League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Marin County, CA November 3, 2009 Election
	Measure H County Ordinance Banning Camping on Bolinas Beach Bolinas Community Public Utility District Advisory Vote - Advisory Vote Only Pass: 222 / 56.20% Yes votes ...... 173 / 43.80% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure H

Arguments Against Measure H

Bolinas is the only beach in ALL of California where public beach camping still occurs on private beach property. This is being promoted in local/International guidebooks with no authorization. As a result, increasing numbers of "visitor" campers as well as "homeless" are camping on Bolinas beaches. The present Marin County ordinance of no camping on weekends and holidays is ineffective and loosely enforced! The "inevitable" illegal fires of beach campers are a hazard to beach goers. Smoldering embers endanger children and pets and cause a real fire danger to the homes and vegetation on the bluffs. There are no toilet facilities on the beach. At night most campers will not go into town to use a toilet. Thus the beach is being soiled with human waste. Issues of hygiene, health and safety are paramount in this fragile Ocean/Lagoon ecosystem. Trash from beach goers at the end of Brighton, and Wharf Rd. is currently collected by the Community Center; this means YOU pay for this. An above tide-line "campsite" on this beach implies territorial domain. It means that, by default, "their" section of the beach is "off limits" to the rest of us. Most weekend users and campers on the beach are from outside of Bolinas. The Bolinas Beach Committee consisted of 6 residents (2 from downtown and 4 from the big mesa) concluded 5 to 1, after 2 years research and deliberation, to recommend banning all beach camping. BCPUD holds in Trust the public access easement for all of Bolinas beach with the authority to keep public use open 24 hours daily for only passive recreational use. Please promote pride in our town and Vote YES on H. s/BRUCE BOWSER Former Secretary for the Bolinas Beach Committee Rebuttal to Arguments For The BCPUD-appointed Beach Committee's chair Magi Barror observes: "Our two-year study covered all the issues Bruce mentions and more. To identify root causes and possible solutions, we engaged with most community organizations as well as the County and Coastal Commission. The committee's study did not show that camping was the most important issue; but many committee members resigned because a few members persisted in focusing discussion on a camping ban." Beach problems already have been reduced by the ideas and efforts of the groups above and of many volunteer residents. Also, there are fewer campers now due to the County's existing weekend ban, and they are generally respectful and appreciative. Campers do not cause most of our beach problems. Toilet hygiene is best addressed by pointing visitors to our public facilities and suggesting plastic bags and bottles. The Park Service does not forbid people from making the two-day ascent of El Capitan for fear of raining waste. Climbers just honor the "pack it in - pack it out" motto, as beach goers here should for all their trash. Bolinas may or may not be the last camping beach in California; but if so, we should take pride, take our stewardship as an honor, and show what we can do without invoking further County restrictions. We are hosts of this public commons just as communities elsewhere have been hosts to many of us in their commons. Bolinas can do this! Vote NO. s/DON SMITH s/VIC AMOROSO s/MAGI BARROR s/DON DEANE s/JUDY MOLYNEUX

Having a beautiful beach as a centerpiece of our community is both a blessing and a responsibility. It is a beautiful place to sun, walk, play, rest, and reflect. But it sometimes brings typical public-area problems such as trash, drug and alcohol abuse, and fires. Mostly, the negatives are caused by people looking to "party," not by campers, strollers or surfers. Most beach goers, including campers, are responsible citizens. Singling out campers for exclusion is unfair and won't result in a significant reduction in beach problems. The existing weekend camping ban appropriately and effectively addresses the camper-specific problems of long-term habitation and excessive camping on summer weekends. A new and more restrictive beach ordinance will punish responsible locals and visitors without solving beach problems. Laws against these abuses already exist. They are not always enforced, because the Sheriff's Department does not always have the staff to do so. We as a community can and have already made progress on the problems through beach entryway beautification and regular trash removal, and we can do a lot more along these positive lines. Public education, stewardship, and citizen vigilance will evoke respect from beach visitors, while repressive laws will generate antagonism. Do not be seduced into believing that, by checking yes on the total camping ban, you'll be making our beach more hospitable: you may be making it less so + especially to responsible citizens wanting to sleep under the stars next to the rolling surf. Vote NO on a total camping ban on our beautiful Bolinas Beach. It does not deal with the real issues. s/DON SMITH s/VIC AMOROSO s/MAGI BARROR s/DON DEANE s/JUDY MOLYNEUX Rebuttal to Arguments Against The argument AGAINST MEASURE H fails to address the facts presented to the voters. Citizens of this town pride themselves on it's beauty, location and earth centric character yet daily permit visitors to abuse it's pristine nature; Unacceptable numbers of illegal camp sites and camp fires take place in the dry sand on a regular basis, both weekend and weekdays; The public health and safety issue of no toilet facilities available to beach campers is still not being addressed; Human waste (feces, urine, vomit) left buried in the dry sand areas by campers at the bluffs is a far more serious health problem than visible trash and clutter. It is eventually uncovered by higher tides or by future visitors; Continuing the "weekend only" ban on camping only serves to increase the number of weekday campers; Territory claimed by campers is not addressed; here is where disputes arise as some days there is too little dry sand; Beach areas at the base of the unstable bluffs have no posted warning signs of slide danger or danger from sneaker waves that could engulf sleeping campers. Calls for emergency services stretch our resources; Lets take back the Bolinas beaches and formalize the existing laws by demanding a 24 / 7 ordinance to prevent camping on these beautiful and fragile stretches of beach we all share. PLEASE SUPPORT THIS MEASURE. TAKE PRIDE IN OUR TOWN. SHOW VISITORS THAT BOLINAS CARES. VOTE YES ON MEASURE H s/BRUCE BOWSER s/CHUCK ALEXANDER s/JOYCE CLEMENTS s/M. LUCILE REID s/MALCOM PANDER