OC Parks is reviewing county documents that show a gate should have been installed at the Table Rock Coastal Access stairway when it was constructed more than 30 years ago.
The study was requested by Supervisor Lisa Bartlett in the wake of two swimmers’ deaths at Table Rock Beach in August.
“Supervisor Bartlett has asked OC Parks to assess the current situation and relevant historic documents pertaining to the access gate at Table Rock Beach and make a determination on how best to proceed forward,” James Dinwiddie, deputy chief of staff for Bartlett’s office, wrote in an email.
In 1986, The Orange County Planning Commission approved a resolution requiring county staff to install a gate at the Table Rock Beach access and keep it locked daily from sunset until 8 a.m. as a condition for building the stairway. At that time, county officials viewed the public beach access stairway as a cure to neighbor complaints that people trespass on private property, often through hazardous conditions, to reach the sand.
Dinwiddie noted that if OC Parks recommends installing the gate, county staff would be required to seek approval from the Board of Supervisors and the California Coastal Commission.
The Thousand Steps Beach stairway already has a gate that is locked nightly. Meanwhile, Laguna Beach city-owned beaches stay open until 1 a.m.
Table Rock’s public access has earned scrutiny by some residents, especially those living on adjacent bluffs, because of a string of fatalities.
In July 2019, a 27-year-old Huntington Beach man died after attempting to rescue a fellow swimmer at Table Rock Beach.
A 29-year-old Bloomington man was found floating dead off the beach on Aug. 21.
The body of a 56-year-old Dana Point man was found Aug. 29 at Table Rock after an extensive search by multiple agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard.
Dinwiddie claimed these deaths wouldn’t have been prevented by a stairway gate.
“Our understanding is two of the fatalities occurred during normal operating hours and one that was discovered at Table Rock did not originate there but also took place during normal operating hours,” he wrote in an email.
Laguna Beach annexed the previously unincorporated area south of Cardinal Way in 1987 but its beaches were left out and are still operated by OC Parks.
Seacliff Drive resident John Thomas has photographed first responders responding to multiple emergencies at Table Rock even though there’s no vehicle access.
“The question is what do we do about it and why does it matter,” Thomas said. “There’s crazy stuff that goes on here during the day and there’s crazy stuff that goes on here and the night.”
Thomas admits that some people will climb over the proposed gate but still hopes a few law-abiding citizens will be dissuaded by the locked gate. He argues it makes sense to restrict access after sunset for public safety and limit the costs of police, paramedics, lifeguards, and helicopter crews.
“Why should the County be able to open up the stairway without fulfilling their conditions of approval?” Thomas said.
The South Laguna Civic Association plans to urge the County to comply with their own original conditions of approval, Association President Greg O’Loughlin said. A letter is still in the works.
