Jenner Jotting by Tim McKusick - November 2019
On Sonoma County PRMD website:
Purpose
The purpose of this Local Coastal Plan Update is to revise the LCP to reflect policies related to coastal development that were adopted by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors in General Plan 2020. In addition, this LCP Update adds new information and policy in the following areas: sea level rise (2100 planning horizon), biotic resources, geologic hazards, water quality, and public access.
The goal of the update is to produce a modern, up-to-date, and easy-to-use document with digital maps. The Update focuses on new information, changed conditions, and policies in these key areas:
• Agricultural Resources
• Public Access
• Sea Level Rise
• Biotic Resources
• Geologic Hazards
• Water Quality
The intent of the Local Coastal Plan Update is not to encourage new or increased development. The current Local Coastal Plan meets the goals of the California Coastal Act to preserve coastal resources, and this Update continues the existing protections.
Public Process and Next Steps
From the beginning of the County’s Local Coastal Program, there has been strong citizen participation. The County welcomes and encourages continued public participation in the Local Coastal Program update process. Permit Sonoma staff and consultants are now in the process of updating the Local Coastal Plan, with multiple opportunities for public comment.
The Preliminary Draft Local Coastal Plan (LCP) was published in June 2015, and five public workshops were held during the summer of 2015. The Public Review Draft is available for review with public workshops to introduce the plan scheduled to begin in fall 2019. Public hearings will be scheduled before the Planning Commission, Board of Supervisors, and California Coastal Commission meetings.
I encourage all to read this, an important CA Coastal Commission document regarding Public Access:
https://documents.coastal.ca.gov/assets/access/accesspl.pdf to get an idea of the (brief) history of efforts to retain Public Access Rights to our World-Class Coastline. It has been an uphill battle for Public’s Rights all along the way.
Back in the 1970’s, against all odds, the People Prevailed in halting rampant exploitation of the precious resource that is our Pacific Coast. It is up to all of us to make sure that our children and grandchildren are ensured the gift of a preserved, wild coastline. It is more and more valuable every day; a rare place of healing and respite in this ever-changing and chaotic world.
Locally, I have witnessed the disappearance of most of the coastal accesses that were once taken for granted as being there forever. When I moved out here, the Timber Cove security person gave me a map of several access’ and ‘climb-downs’ to use.
My Realtor (Hatsy Beardsley, so close to the developer that Harriette Court is named after her) told us that Cormorant Point, across the cove to the north of Timber Cove Resort (Inn) would be the site of the Community Clubhouse, and that the natural trail down to the sandy beach below would be ours to use. She also pointed out that just up the street (Ninive) was an easement to the bluff-edge for a future staircase access.
It turns out that the clubhouse site would be later sold to a SoCal developer, and along with it went the community beach and access. And now, our Ninive and other trail easements are under attack by local NIMBY’s.
When our kids were little, we would walk down from our property on the East side of the highway, to the view spot where we would watch the whales as they traversed our rocky shoreline, and the fishing and urchin-harvesting boats working our kelp beds and the bounty from below. So many amazing memories.
On one occasion, we were watching an urchin diver, at the end of a long breathing tube, and his boat-hand, who manned the air compressor, as their boat bobbed in the ocean kelp-beds just off- shore. With the diver in the water, and the helper up in the boat’s rigging, swaying gently back and forth.
We spotted some whale spouts to the South, with the whales hugging the rocky shoreline. As they got closer, it appeared to be two big whales and a small one; probably the baby, mom and aunt, heading North hugging the shoreline to protect the young calf from Orcas and other predators.
It became clear that the whales were going to pass very close to the small boat. The whales would spout a few times and then dive, appearing in a minute or two, closer and closer with each dive.
When they got to the boat, the whales dove, seemingly between the boat and the diver! We could hear the boat-hand shout out: Ohhh Sh-tttt!! as he looked down on the whales swimming by. I can just imagine the diver as these huge shadows went overhead. A humbling experience, I am sure.
