Taken from: http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2007/jul/25/this-land-is-your-land/

Group's 'safaris' take public on little-known routes to access Malibu's beaches

By Zeke Barlow
Wednesday, July 25, 2007

From the road, Malibu sometimes looks not so much like an ocean coast as it does one long row of multimillion-dollar homes. Some may wonder if there really is an ocean there.

The Los Angeles Urban Rangers plan to change that notion.

The group, which was formed to highlight all the wonders of Los Angeles — both concrete and natural — is leading "safaris" through Malibu in coming weeks. The idea is to let people know how to get beyond the mansions and to the public beaches that sit behind them.

Eric Parsons / Star staf - f A stretch of shoreline along Broad Beach Road in Malibu can be difficult to find. But those who go will find a clean, uncrowded beach.

"We are trying to show people how to use these public lands," said Jennifer Price, one of the leaders of the group. "People don't know where the public land is; they don't know how to find it."

Price said too many residents along the coast — home to some of the biggest names in Hollywood — have tried to keep the public at bay for years.

Music mogul David Geffen fought an infamous battle for decades to keep the public from using an easement he was supposed to grant under terms of building his home on Carbon Beach. Geffen lost the fight in 2005 and opened the gates beside his home to the public.

Other homeowners along the beach have hired security guards to keep people out.

"They expect to have their private land protected, and their backyards are adjacent to public land," said Price. "The fact is they live next to public land and one of the most important public spaces in California."

The sand below the mean high tide is public property. Some homeowners have allowed the public use of the beach above the mean high tide line, which is considered private property. However, while one owner may grant permission, the next-door neighbor may not, which creates a patchwork of where private areas of beach can and can't be used.

At Broad Beach this week, people were sunbathing without any idea of which property was public and which was private.

The Urban Rangers are putting together a map of where the 16 public access points along Malibu are and what stretches of beach have the most easements.

"Beaches are for everybody," said Jason Reddin of Victorville as he watched the waves roll up on Broad Beach. "It didn't used to be this way."

When he and his girlfriend head to the ocean they usually go to Broad because it's not crowded, although they have had security guards ask them to move.

But Marion Boetel, who lives in the Malibu hills, said the people who come to the beach in the summer don't take care of it. She said in the summer, when the beach is thick with people who don't live there, trash piles up.

"The people who live here take care of the beach," she said.

Price hopes the safaris will be fun as well as informative. She'll have people identify the different "species" of signs pinpointing public access as well as have a "public access potluck," where safari-goers will share snacks on the public sand.

Space for the trips is quickly running out.

"People are really fascinated and outraged by what goes on in Malibu," she said.

— The free safaris are Aug. 4, 5, 11 and 12. For more information and to sign up, visit www.laurbanrangers.org. A free, downloadable map of the access points will be available next month.

08-02-07