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 Attorney Allen Baylis   The Dead Seal Saga    Beach rallies for nudist rights  CA Park Commission Meeting in December    Images from newspaper stories throughout the year. |
Last Updated February 2011
02/01/2011 - Be aware that ticketing continues at San Onofre. Apparently, Ranger Mike Story watches from the cliff, then races along the beach to issue the citation. While there have been twenty citations for nudity at San Onofre since Labor Day, 2011, the first eight contested cases have been dismissed by the District Attorney in San Diego. Two other individuals accepted plea deals, reducing charges to infractions. The citations have been misdemeanor violations of title 14, section 4322 of the California Code of Regulations.
BACKERS OF NUDE BEACH AT SAN ONOFRE CLAIM VICTORY - FOR NOW
January 31, 2011 - Despite signs prohibiting it, nudity on part of San Onofre State Beach has been a tradition for 30 years.
State parks officials have been trying to enforce the ban on nudity at San Onofre, with mixed results.
San Onofre - Sunbathers who frequent one of the northernmost beaches in San Diego County believe that they're succeeding, at least for now, in the fight for what they say is their right to be naked on the sand.
The nonprofit Naturist Action Committee is advocating for nudists who have been cited by the California Department of Parks and Recreation for being naked at Trail Six of San Onofre State Beach, long a haven for those who prefer to go sans swimsuit.
"There's a certain sector of the population that believes you just really don't need sand in your bathing suit to have fun at the beach," said Bob Morton, the committee's executive director.
Citations by Parks and Recreation rangers have recently been stepped up because the nudity led to sexual crimes, said San ">
Onofre Park Superintendent Rich Haydon.
The department allowed several months for word to get out about the enforcement of clothing, Haydon said. Rangers then began citing violators in March. Since then, 12 to 14 citations have been issued for nudity, he said.
The naturist committee, however, claimed a minor victory this month when the District Attorney's Office dismissed several citations.
"Our job is to look at serious and violent crimes, and we have to prioritize in a way that is responsible," said Summer Stephan, chief of the office's North County branch. "The charges that we're looking at did not come with any other offense. ... If there was anything else, it's likely that we would try to change."
Though the state Parks and Recreation website says nudity is a misdemeanor, Stephan said her office recommends that nudity, which is not accompanied by any other crime, be cited as just an infraction. Those offenses don't go before prosecutors.
Haydon said Parks and Recreation officials met with the District Attorney's Office, and rangers will continue to issue citations for nudity. He said his department requested from the District Attorney permission in writing to cite nudists with infractions rather than misdemeanor charges, but as of last week had not yet received such permission.
"The law is the law," Haydon said. "Crimes are occurring, and we're addressing the crimes. If you don't like the law, see if enough Californians agree with you and change it."
Attorney Allen Baylis, a board member of the Naturist Action Committee and president of Friends of San Onofre Beach, has represented eight nudists cited at the state beach. Six cases were dismissed Jan. 14 and two in December. The attorney said he would not want charges reduced from the misdemeanor level, because his clients should have the right to press their cases before a jury of their peers.
Nudism has never officially been legal at state beaches, but it had been tolerated at Trail Six. The state Parks and Recreation policy was to leave the unclad beachgoers alone unless the public complained.
A plan to stop that policy near the end of summer 2008 was temporarily blocked by an Orange County Superior Court judge, who agreed with the naturist committee's assertion that a public hearing was necessary to change the policy.
An appeals court reversed the decision, leaving nudists to fight their battle citation by citation.
"What we have accomplished at this point is to get our tickets dismissed and, in fact, nothing more than that," said Oceanside resident Greg Young, who was cited along with his wife, Barbara, in September.
The state Parks and Recreation division that oversees Black's Beach in San Diego, which has traditionally been clothing optional, still observes the more tolerant policy because there have not been criminal complaints, said Black's superintendent Brian Ketterer. It is not officially a nude beach, and it is clear on the Parks and Recreation website that nudity is not allowed.
Nudists want designated sections of beaches where bathing suits aren't required.
"I wouldn't have even been down there risking the ticket if I didn't believe it was important to fight for the cause," Young said. "Part of this was being prepared and being ready to go on the stand."
Both sides argue that the issue is about the public having the ability to comfortably go to state beaches.
"We want people to come down and enjoy their state parks and their state beaches and not fear seeing something or be exposed to something," said Haydon, the park superintendent.
The naturist committee says nudists are asking to use a small strip of sand as it's been used for decades.
"Maybe it's not for everybody," said Morton, the naturist group's executive director. "Maybe running your dog off leash is not for everybody, but there are places for that. There are places for lots of different things. Nobody is suggesting that everybody be naked."
NUDISTS SPEAK AT DEC CALIF PARK COMMISSION MEETING
On Friday 12/10, the State Parks Commission met in San Diego and heard about 40 supporters of nude recreation urge the commission to designate certain beaches and parks as officially clothing-optional. The discussion was held during the “public comment” portion of the agenda, when people can address the Commission on anything it wants without having first to be on the formal agenda.
There were many good speakers during the hour-long discussion, with a few that were received really well. Among them were Ron Mercer, Lloyd Johnson of Blacks Beach Bares, Robert Morton of the NAC , Greg Young, Victor Farr, Allen Baylis from Friends of San Onofre, Donna McCallum, Ed Plummer, Eric Ruehr, Gene and Greg Gatewood, Claudia Keller and many others.
Due to conflicting work schedules and time constraints, SCNA did not send a representative to speak at this hearing, although many of the members sent letters and emails to the commission members ahead of time.
Most of the speakers stayed on point, requesting State Parks to set aside designated clothing optional areas throughout the state and to re-implement the 1977 Cahill-Harrison policy and perhaps turning it into a formal state regulation. (This is the technical reason why last year’s legal case failed at the Appeals level.) The hope at the policy level is that Jerry Brown will replace current Parks Director Ruth Coleman with a new director who is supportive of developing clothing-optional areas in the park system and at many of the traditional clothing-optional beaches throughout the state.
Although the Parks Commissioners couldn't act on anything, they got a good earful from the naturists!
Dave Cole of the Black’s Beach Bares wrote to us: “Overall I think we presented ourselves well and really put a human face on naturism for them.”
NO NEW TICKETS ISSUED AT SAN ONOFRE
July 2010 - We had the good fortune to meet Allen Baylis of the Naturist Action Committee while at Olive Dell over Memorial weekend. Over lunch he updated for us the current status of San Onofre State Beach:
As of the first of July, no new tickets for nudity have been issued at San Onofre State Beach. There seems to be a kind of strategic pause, as both the park rangers and the nudists wait to see the outcome of the first four tickets that were issued during March and April.
Allen told us that the court date for the first case has been postponed twice as the District Attorney is still considering whether or not to prosecute. Dismissal of the cases, or having the local judge rule against the deputies would be a major blow to the effort by the local Park Superintendent to shut down the nude section of the beach.
All of the cases are being represented by legal counsel, and a vigorous defense is being planned. “All we can do is wait for the DA to decide what to do next,” Baylis told us. “We hope the DA realizes it may not be worth the cost to prosecute.”
Meanwhile, it appears that the State Department of Parks and Recreation is already suffering a significant loss in revenue at San Onofre since undertaking its assault two months ago. Park attendance at the beach is down considerably, evident by the much smaller number of cars in the parking lot above Trail 6, and fewer people on San Onofre Beach in general.
In addition to having spent over $40,000 in last year’s lawsuit against the nudist community, Baylis estimates the state will likely lose over $100,000 in day use fees and annual pass sales this summer.
The typical scenario has been that the Rangers drive down the road which parallels the fence at the southern border of the park, and use binoculars to spy on the beach goers. The tendency has been to target single individuals rather than groups. All of those cited have been male.
Baylis asks everyone to come to show their support. The decision to be nude is up to you, of course, but he emphasizes “if we vacate the beach, it will surely be lost!”
Baylis is also circulating a petition to all the clubs in California asking for the Parks Department to designate 8 state park areas for nude use: Torry Pines (Black’s) Beach, San Onofre State Beach, Gaviota State Park, Gray Whale Cove State Beach, Auburn Dam Recreational Park on the Sacramento River, Bonny Doon Beach and the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park (both in Santa Cruz County) and Fort Ord Dunes State Park (in Monterey County.) Other beaches like Pirates Cove, Stimson Beach and Bates are county beaches and don’t fall under state jurisdiction.
If anyone gets a ticket or is approached by a deputy to get dresses, please let Allen know at (714) 962-0915. Email is: rab@baylislaw.com.
PARK OFFICIALS APOLOGIZE FOR BURYING DEAD SEA LION ON SAN ONOFRE NUDE BEACH
02/2010 - The cold war between nudists at San Onofre State Beach and the local Parks Superintendent got a little hotter last month after officials buried a rotting sea lion carcass on the spot where nudists like to play weekend volleyball. It's the latest twist in a more than two-year dispute between state Parks and Recreation officials and nudists, who recently lost their court case to keep Trail 6 a clothingoptional beach.
Allen Baylis and the Naturist Action Committee went into action just before New Years, when he started receiving complaints about the stench from beachgoers and about the fin protruding up from the sand. Apparently the animal was found dead at the “Dogpatch” northern end of San Onofre beach on December 23 where the surfers like to congregate, but instead of burying it there, the superintendent ordered it be moved five miles south and be buried where the nudists hang out.
Park officials insist the burial of the sea lion -- estimated at 10 to 12 feet long was not an intentional jab at the group.
"We just found an animal ... we had to bury it... it's something we do with every animal," said Steve Scott,
district maintenance chief for the Orange Coast district. "We apologize. I guess nature just happens."
Baylis questioned parks officials about why they would bury a dead animal at one of the most heavily used portions of
San Onofre State Beach. "It's either retaliation or ignorance," he said. "They had a choice. They can bury it where it is or
take it to a landfill where it won't bother anybody. Instead they took it to a place where there are people they don't like,
and they buried it there."
A few days after Baylis complained about the mammal's fin protruding out of the sand, maintenance crews were seen reburying the carcass even deeper into the beach sand. That prompted Baylis to issue a statewide Action Alert to the nudist community to send complaint letters to the local Superintendent Ken Kramer . In response, Richard Haydon, South Sector Superintendent (and the man behind closing the nude beach) sent out a form letter. It said, in part:
“Due to significant beach erosion and above average beach crowds, it was determined by Parks’ staff that a burial of the carcass in place was not feasible. It was further decided that the carcass would be transported by use of heavy equipment to the Trail 6 area of San Onofre State Beach, where such equipment could safely reach the beach, maneuver, and dig a hole deep enough for proper disposal.
Unfortunately, the hole that was dug was not deep enough to prevent resurfacing of the carcass.
“It was never the intent of California State Parks to…disrupt the beach experience for our visiting public. For this, we
deeply apologize.”
This reply did not satisfy Baylis, who kept the pressure up with more letters to Superintendent Kramer. Finally, on January 16, a new form letter went out to all who had sent letters of complaint:
“It was relayed to me,” wrote Kramer, “that the seal could not be safely buried at Dogpatch due to the lack of sand, large beach crowds, and little area to maneuver the heavy equipment. At the San Onofre bluffs area, there exist only three routes to the beach that the heavy equipment could utilize; Trails 1, 4, and 6. State Parks staff dismissed Trails 1 & 4 in their decision making process due to significant beach erosion. In hindsight, it would have been preferable that the carcass was buried at a different location. Presently, the seal is buried at a depth of approximately 10 feet, which should be sufficient to not pose a risk to public health. The decision was made to bury the seal carcass in place because there now exists a greater risk of rupturing the carcass during extrication, which could pose a threat to public health. Should the seal resurface again, we will evaluate the situation and act appropriately, which could include moving it to a different location if possible.”
Kramer told the Orange County Register newspaper that they “don’t really know” how long it will take for the mammal to completely deteriorate. "I would just stay away from the area," he added.
Which, of course, may have been the plan all along.
STATE OFFICIALS OVERSPENT BUDGET TO BATTLE NUDISTS IN COURT,
11/25/09 - State officials spent more than $42,000 battling a group of nudists who wanted to keep Trail 6 a clothing-optional beach, California Department of Parks and Recreation documents show.
Also, a public records request for all reports and complaints relating to public nudity at Trail 6 revealed only two written complaints. Park officials had said a growing number of complaints were one of the factors for banning nudity at Trail 6.
Ken Kramer, district superintendent of the Orange Coast District, said the money spent was well worth it.
"Our approach to this issue transcends dollars and cents," Kramer said. "This is money well spent to make sure we address these concerns. We have the duty to make sure that with this type of increased popularity and visitation that we have a park where all visitors feel welcome and that there is lawful activity occurring."
When asked as to how two complaints about public nudity jived with the claim of a growing number of complaints, Kramer said that the majority of complaints were verbal. The agency, however, has not documented nor kept track of such verbal complaints, Kramer said. He did not comment about why the agency did not keep track of verbal complaints.
"It couldn't have been too serious," Baylis said, questioning Kramer's reasoning. "If they took verbal complaints seriously, they would have documented them."
Kramer instead pointed to what he said was an increased level of criminal activity in the surrounding areas of Trail 6. While Kramer stopped short of blaming the nudists, he did say there was a correlation between the two. "I don't think we can ignore the fact that we have a substantial criminal activity problem where nude recreation is going on," he said.
An on-line poll showed 97% agreed that the state spending this money was a waste of money and limited state resources.
11/2009 - An article about the fight to retain the clothing optional section at Trail 6 appeared in USA Today on November 18.
The reporter William M. Welch quotes both Allen Baylis and Bob Morton of the Naturist Action Committee extensively in the article.
Park Superintendent Richard Haydon warns rangers will begin issuing citations but won't disclose when. "We are going to be moving forward with starting to enforce the nudity statute down at San Onofre, and basically returning that portion of the beach to all people who want to go down there without fear of running into [nudists]," Haydon said.
Baylis said nudists are ready to be arrested. "If they really want to come down there and issue citations, we have people willing and able to be cited in order to take it up in the criminal courts as a matter of civil disobedience," he said. "It's a very important issue for a lot of people."
10/23/2009 - The California Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by nudists that challenged the State Park’s repeal of the “Cahill/Harrison Policy” governing nudity in the state parks system.The Naturist Action Committee (NAC) issued a statement calling the court’s lack of action “a tremendous setback,” but they added “the battle has not ended. [We are]carefully considering [our] remaining options and the ramifications of each. NAC will continue to issue Action Alerts, Advisories and Updates on this issue as circumstances require.”
July, 2008 - At the present time, the clothing optional section of San Onofre State Beach remains open with no ticketing activity. In 2008 the State Parks Department decided to ban nudity as a response to reports of lewd activity in the campgrounds about a mile away in the parking lot camp ground. The nudists filed suit and won in the Superior Court in August 2008. However the state won a reveral in the Appeals Court in July 2009. The nudists have now appealed that ruling to the State Supreme Court, which should prevent any threantened ticketing after Labor Day weekend. While deputies and rangers still come down occasionally to the beach to verbally intimidate the nudists into put back on their clothes, they are not ticketing and so we ask beachgoers to be polite but to remain on the beach as unclothed as you prefer at this time. Report any tickets and conversations with authorities to the legal team at Friends of San Onofre (information and links are below.)
Fellow California Naturists:
The non-profit Naturist Action Committee exists to serve naturists. NAC has reacted swiftly and powerfully to the threat at San Onofre Beach. Now NAC is asking for your financial help. The expenses associated with defending naturism in California have left our war chests dangerously depleted. We need your immediate help to continue the essential fight for your right to enjoy nude recreation in an appropriate manner on public lands. The battle is a
costly one, but NAC believes it must be fought, and with your help, it can be won.
Please send your contribution today!
Call toll free (800) 886•7230, or send a check to: |
