3. NUDISTS GET ORGANIZED! LOCAL SUPPORT WE WANT OUR NUDE BEACH BACK!

2007-2009: Nudists Organize and Gain Local Support...

Seeing the beach was an under-used resource, nudists decided to explore the possibility of returning there.

	For starters, we organized the beach effort under a non-profit 501c7 state corporation. The Southern California Naturist Association (SCNA) subsidized the Santa Barbara effort under the name Nude Beach Alliance. The Coastal View printed an article about Bates Beach in July 2006.
	Second, we joined the Carpinteria Chamber of Commerce. This gave us a chance to meet with local business owners. To our surprise, almost all supported the idea of the beach as a way to bring more tourist dollars to the region.
	Third, two years ago we launched a $2 Bill Campaign, where nudists and their supporters made a special effort to buy meals and merchandise in the area and to pay for them with $2 bills, as a way of identifying the purchasing power and financial impact we would have locally should our beach proposal be approved. We know most of the merchants along Linden Street, and many others also quietly support the nudist return to Bates because they believe it will be good for their businesses, as it was in years past.
	Fourth, our efforts started drawing the attention of the media. In June, 2008, a lengthy article was published on the front page of the Ventura County Star about our efforts, complete with several photographs. The largest photo on page one was near 5x7 inches in size. Click on image at left to read the story. A few days later, a reporter from the Santa Barbara News Press showed up at the beach. He took a couple of pictures of us playing volleyball, and that photo and caption was published June 10.
	Those two articles prompted the requests for radio time from CNN reporter Maria Sanchez. We did an interview for her June 22. Click on Maria's image at left to hear the 20-minute interview (mp3format.)
	Following that radio interview, we were contacted by a reporter for the Santa Barbara Independent. Their article appeared on-line June 26. They included a poll for readers to take on whether they approved of the idea of a special section of Bates Beach set aside for nude use. The results of the poll surprised everybody, even us. JUNE 2008 BATES BEACH POLL CONDUCTED BY SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT Do You Support the Idea of a Beach in Santa Barbara County Being Set aside for Nude Use? Yes, Absolutely 757 81% Yes, With Signage 164 17% Definitely Not 6 Less than 1% Total Voting 927 100% To show this poll is not a fluke but consistent with other polls on the same subject, we offer the following evidence: A similar polls run in 2008 about Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo county and San Onofre beach in San Diego County. The results of these polls is consistent with the numbers shown above. NOV 2006: AVILA BEACH (SAN LUIS OBISPO) CONDUCTED BY SAN LUIS OBISPO TRIBUNE In response to the probable sale of the land, the San Luis Obispo Tribune newspaper ran an on-line poll last week, asking its readers to vote, "Should Pirate's Cove remain a nude beach?” The response has been overwhelmingly in favor of keeping the beach nude. As of 10/28/2006, 1376 people have voted and the results show: Question: Should Pirate's Cove Remain A Nude Beach? Yes 1313 95% No 63 5% Poll was active Oct 1 – Oct 30, 2006 County officials were quoted as saying the overwhelming preference for the nude beach means the County “will probably lean toward maintaining its clothing-optional status.” Footnote: the sale of the beach to the county was approved in October 2008 and the county agreed to retain the clothing optional status of the beach. In MAY 2008: SAN ONOFRE BEACH POLL CONDUCTED BY ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER What Do You Think Of The Nude Beach? I support it 2648 76% Doesn't bother me, but I wouldn't do it 495 14% The state should shut it down 278 8% Don’t Know 80 2% Poll was active: May 30 – June 30, 2008
	ROPER POLL SHOWS AMERICANS SUPPORT NUDE BEACHES In October 2006, a national Roper poll commissioned by the Naturist Education Foundation found that 74% of Americans approve of nude sunbathing on beaches without interference from local officials, as long as they do so in areas set aside for that purpose. These results verify and are consistent with the highly favorable results of the polls conducts by the local newspapers cited earlier. to view the details about this national poll. CONCLUSION: The Santa Barbara 1977 law presumes that nudity is offensive to everyone. Obviously from this poll and others, it is not.
	On July 10, 2008, the VC Reporter published an editorial, “Get Naked, Be Happy,” supporting our campaign to restore the nude section of Bates Beach. to read the July 3 story. to read July 10 editorial.
	Fifth, we launched a web site and on-line petition to measure how many people would return to the beach if the nude section was reopened. Since June 2008, the site has netted 1500 signatures (40% from Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties) from people who agree it should be reopened and who say they will visit the beach if that decision is made. Our on-line Petition can be found at: www.ipetitions.com/petition/nudebeachalliance. to sign the petition.
	Sixth, knowing how sensitive the residents at Rincon Point were to the nudists’ presence in 1999, we conducted interviews with as many of those people as we could. This gated community is located at Rincon Point, about ¾ miles to the south of the proposed site. The county line runs right down the middle of the housing tract. To our surprise we received a very supportive reception from about 55% of the resident, a neutral “don’t care one way or the other” from about 35%, and only a vocal negative reaction from about 10% (principally three people who had spearheaded the effort ten years ago, who pretty much said they “didn’t like ANYONE on THEIR beach”).

Go to: Bates #4: Our Proposal

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