Friends of Lighthouse Field

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Its Beach Status Update

Updated 09/14/08

The City of Santa Cruz is moving forward on steps necessary to acquire Its Beach from California State Parks and thereby restore legal off-leash recreation on the Beach.  The first major step a long Environmental Impact Report (EIR) process that will not conclude until sometime in 2009.  We're just at the beginning of this process, and we'll keep you updated as we learn more.

We've been sponsoring our "Dog Day Morning" coffee and donut socials every few weeks.  These are very informal "non-event" events, intended to help maintain community contact and keep the social network strong.  It's just coffee, donuts, dog treats and good friends, usually on weekend mornings and usually at the Beach, and sometimes at the Field.  Turnout has been great, and we hope you'll come.  (Join our email list to be notified of the schedule.)

FOLF announced its sponsorship of Its Beach for the 24th Annual Coastal Clean-up on September 20, 2008.  We are also working with Save Our Shores and have joined in on the Adopt-A-Beach Program.  We've adopted Its Beach.  This means that we are making a commitment to our community that we will clean our beach at least three times a year, starting in 2009.

City Plans to Acquire Its Beach
Here is our July 3, 2008 report about developments surrounding the ongoing efforts to maintain off-leash dog recreation at Lighthouse Field and Its Beach:
  1. The City of Santa Cruz has begun an effort to acquire Its Beach from the State of California through its Public Trust Fund and operate Its Beach according to the pre-existing off-leash access policies.
  2. FOLF believes that preserving Its Beach for off-leash dog recreation is a significant first step -- we are very pleased with this progress, and in addition we will continue to also focus on the return of Lighthouse Field to off-leash dog recreation.
  3. We thank John Laird for all his efforts as well as Ryan Coonerty and the City Council for positive efforts to find a fair and equitable solution to support off-leash recreation and our community.
  4. The FOLF board thanks the FOLF membership and the greater Santa Cruz community of people with dogs for what the City has acknowledged as our focused and positive campaign.
  5. Anyone interested in the return of off-leash recreation to Lighthouse Field and Its Beach should continue to voice their concerns to the City Council, California State Parks and our Assemblymember John Laird regarding their efforts to restore the management of Lighthouse Field and Its Beach for off-leash recreation.  (See http://www.folf.org/write.php for addresses and information.)

Further background information
FOLF's long-term goal is to ensure that the Santa Cruz community of responsible pet owners can enjoy long-term use/access to both Lighthouse Field and Its Beach for recreation with off-leash dogs.  Our efforts are motivated to preserve our recreation and quality of life, and to ensure continued safety and security within the park and surrounding neighborhood.  With this end goal in mind, we would like the City to proceed with an immediate purchase of Its Beach. We see this as a step towards the ultimate goal of restoring off-leash recreation to both Lighthouse Field and Its Beach.  FOLF will continue to work with the City and State to eventually move toward a City purchase and/or operating agreement for Lighthouse Field as well.

In response to this community's needs, the City Council has adopted a resolution to appropriate $60,000 from the City's Public Trust Fund, which is dedicated solely to land use acquisition, for the development of an Its Beach Management Plan including an Environmental Impact Report to include off-leash dog recreation.  (These funds cannot be used to supplement other City services such as fire, police or road maintenance, and so this expenditure takes nothing away from such services.)

While this is great progress and a solid move in the right direction, the City has not yet committed to purchasing Its Beach.  The future status of Lighthouse Field also remains unresolved.  Therefore, your continued efforts to voice your support are critical.

FOLF supports our City's efforts to move forward to develop a plan that could result in the purchase of Its Beach for off-leash dog recreation.  We are committed to working with the Council to ensure successful implementation of the plan including whatever can be done to support the EIR process. FOLF has also offered to continue our fund-raising efforts to help offset some of the costs associated with this purchase and on-going maintenance.



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Friends of Lighthouse Field
849 Almar Avenue, Suite C-PMB414
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
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