Talk:Lighthouse Field State Beach

Expansion possibilities

Some mention should be made of the controversies surrounding Lighthouse Field for the last forty years. I am not experienced at writing Wiki posts, and do not understand how to make the formatting correct, or how to make the language meet the standards, so here's the information that ought to be included, and I hope that someone will either fixit for inclusion or walk me through it. Lighthouse Field State Beach has been the focus of a series of local disputes over land use. During the 1960s developers proposed variations on a convention center for the area (http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/articles/353/. Opposition to this provided the focus for the emergence of slow-growth sentiment and organizations in town (http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/santacruz/progressive_politics.html) Many of the region's more prominent politicians, administrators, and land use experts claim this struggle as one of their formative experiences(http://edporter.net/santacruz.html: .

Do I understand correctly that primary sources aren't considered valid? Would that mean I wouldn't link to Garry Patton's account of the ballot initiative to prohibit the development of a convention center there(http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/santacruz/progressive_politics.html)? In any case, in 1974, the initiative passed: the city planning commission voted against it: the city council voted in 1975 to go ahead with it (in the face of a suit by the developer?:http://law.justia.com/cases/california/calapp3d/64/438.html)but the State Coastal Commission disallowed it, and in 1977 the field and beach became Lighthouse Field State Beach. For many years the state and city managed the park together.

Sincethe early 2000s, the field and adjoining beach have been the center of a use struggle over off-leash dog recreation, which has involved the State Parks and Recreation Department, the City of Santa Cruz, and rival community organizations(http://www.bohemian.com/metro-santa-cruz/03.28.07/nuz-0713.html). Lighthouse Field Beach Rescue (https://lawlink.com/research/cases/82572/lighthouse-field-beach-rescue-v--city-of-santa-cruz--cal--dept--of-parks-and-recreation---) was formed around the position that the presence of off-leash dogs on the beach contribute unacceptably to local pollution (I can find other evidence of this group's continued existence: was it an ad-hoc group?). Friends of Lighthouse Field (http://folf.org/about.php) was formed by dog owners, initially to protect the off-leash dog use policy. This group also engages in beach and field cleanup and fundraising for improvements to the park.

Other references about the land use struggles around Lighthouse Field: http://www.tomhonig.com/santa_cruz_observed/2011/04/neighbors-rights-or-nimbyism.html http://www.bohemian.com/metro-santa-cruz/03.28.07/nuz-0713.html http://www.folf.org/milestones.php

In the 19th Century, the area was called "Phelan Park," and was an artists' retreat (http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/articles /408/)

The field has also, in recent years, been a secondary wintering habitat for migrating monarch butterflies (video of mating butterflies in the field: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYY3ev1HdTM). One year there were more butterflies at Lighthouse Field than Natural Bridges State Park, which is the better-known monarch wintering location(http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_13855147). The butterflies have also become an issue in the discussions of land use at the park (http://www.folf.org/issues/white/white4.html -- this is a position paper: I should be able to find the city council hearing transcripts on this, but I haven't been able to)(http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/12.06.00/bratton-0049.html)(

74.220.78.75 (talk) 20:21, 11 July 2011 (UTC)Lucy Kemnitzer (I cannot sign in for some reason)