EDITORIAL:

****Correction: The two groups suing the Coastal Commission over the Brightwater monument signs are Coastal Law Enforcement Action Network (CLEAN) and Access for All.****

Most of us know the feeling of carefully working on a project, making sure every detail is right only to have the project ruined upon turning it into one’s boss.

This must be how the California Coastal Commission staff felt when the voting members of the commission allowed permits for two housing development signs, ignoring the staff report that warned the signs restricted access to public Bolsa Chica land. Now the Bolsa Chica Land Trust has filed suit against the commission, hoping to throw out the permits.

According to that staff report, “These tall stone walls establish an ambience of private exclusivity upon a public roadway that is an important entry point to public trails, parks and open spaces beyond.”

This is not the first time the commission has ignored staff recommendations. In May, Land Trust members were angered by a commission vote that left them with 12 fewer acres protected than they hoped on the biggest open parcel left bordering the Bolsa Chica Wetlands.

Members of the land trust complained the commission had voted against its own staff’s recommendations, which said certain requirements for replacing destroyed wetlands hadn’t been taken into account.

The commission staff may as well have not even shown up for work that day.

One might ask: Is it even the commission’s job to make sure the public knows it can access public beaches?

You bet.

The purpose of the commission, according to its website, is to “Protect ... the California coast and ocean for environmentally sustainable and prudent use by current and future generations.”

The commission staff spends time and money making sure the public can access public property along the coast. It enables public access improvements, such as stairways and trails in new development projects. It makes sure there are signs with a “footprint” logo that signal to visitors, “Come on in!”

According to the commission website, additional public access projects are made possible by permit fees. But what good are these fees and projects if the developments that provide the fees appear to block access to the very coastline the commission is meant to make available?

If the commission leaves any doubt in visitors’ minds that these areas are accessible, the public will not be able to see the “footprint” signs and enjoy the coast. The money for the commission’s signs is wasted.

What could be more important than the commission doing its job? We’re sure the land trust, citizens of Huntington Beach, and most of all, the commission staff, would like to know as well.