WHAT'S THE NEWS? TOLL ROAD ENDANGERING SAN ONOFRE NUDE BEACH

COALITION FORMS TO OPPOSE PROPOSED ORANGE COUNTY TOLL ROAD TO COAST 11/12/05 - Environmentalists and surfers trying to stop a toll road from cutting through San Onofre State Park gained an ally last month, although it remains to be seen if it will do any good. As anyone who travels the I-5 down the coast between Los Angeles and San Diego can attest, traffic along that 100 mile stretch of coast is heavy at all hours, as new housing tracts and business parks have sprung up along the highway during the past couple of decades. As civilization continues to creep back into the canyons and valleys, planners see gridlock within a few years unless some alternative route is planned connecting the coast to the Inland Empire. A few months ago, the Orange County Transportation Corridor Agency (TCA) proposed building a 16-mile toll road extending state route 241 from Yorba Linda to the ocean and the I-5. The Foothill-South Plan, as it is called, has six optional southern routes through mountain canyons, three of which terminate at San Onofre Beach, site of the closest nude beach to Los Angeles. If approved, the interchange will cut through the northern half of San Onofre's 2,029 acres wiping out 320 acres of beach including many campsites, an archeological site, and portions of San Mateo Creek. It also would end the nude beach’s isolation next to the Camp Pendelton Marine base, as clothed sunbathers would be forced south into the nude area because the northern half would now be roadway. A coalition of local conservationists and nudists (Friends of San Onofre Beach) have joined with the Sierra Club, the Surfrider Foundation, the Natural Resources Defense Council and other anti-growth advocates to oppose the road. Last month, an estimated one thousand people attended a public hearing to voice their opposition. Afterwards, the State Park and Recreation Commission came out in opposition and recommended that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger instead consider widening I-5 by a lane in both directions through the area. Deborah Lee, a deputy director of the state Coastal Commission, told the parks panel that a highway through San Onofre was an inappropriate use under the state Coastal Act, which regulates development along the coastline. TCA claims a recent poll they took of South Orange County residents shows that the vast majority of local residents support the toll road idea. On the other hand, a majority of respondents also said preserving the natural environment was more important than relieving traffic congestion. At the hearing a small minority of speakers stood to support the proposal, arguing that the plan would relieve congestion on Interstate 5 and complete the TCA's network, which includes the Foothill Eastern and the San Joaquin Hills tollways. They opposed widening I-5 or building the three proposed highway alignments outside the park because they would require condemning anywhere from 112 to 768 newly built homes. The parks commission has no authority to halt the project, but a rejection of the tollway route could be politically significant, generating support for the park among state officials and the public. Bobby Shriver, a toll road critic and brother-in-law of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, heads the commission. TCA officials also said they were not surprised by the state park commission's lack of support for the Foothill South routes through San Onofre. "Their mission is to protect their resources," said Clare Climaco, a TCA spokeswoman. TCA officials have said they would build sound walls at campsites and use the best available filtering devices to prevent polluted runoff from reaching San Mateo Creek and the ocean. The state transportation agency could make a decision on which route to build by early next year. If approved, threatened lawsuits may delay the project for several years. The price tag for the extension jumps $30 million each year the project is delayed. Financing of the project could also be a factor in whether or not it is every built, if approval is given. The Los Angeles Times reported The tollway might have difficulty finding financial sources to underwrite its estimated $245.9 million cost. The TCA might have to resort to selling non-investment grade (aka “junk”) bonds to underwrite the project, a Times newspaper article revealed. The decision of whether to grant some of the proposed road’s right-of-way rests with the Navy, which operates the Camp Pendleton Marine base and leases part of it to the state for park use. The Naturist Action Committee is not recommending any kind of letter or telephone campaign at this time because the proposal still has to work its way through other policy committees. An alert will be issued “when the time is right.” TOLL ROAD UPDATE PLANNERS POSTPONE DECISION ON TOLL ROAD ENDANGERING SAN ONOFRE BEACH 01/20/06, San Onofre – At the request of two high-ranking state officials, directors of Orange County's turnpike authority voted to postpone a final decision until Feb. 23 on a 16-mile extension of the Foothill Eastern tollway from Rancho Santa Margarita to Interstate 5. The new road will wipe out the northern half of San Onofre State Beach, forcing the textiled beachgoers further south and into the space currently occupied by the nude beach there. Nudists can not move further south because the Camp Pendleton Marine base owns the beach just south of the nude beach, and they are resolute that outsiders not trespass there. San Onofre beach attracted 2.7 million visitors last year. As reported here in the December newsletter, Friends of San Onofre, the nudist group that self-polices the clothing-optional area, has joined a coalition of environmental and surfing groups to oppose the proposed new road. (Email them at info@friendsofsanonofre.org if you want to help.) Environmentalists recommend widening Interstate 5 through San Clemente and building a beltway linking the Foothill-Eastern toll road with the freeway near San Juan Capistrano as a better alternative. In December, there was a daylong public hearing in Mission Viejo where this coalition voiced their opposition against the road, while local homeowner groups, developers, and representatives from the Transportation Corridor Agency (TCA) spoke in favor. The postponed decision was due to the late delivery of developer’s environmental impact report, which was made public just before the holidays. To no one’s surprise, the report recommended that the highway go through San Onofre. Opponents claim has relied on high-ranking Bush administration appointees and members of Congress to advance construction. Over the last six years, they charge, the TCA has gained special legislation in Congress, as well as exemptions from the Endangered Species Act and federal highway regulations. Last spring, Assistant Interior Secretary Craig Manson said the cost of protecting seven endangered species in the area outweighed any benefit. "[The TCA] is trying to eviscerate every law standing in their way … for a toll road that should not be built," said James M. Birkelund, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, a national environmental group opposed to the highway. Most political observers expect the agency to approve the plan in February, and the road proposal’s next stop then will be Sacramento. Threatened lawsuits may keep the road from being built for another decade, assuming the state legislature and Governor Schwarzenegger ever approves the road. O.C. AGENCY OKAYS TOLLWAY ROUTE BISECTING SAN ONOFRE STATE BEACH 02/24/2006 – Over the objections of environmentalists and state officials, directors of Orange County's toll road agency on Thursday approved construction of a six-lane highway through San Onofre State Beach — a popular coastal park that President Nixon helped set aside in 1970 as a haven from urbanization. Board members for the Transportation Corridor Agencies in Irvine voted 12 to 3 to approve the route. If the 16-mile highway is built, it will be by far the largest project of its kind put through a state park. Estimated to cost $875 million, the tollway would split the northern part of San Onofre lengthwise before crossing over a marine estuary set aside as a nature preserve. Tollway supporters say that the highway is needed to relieve congestion on Interstate 5, whose traffic is projected to increase 60% within twenty years. The TCA envisions finishing the highway by 2011. Opponents contend that the proposed tollway represents a serious threat to open space, especially in fast-growing Southern California. It also threatens the only remaining nude beach between Santa Barbara and San Diego. The years-long controversy involves a clash between two major interests in California: easing traffic and protecting the environment. And it is not expected to end soon. The tollway would require approval from several federal agencies, the U.S. Navy and the California Coastal Commission. It very likely will also face multiple lawsuits. "Today's decision to pave over a state park is unacceptable," said James Birkelund, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "We will be challenging this ill-conceived and illegal project." Birkelund, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, represents a coalition of environmental groups opposed to the road. They include the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, the California State Parks Foundation, the Surfrider Foundation and the Endangered Habitats League. With 2.7 million visitors a year, San Onofre is the fifth most popular destination in the state's 278-park system. It contains endangered species, archeological sites, campgrounds, panoramic views of the sea and world-renowned surf spots. "They're going to wreck something they can't get back," said Luke Mannix, a 29-year-old San Clemente resident and head of the local surfing club. "Nobody would build a freeway through Yosemite. If they really wanted to, they could figure out another way." Another sun-drenched beachgoer who identified himself only as Bob said, “It ain't gonna stop until Orange County looks like Manhattan in New York…."It doesn't matter how many petitions get signed. Money talks…This isn't about reducing traffic, it's about being able to develop surrounding hillsides.” CALIF. ATTORNEY GENERAL WILL CHALLENGE SAN ONOFRE ROAD DECISION 03/24/2006, Sacramento — Calling Orange County’s plan to cut a toll road through San Onofre State Beach “arrogant and disgraceful,” California Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer filed a lawsuit last week to block the proposal. The suit alleges that the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency failed to adequately explore more sensible alternatives or assess what environmental harm the 16-mile toll road might cause, in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act. Two other opposition lawsuits have also been filed by a coalition of environmental groups. The road threatens the survival of the nude beach there. STATE ASSEMBLY PANEL OKAYS INDEPENDENT STUDY OF SAN ONOFRE TOLL ROAD 05/06/2006 - A Santa Barbara legislator, citing environmental concerns, wants to stop a proposed 16-mile toll road extension through San Onofre State Beach in southern Orange County. Democratic Assemblyman Pedro Nava, a former state Coastal Commission member, said he doesn't think the extension should be built. Instead, he recommended setting aside $450,000 for an independent University of California study to assess traffic in south Orange County. An Assembly budget subcommittee approved the recommendations at a hearing Wednesday. "This road is a bad idea, it's in the wrong place and it doesn't make any sense," Nava said. Nava, a member of the Assembly's Budget Committee, said he hoped the recommendation would be included in the state budget. A spokesman for the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency in Orange County, which proposed the road, could not be reached for comment Friday. ENVIRONMENTALISTS LOSE KEY VOTE: LEGISLATORS REMOVE BAN ON O.C. TOLLWAY FROM STATE BUDGET 06/13/2006 - Environmentalists and legislators gathered on the steps of the state Capitol to decry the Legislature's decision to remove language from California's proposed budget that would have prevented construction of a toll road through San Onofre State Beach. "This highway would essentially destroy one of the few remaining stretches of coastal wild land and would send a poor message that encroaching on parks is acceptable," Assemblyman Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara) said in a statement released by the Sierra Club, which helped organize the protest. It would be like putting a highway in the middle of Yosemite," added Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis). In an effort to relieve congestion in southern Orange County, the 16-mile Foothill South tollway extension would begin at Oso Parkway in Rancho Santa Margarita and slice through San Onofre State Beach before connecting with Interstate 5 at Basilone Road, in San Diego County. Critics fear it would damage the popular Trestles surfing area and also threaten the nude beach at the southern end of the state park. County officials have approved the $875-million project, but state and federal agencies also must approve it. The state attorney general's office and environmentalists have filed lawsuits challenging the plan's environmental review. Nava and others last month inserted language in the state budget prohibiting the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency from building the road. On Saturday, the Budget Conference Committee, made up of senators and Assembly members, voted 6 to 0 to strike the language from the budget. "It's good news," said Clare Vargas, a spokeswoman for Foothill/Eastern. "We know it's not the end, but we felt that this was an obvious attempt to hijack the state budget process to stop this important infrastructure project that will do a lot to relieve traffic between Orange and San Diego counties." In a letter to the editor of the Los Angeles Times on June 13, Steve Netherby of San Clemente wrote, “This proposed boondoggle is a thinly veiled attempt to enable sprawl to metastasize into Orange County's priceless open space. More development inevitably breeds more traffic, and the toll road intersection with Interstate 5 would become an El Toro Y of the south, with San Clemente trapped like a butterfly in a web of clogged roadways.” Brittany McKee, a spokeswoman for the Sierra Club, agreed that the battle was far from over. "While we're disappointed, we're not entirely surprised," he said. "We're not finished with our work. Even if we're not in the budget this time, we will be around for as long as it takes. Toll roads do not belong in our state parks."

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