Reprinted from this link

Assembly Bill 1512 and Senate Bill 799 seek to stop the Alameda-Tesla Expansion Area from use by Jeeps, 4x4s and UTVs.

If you own one of these recreational vehicles and enjoy seeing nature using them, these bills would eliminate any chance of having this opportunity in the Bay Area. Oppose these bills.

The Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA) General Plan for the expansion area allows one-third of the 3,100 acres to be a buffer zone dedicated to conservation and restoration, in which there would be no motorized travel. The remaining part of the expansion area would be an off-road experience for four-wheel driving and backcountry camping.

An off-road experience doesn't mean you just go out and drive wherever you please. Off-road driving takes place on designated dirt roads, trails or in special off-highway vehicle (OHV) areas. It is an enjoyable form of recreation for all ages and families. It would be fun to explore the hills in this area in a park specifically dedicated and planned for such use.

Carnegie SVRA is to be commended for having the foresight to buy the Alameda-Tesla Expansion Area for OHV recreational use using OHV funds. There is no place in the Bay Area for this kind of off-road nature experience for those of us who enjoy Jeeps, 4x4s and UTVs.

Oppose this legislation by contacting your State Legislator or the Bills' authors, AB1512 Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan or SB799 Senator Steven Glazer.

Friends of Oceano Dunes (Friends) filed a third lawsuit arguing that state law mandates that OHV recreation, beach driving and camping are permanent uses at the Oceano Dunes that cannot be banned by any agency.

Friends’ new lawsuit is known as a “quiet title” action and it argues that public off-road riders used nearly 145 parcels within Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (ODSVRA) long before the land was owned by the public, and that use created an implied dedication for off-road vehicle recreation, and camping, and also for driving vehicles on the beach. Under state law, neither the Coastal Commission, State Parks, or any other governmental agency has authority to prohibit uses established by an implied dedication. Once established, an implied dedication exists forever.

Friends previously filed a lawsuit claiming that the Commission’s action violated the California Environmental Quality Act, and another lawsuit arguing that the Commission violated the Coastal Act which expressly forbids the Commission from decreasing, duplicating or superseding the authority of State Parks, which manages the park. All three lawsuits are currently pending before the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court.

Friends attorney, Tom Roth, is a well-respected land use attorney specializing in California coastal matters and has led the Friends legal actions for 17 years which include delisting the California Brown Pelican, and has won court victories for Friends against the Coastal Commission, State Parks, Air Resources Board, Air Pollution Control District and the United States Fish and Wildlife Services to name a few.

The Friends Board of Directors has made it clear that “Friends is in it to win it” and “are prepared to file more lawsuits and do what is needed to defend our rights and our culture to have families continue to camp and recreate on the beach and dunes as has been done for over 100 years”. Friends president, Jim Suty also said that “Friends is deeply concerned for those with disabilities who count on driving on the beach and dunes to gain the access that is otherwise not easily available to them in California”. In addition, Suty added, “this is an affordable way for people to camp and spend the night on the overpriced California coast for only $10 a night”.

The Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area is in the central coast of California near Pismo Beach and attracts approximately 2 million annual visitors and provides over $200 million to the local economy each year. This unique 20 mile stretch of sand and dunes has been enjoyed by families for vehicle recreation and camping that is well documented going back to the early 1900’s. Land speed races occurred on the beach in the 1930’s and the first beach buggy was invented in the 1950’s.

Friends of Oceano Dunes is a 501(C)(3) California not-for-profit corporation expressly created in 2001 to preserve camping and off-highway vehicle recreation at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicle Recreation Area (ODSVRA). Friends is a grass root volunteer organization which represents approximately 28,000 members and users of the Oceano Dunes SVRA. www.oceanodunes.org

Reprinted from The Sacramento Bee, March 18, 2021

Update, 9 p.m.

In a historic vote, the California Coastal Commission unanimously voted to revise the coastal development permit for Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area to prohibit off-highway vehicle use in the park by 2026.

Read more here: https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article250028929.html

The Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation (OHMVR) Commission will hold a meeting, on February 18, 2021. This is an additional meeting to the four regularly scheduled commission meetings. Among regular reports, the Commission may desire to send a comment to the California Coastal Commission regarding the approval of the Pismo State Beach and Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area Draft Public Works Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Report (PWP) (December 2020). The public can offer comments to inform the Commission’s comments on the PWP. The Commission may consider writing a letter as a group or the Commissioners may send in comments as individuals who are commissioners. If the Commission decides to write a letter, it may be drafted at the meeting or a draft copy may be brought back before the Commission at the February 26, 2021 Commission meeting. The comments made by the public at the meeting will not be considered actual PWP public comments. If the public has comments on the PWP, those comments shall submitted to the PWP per the instructions on the website https://www.oceanodunespwp.com/en/meetings.

Formed in 2020 to help commemorate the California State Park’s Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Program’s 50th anniversary (1971-2021), the California Outdoor Recreation Foundation (CORF) will serve as a central clearing house for individuals and organizations seeking to collaborate with State Parks to celebrate this important recreation milestone throughout 2021.