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
It may be a jewel, but unless public officials want to do something about the wind and fog, the beach will always appeal to a niche market.
6 agree | 4 disagree
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