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Acquisition and Design Considerations
of a Central California Coastal Trail
bull -4 pound
Lucille Daley Vincent
Senior Thesis
Environmental Planning
August 29 1974
Table of Contents
Introduction bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull 1
Acquisition bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull 4
Summary bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull 27
Design bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull 28
Summary bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull 37
Conclusion bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull 38
Appendix
Explanations of Photographs bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull 41
Footnotes bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull 42
Bibliography bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull 44
The central California coast is an extraordinary collage
of sandy beaches sharp rocky cliffs marching dune formations
marine terraces teeming estuaries and meandering stream-
mouths Curiously this stretch of coast although geographically
close to tLa heavily populated urban areas south from San
Francisco has remained relatively secluded and undeveloped
and today forms a truly unusual recreational asthetic
and educational asset for our soc~ety Today we are
beginning to realize the values of such places
Like winds and sunsets wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them Now we face the question whether a still higher standard of living is worth its cost in things natural wild and free For us of the minority the opportunity to see geese is more important than television and the chance to find a pasqueshyflower is a right as inalienable as free speech l
Aldo Leopold wrote these words in 1948 in Wisconsin and now
in 1974 in California we are seeing an increasing awareness
of the necessity for making such wild things an integral
part of our human existence We see the necessity to relate
more closely to the land and the sea and to the other
species living there weare eager to become a part of the
natural and beautiful
In this thesis I explore a possibility for bringing
man closer to our coastal wild places a coastal trail
Such a trail would take the form of a linear park leading
from an urban area to a private uncluttered glimpse of
2
nature Such a linear park has the advantage of a large
perimeter-to-area ratio which makes its area accessible
to the greatest number of people Also the area becomes
highly visible William Whyte wrote Landscape is not 2
beautiful if you do not see it Thus a linear park
provides a scenicview for all those people who live near
it or who pass by while those wishing to traverse land
are satisfied by the same park
Trails are by no means a new idea but recently the
use by the public of foot and bicycle paths has become
increasingly widespread and concepts of such paths are
receiving greater attention by recreational planning
agencies The idea of creating a coastal trail along the
central California coast and in particular along Santa
Cruz countys north coast is an appealing natural extension
of this new interest and enthusiasm Such a trail would enable
visitors to enjoy the diversity and continuity of the natural
beauty and recreational opportunities along the coast
A trail along this coast would provide a beautiful area
to traverse It would provide access to each special feature
along the coast and provide an opportunity to view the coast
in its entirety It would serve as a link from the urban
areas to close and distant natural coastal settings and
would connect the various parks that exist along the coast
Such a trail would also help maintain the rich amount
of undeveloped coast now visible to the public It would
3
do this be acting as a barrier--limiting the encroachment of
urban facilities onto the coast which is so unique in its
high aesthetic and recreational values and in its physiological
variety The creators of the trail would protect coastal
resources from being lost to the public forever when they
acquired public rights in the land
Several important problems need to be addressed in the
planning of such a trail such as how are public rights to
be acquired and what kinds of contracts may be made concerning
rights and liabilities with the landowners Other problems
include the selection of a route and the design of the trail
funding of the trail and the labor required to build the
trail Of these perhaps the two most important aspects
when beginning the planning of a trail are the acquisition
of rights of way and the design and location of the trail
These are the two problems that this thesis will cover
In the first part of the paper I discuss the methods
of acquisition potentially useful in acquiring trail rights
of way The social implications of acquisition and the subject
of private property will be discussed several methods of
acquisition will be described and the legal and political
foundations for these acquisition methods will be explored
Design will be considered from two aspects in the
second part of the paper Design will be shown to be dependent
on the natural physical features of the land as well as the
property owners existing land uses
4
Finally a summary of the two topics acquisition and
design will lead into conclusions and recommendations The
background of social legal and political considerations
should assist immeasurably the process of creating a trail
along the central California coast
Acquisition
To understand exactly what it is that needs to be acquired
in order for the public to have the right to use a trail the I
concept of property must be understood Property is often thoughtI
of as a material possession--something tangible that one has
control over As the term comes down ~hrough legal history
however it has a different meaning Property is a bundle
of rights recognized by some sort of authority and defensible
in law A person could buy the right to use a piece of land
for his house and garden exclusive of others and the state
would recognize this right It would be upheld in a court
of law His rights might also include the right to sell to
anyone at any time the right to rent any part or all of
his property and many more rights of this type Limitations
are placed on his rights by zoning restrictions and by the
states right of eminant domain In other words the
definition of property depends upon recognized law and thought
in a given time and place Property law in America has mostly
evolved from old English law although Mexican law has had
an influence in California and other southwestern states
5
The concept of private property then is flexible Any
change in this concept is correlated with a change in social
thought This flexibility is illustrated by the differences
in the concept of private property in different countries
The result and the potential of this flexibility in property
rights islt~ change over time in a given countrys concept of
private property
Traditionally in this country ownership of land has been
thought of as almost entirely exclusive It has been a Godshy
given right for an owner of land to till the soil clear his
land and exclude others from it The treatment and guarding
of privately held land was considered ones private affair
Only a few rights were held by the government two of these
were the right to tax and the right to condemn property
Recently some thought has been given to the idea that
exclusive property rights are not natural or God-given They
are a function of government and social thought For example
private property in Sweden has much less privacy than land
in ~he United States In Sweden the public has the right
to cross camp on or visit private property under certain restrictions This right is called Allemansratten or
Everymans Right The historical roots of this practice
extend back to a time of few roads when crossing other peoples
land was often necessary These rights are existent today
because the responsibility of Allemanstratten is acknowledged
and demonstrated by the public
6
Sweden is not the only country with a different concept
of private property from the United States Every society
has a different concept of the rights and limitations properly
included in private property
One of the traditional rights inherent in private property
in the United States is the right to dispose of ones propery
This means that law pertaining to the disposal of property
is deeply interwoven into the concept of private property
This is the reason a discussion of property is necessary to
understand the significance of the changing forms of public
acquisition
The right to dispose of ones property is being challenged
by the new thought that land has a value in itself and that
this value is defendable by members of the public This new
thought could be worded to suggest that the land has rights
that are defendable by interested persons or that certain
persons have rights in land which does not belong to them in
the traditional sense of ownership Eivind Berggrav of
Norway was quoted as saying The motive for limiting
property rights is not the desire to deprive anyone of that
which is rightfully his We begin with the assumption that
we are more than one living on this mountain 3 The rights
of the government and public--or the limitations on property
owners rights--could easily be extended a little There
is no absolute domain of the term property Coastal
property for example has long been treated less exclusively
7
than other property This is an important fact in a study
of acquisition for a coastal trail
Coastal property has stood out as a special type of
property since early times In AD 530 Justinian I a
Roman wrote The public use of the seashore as of the sea
itself is part of the law of natiollts consequently everyone
is free to build a cottage upon it for purposes of retreat
as well as to dry his nets and haul them up from the sea
But they cannot be said to belong to anyone as private property bull
The seashore is still treated specially In current
California law private property terminates at the mean high
tide mark1 unless a grant from the state specifies otherwise
the tidelands belong to the public Even if the state deeds
the tidelands to individuals the people retain the right of
public use for navigation and commerce This tideland trust
has its historical roots in the treaty which ceded California
to the United States--the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo This
treaty placed all of the states tidelands under a public
trust Not only does the public hold a trust on these lands
but access to the tidelands is guaranteed in the California
Constitution article XV section 2 It reads No individual
partnership or corporation claiming or possessing the frontage
or tidal lands of a harbor bay inlet estuary or other navigable
water in this state shall be permitted to exclude the right of
way to such water whenever it is required for some public
purpose nor to destroy or obstruct the free navigation of
8
such water This public right in private property reflects
the motive stated so eloquently by Eivind Berggrav above The
public owns the land between the high and low tide marks and
has the right to gain access to those lands whenever it is
required for any public purpose
We see that legally there is a tradition of some limited
public rights to the seashore Not everyone is enthusiastic
about sharing private rights in property with the public
The particular shoreline dealt with in this paper is the
shoreline in northern Santa Cruz County--from Santa Cruz
north to Ano Nuevo Some of the people along this coast
the landowners whose property a coastai trail would cross
are reserved about the public use of the land
The landowners with whom I talked would argue that there
is indeed a certain amount of defineable essence in the concept
of property Man has a need for territory--a place to call
his own in private peace Those whose families have lived
on the coast for generations feel a responsibility to preserve
the land handed down to them They say and this is often
true that those who rent property or who are traveling over
property do not show the same care feeling~ of responsibility
and labor that longtime property owners show The landowners
did admit that not all property owners were as careful as they
could be but the institution of private property held more
potential in their judgment for preserving and treating land
carefully than public institutions or parks
9
With regard to sharing their land with the public some
of the landowners feel that if a group of people asked to
camp on their land they would allow it But to have
people wandering over their property as it it were a public
forest would be offensive--as if someone were walking a~ound
in an urban residents backyard There is an exception to
this Many landowners along the north coast have no objection
to public use of their beaches The main reason for the
exclusionary feelings of one couple is the inconsiderate
behavior on the part of the hikers in wilderness areas This
couple tries very hard to preserve their land yet visitors
still leave the scars of campsites andrestless wandering on
the property
There is another side to the landowners arguments
When they speak of mans need for territory they do not
consider the city dwellers with small yards around their
homes or no yards at all If one family has the right to
enjoy land left in its natural state might that not
necessarily imply that all families have the right to such
enjoyment
Some private landowners do feel great responsibility
for their property and this is commendable But the
system of private property tends to build a shield around
the landowners activities on their land While some people
take special care of their treasured property other people
may be tempted to exploit the land dump their garbage on it
10
and not be concerned about future owners This temptation
for irresponsibility is similar to the behavior of visiting
campers and hikers noted in the interview with the landowner-shy
a lack of concern for the people who will corne by tomrnorrow or
next year In such cases neither public nor private ownership
is a guarantee of quality care
Some public uses of land are accepted by private landowners
A highway is a public use of land that is generally accepted
by the owners of land dissected by the highway Because of
the similarity between a trail and a road it is possible that
the concept of a trail could be more readily accepted by
landowners than other types of public intrusion If a road
or highway were to be planned and built by the state most
landowners would not object The straightening of Highway
One that occurred twenty years ago is an example of this
It seems to be an accepted right of the state to build roads
and a need of the general public to have roads How large
is the difference between a path for automobile traffic and
a path for bicycles or those on foot
Economically this difference is real at the present
time Public roads provide access to proper~y and thereby
increase property value Trails do not benefit landowners
in this way However as the recognized value of trails
for slow recreational travel approaches that of highways for
faster forms of travel the difference to a landowner between
a road and trail over his property will diminish
11
On the north coast of Santa Cruz County are landowners
who treasure the exclusiveness of their property There are
laws in the state of California that ensure the publics
right to gain access to tidelands whenever it is required for
any public purpose Now there are people who desire to
to create a trail along the coast so that more people can
enjoy its special abundance of beauty
If such a trail is to exist it must be planned in a way
that will receive the acceptance of the landowner Once
again social thought is important to this plan The very
fact that a right of way can potentially be obtained
reflects a growing desire for public contact with coastal land
even when that land is privately owned The methods by which
a central California coastal trail can be acquired will
depend upon the current thought of the population landowners
and court
A pleasing method of acquisition would be for the landowner
to donate or sell an easement for a right of way but fears
exist to prevent this Landowners fear liability for injuries
sustained on their property public abuse and misuse of their
property and loss of privacy These fears 9an be intelligently
dealt with during the process of negotiating for rights of
way If this is done and the owner is willing to donate or
sell an easement the costs of other methods of acquisition
can be avoided
Court decisions for liability against landowners often
receive much publicity These cases often deal with recreationists
who have paid to use the property California Civil Code 846
12
states that the landowner owes no duty of care--responsibility
for safety--to those who do not pay to participate in recreational
uses of his land In 1968 the Supreme Court of California
decided in Rowland v Christian that landowners are liable
for injuries sustained by those using the recreation on their
land free of charge In other words the court erased the
distinction between duty of care owed to paying and nonpaying
users In 1970 however the Legislature reacted to reenforce
these distinctions One of the laws enacted at this time
Government Code 8314 gives immunity to a public agency to
any injury occuring on a trail or on an unimproved road used
for access to certain recreational activities The grantor
of the easement is also given immunity This means that when
~ a property owner donates an easement to a public agency or public
employee neither is liable for injury if the easement is either
unimproved or properly designed and maintained
Another new law Civil Code Section 846 limits the
liability of landowners when their land is used for certain
recreational purposes including hiking and riding This
section does not protect them from duty of care owed to paying
users invited guests or from the liability for a willful or
malicious failure to warn against danger
Although these laws offer some protection they are unknown
to many landowners In an effort to escape liability landowners
have tried waivers and contracts to release them from liability
but these methods have not stood up in court Landowners
should be aware of the protection provided by law and of the
13
benefits of liability insurance If the easement is
dedicated to a public entity then it becomes the public
entitys responsibility to maintain the premises Once
the landowners are aware of the laws and the protection of
dedicating an easement to a public entity their fear should
be calmed
Landowners also worry about damages done by the public
to their property and they are concerned over their loss
of privacy There are several solutions to these problems
Where access crosses near to development the public access
can be hidden in a gully or ravine or separated by a barrier
of shrubs or trees On longer segments of trail where landshy
owners fear maintenance costs a trail patrolman such as the
r one at Castle Rock State Park could watch the area
Maintenance of the area would probably be less expensive
than complete prevention of disturbance Small segments of
the trail could be given to individuals or groups to maintain
In Switzerland this is done quite effectively Footpaths
are determined and maintained by district branches of the
Swiss Footpath Protection Agency Each district has exclusive
supervision over its footpaths Each path is examined and
kept in repair periodically
Solutions like these can be presented to the landowners
when discussing acquisition The landowners may have
suggestions as to methods of teaching the users of the
trail careful treatment of the valuable assets of natural land
14
The owner should be encouraged to dedicate the property
Even if he is willing to sell the right of way this can be
much more harmonious than court trials or eminant domain
proceedings If the owner will not sell or dedicate the
right of way the other solutions are possible
A knowledge opound the variety of means to attain public
rights in property is necessary The set of rights that make
up property rights are not tied up in an inseparable bundle
A few of these rights may be purchased as easily as the
entire bundle Someone may want to buy the right to cross
over another persons property A community may buy the
development rights to someone s land cThis would mean that
the landowner retains the right to cross his property to
visit it or sell it and he also retains other privileges of
ownership Only the community though has the right to
develop the property Purchases of one or a few rights are
called easements Easements are generally cheaper than
purchase of what is called fee simple absolute--full purchase
of the bundle of rights involved in owning property The
cost of an easement depends upon the depression in land value
that results from selling the rights In urban areas where
the value of land is virtually its development potential
easements to restrict development can be as expensive as fee
simple absolute
In California easements are becoming a valuable aid
in obtaining and retaining land rights for recreational
15
activities The types of useful easements vary from
government purchase to implied dedication of beach areas
Governments have the right to acquire these interests in
land as long as the purpose of the acquisition is public
welfare Recreation is now considered to be public welfare
At one time there was debaLd ~oncerning the domain of the
term public welfare Just what does this term include
The California Legislature passed the Open Space Act in 1959
This act broadened the idea of public welfare to include open
spaces and areas for public enjoymentS Open space according
to the legislature is an area with natural beauty or an area
with some quality--openness natural state or present use-shy
that if retained would increase the value of neighboring
urban development or be a valuable part of conserved scenic 6 or natural resources
This definition was further redefined to specifically
include recreation in the Open Space Easement Act of 1967
This act enabled California cities and counties to acquire
easements on land for open space within their jurisdictions
Preservation of open space resulting from these easements
must he consistent with the general plan and must be in
the best interest of the jurisdiction The publics enjoyment
of beauty and recreation the use of resources or the production
of food or fiber must be of major importance in the area
If money is available for the creation of a trail
purchasing a right of way easement is often the best way to
16
obtain the right of public use of the trail If money is
limited and the trail has already had public use for five
or more consecutive years another type of easement may be
applicable called easement by prescription
Easements created by prescription are created by
regular open use of someones property for five consecutive
years before the claim is made The use must be actual and
beneficial to the person claiming the easement The use
must be consistent during the period 7
Originally an easement by prescription was based upon
the presumption that the right had been granted but that
the grant had been lost and generallyit may be acquired by
the exclusive and uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the
~ right for a period of time analogous to the time sufficient
to acquire title by adverse possession uS
The attainment of easements by prescription is not
limited to private individuals The residents of a town or
city as a corporate identity can claim prescriptive easements
When a city or town does this it must prove its rights by
past record of regulation and control over the land upon which
an easement is claimed 9 It is in this ability of a
municipality to obtain easements by prescription that the
value of this method of acquisition lies
This use of easements for recreational purposes is
demonstrated in the case Gion v city of Santa Cruz (2 C3d 29)
The case dealt with three parcels of shore land Each lot
17
had a raised protion adjacent to a public road Cars had
been parking in these areas for sixty years Exclusive of an
old road bed the area had only been used for public pleasure
although it had been privately owned since 1880
The city had done maintenance in the area They pilled
in holes and placed riprap in weak areas They installed
an emergency alarm system School children planted iceplant
the city paved the parking lot and the sanitation department
maintained trash receptacles and cleaned after busy weekends
This maintenance activity was important to the citys claim
for an easement
The public had freely used the area to fish swim
picnic and watch the ocean The previous owner never told
anyone to leave The publics activity had been continuous
from 1900 until the time of trial The new owner had full
knowledge of the public use and city maintenance
The Santa Cruz Superior Court ruled that Gion was the
owner in fee of the property but his title was subject to
an easement in the City of Santa Cruz The Court based their
finding on several facts The publ~c had used the land
for an excess of five years The city had exercised
continued and uninterrupted dominion and control over the
property for a time in excess of five years In addition
Gion knew both of these facts when he bought the property
All of the conditions for an easement by prescription were
thus fulfilled
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
Table of Contents
Introduction bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull 1
Acquisition bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull 4
Summary bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull 27
Design bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull 28
Summary bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull 37
Conclusion bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull 38
Appendix
Explanations of Photographs bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull 41
Footnotes bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull 42
Bibliography bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull bull 44
The central California coast is an extraordinary collage
of sandy beaches sharp rocky cliffs marching dune formations
marine terraces teeming estuaries and meandering stream-
mouths Curiously this stretch of coast although geographically
close to tLa heavily populated urban areas south from San
Francisco has remained relatively secluded and undeveloped
and today forms a truly unusual recreational asthetic
and educational asset for our soc~ety Today we are
beginning to realize the values of such places
Like winds and sunsets wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them Now we face the question whether a still higher standard of living is worth its cost in things natural wild and free For us of the minority the opportunity to see geese is more important than television and the chance to find a pasqueshyflower is a right as inalienable as free speech l
Aldo Leopold wrote these words in 1948 in Wisconsin and now
in 1974 in California we are seeing an increasing awareness
of the necessity for making such wild things an integral
part of our human existence We see the necessity to relate
more closely to the land and the sea and to the other
species living there weare eager to become a part of the
natural and beautiful
In this thesis I explore a possibility for bringing
man closer to our coastal wild places a coastal trail
Such a trail would take the form of a linear park leading
from an urban area to a private uncluttered glimpse of
2
nature Such a linear park has the advantage of a large
perimeter-to-area ratio which makes its area accessible
to the greatest number of people Also the area becomes
highly visible William Whyte wrote Landscape is not 2
beautiful if you do not see it Thus a linear park
provides a scenicview for all those people who live near
it or who pass by while those wishing to traverse land
are satisfied by the same park
Trails are by no means a new idea but recently the
use by the public of foot and bicycle paths has become
increasingly widespread and concepts of such paths are
receiving greater attention by recreational planning
agencies The idea of creating a coastal trail along the
central California coast and in particular along Santa
Cruz countys north coast is an appealing natural extension
of this new interest and enthusiasm Such a trail would enable
visitors to enjoy the diversity and continuity of the natural
beauty and recreational opportunities along the coast
A trail along this coast would provide a beautiful area
to traverse It would provide access to each special feature
along the coast and provide an opportunity to view the coast
in its entirety It would serve as a link from the urban
areas to close and distant natural coastal settings and
would connect the various parks that exist along the coast
Such a trail would also help maintain the rich amount
of undeveloped coast now visible to the public It would
3
do this be acting as a barrier--limiting the encroachment of
urban facilities onto the coast which is so unique in its
high aesthetic and recreational values and in its physiological
variety The creators of the trail would protect coastal
resources from being lost to the public forever when they
acquired public rights in the land
Several important problems need to be addressed in the
planning of such a trail such as how are public rights to
be acquired and what kinds of contracts may be made concerning
rights and liabilities with the landowners Other problems
include the selection of a route and the design of the trail
funding of the trail and the labor required to build the
trail Of these perhaps the two most important aspects
when beginning the planning of a trail are the acquisition
of rights of way and the design and location of the trail
These are the two problems that this thesis will cover
In the first part of the paper I discuss the methods
of acquisition potentially useful in acquiring trail rights
of way The social implications of acquisition and the subject
of private property will be discussed several methods of
acquisition will be described and the legal and political
foundations for these acquisition methods will be explored
Design will be considered from two aspects in the
second part of the paper Design will be shown to be dependent
on the natural physical features of the land as well as the
property owners existing land uses
4
Finally a summary of the two topics acquisition and
design will lead into conclusions and recommendations The
background of social legal and political considerations
should assist immeasurably the process of creating a trail
along the central California coast
Acquisition
To understand exactly what it is that needs to be acquired
in order for the public to have the right to use a trail the I
concept of property must be understood Property is often thoughtI
of as a material possession--something tangible that one has
control over As the term comes down ~hrough legal history
however it has a different meaning Property is a bundle
of rights recognized by some sort of authority and defensible
in law A person could buy the right to use a piece of land
for his house and garden exclusive of others and the state
would recognize this right It would be upheld in a court
of law His rights might also include the right to sell to
anyone at any time the right to rent any part or all of
his property and many more rights of this type Limitations
are placed on his rights by zoning restrictions and by the
states right of eminant domain In other words the
definition of property depends upon recognized law and thought
in a given time and place Property law in America has mostly
evolved from old English law although Mexican law has had
an influence in California and other southwestern states
5
The concept of private property then is flexible Any
change in this concept is correlated with a change in social
thought This flexibility is illustrated by the differences
in the concept of private property in different countries
The result and the potential of this flexibility in property
rights islt~ change over time in a given countrys concept of
private property
Traditionally in this country ownership of land has been
thought of as almost entirely exclusive It has been a Godshy
given right for an owner of land to till the soil clear his
land and exclude others from it The treatment and guarding
of privately held land was considered ones private affair
Only a few rights were held by the government two of these
were the right to tax and the right to condemn property
Recently some thought has been given to the idea that
exclusive property rights are not natural or God-given They
are a function of government and social thought For example
private property in Sweden has much less privacy than land
in ~he United States In Sweden the public has the right
to cross camp on or visit private property under certain restrictions This right is called Allemansratten or
Everymans Right The historical roots of this practice
extend back to a time of few roads when crossing other peoples
land was often necessary These rights are existent today
because the responsibility of Allemanstratten is acknowledged
and demonstrated by the public
6
Sweden is not the only country with a different concept
of private property from the United States Every society
has a different concept of the rights and limitations properly
included in private property
One of the traditional rights inherent in private property
in the United States is the right to dispose of ones propery
This means that law pertaining to the disposal of property
is deeply interwoven into the concept of private property
This is the reason a discussion of property is necessary to
understand the significance of the changing forms of public
acquisition
The right to dispose of ones property is being challenged
by the new thought that land has a value in itself and that
this value is defendable by members of the public This new
thought could be worded to suggest that the land has rights
that are defendable by interested persons or that certain
persons have rights in land which does not belong to them in
the traditional sense of ownership Eivind Berggrav of
Norway was quoted as saying The motive for limiting
property rights is not the desire to deprive anyone of that
which is rightfully his We begin with the assumption that
we are more than one living on this mountain 3 The rights
of the government and public--or the limitations on property
owners rights--could easily be extended a little There
is no absolute domain of the term property Coastal
property for example has long been treated less exclusively
7
than other property This is an important fact in a study
of acquisition for a coastal trail
Coastal property has stood out as a special type of
property since early times In AD 530 Justinian I a
Roman wrote The public use of the seashore as of the sea
itself is part of the law of natiollts consequently everyone
is free to build a cottage upon it for purposes of retreat
as well as to dry his nets and haul them up from the sea
But they cannot be said to belong to anyone as private property bull
The seashore is still treated specially In current
California law private property terminates at the mean high
tide mark1 unless a grant from the state specifies otherwise
the tidelands belong to the public Even if the state deeds
the tidelands to individuals the people retain the right of
public use for navigation and commerce This tideland trust
has its historical roots in the treaty which ceded California
to the United States--the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo This
treaty placed all of the states tidelands under a public
trust Not only does the public hold a trust on these lands
but access to the tidelands is guaranteed in the California
Constitution article XV section 2 It reads No individual
partnership or corporation claiming or possessing the frontage
or tidal lands of a harbor bay inlet estuary or other navigable
water in this state shall be permitted to exclude the right of
way to such water whenever it is required for some public
purpose nor to destroy or obstruct the free navigation of
8
such water This public right in private property reflects
the motive stated so eloquently by Eivind Berggrav above The
public owns the land between the high and low tide marks and
has the right to gain access to those lands whenever it is
required for any public purpose
We see that legally there is a tradition of some limited
public rights to the seashore Not everyone is enthusiastic
about sharing private rights in property with the public
The particular shoreline dealt with in this paper is the
shoreline in northern Santa Cruz County--from Santa Cruz
north to Ano Nuevo Some of the people along this coast
the landowners whose property a coastai trail would cross
are reserved about the public use of the land
The landowners with whom I talked would argue that there
is indeed a certain amount of defineable essence in the concept
of property Man has a need for territory--a place to call
his own in private peace Those whose families have lived
on the coast for generations feel a responsibility to preserve
the land handed down to them They say and this is often
true that those who rent property or who are traveling over
property do not show the same care feeling~ of responsibility
and labor that longtime property owners show The landowners
did admit that not all property owners were as careful as they
could be but the institution of private property held more
potential in their judgment for preserving and treating land
carefully than public institutions or parks
9
With regard to sharing their land with the public some
of the landowners feel that if a group of people asked to
camp on their land they would allow it But to have
people wandering over their property as it it were a public
forest would be offensive--as if someone were walking a~ound
in an urban residents backyard There is an exception to
this Many landowners along the north coast have no objection
to public use of their beaches The main reason for the
exclusionary feelings of one couple is the inconsiderate
behavior on the part of the hikers in wilderness areas This
couple tries very hard to preserve their land yet visitors
still leave the scars of campsites andrestless wandering on
the property
There is another side to the landowners arguments
When they speak of mans need for territory they do not
consider the city dwellers with small yards around their
homes or no yards at all If one family has the right to
enjoy land left in its natural state might that not
necessarily imply that all families have the right to such
enjoyment
Some private landowners do feel great responsibility
for their property and this is commendable But the
system of private property tends to build a shield around
the landowners activities on their land While some people
take special care of their treasured property other people
may be tempted to exploit the land dump their garbage on it
10
and not be concerned about future owners This temptation
for irresponsibility is similar to the behavior of visiting
campers and hikers noted in the interview with the landowner-shy
a lack of concern for the people who will corne by tomrnorrow or
next year In such cases neither public nor private ownership
is a guarantee of quality care
Some public uses of land are accepted by private landowners
A highway is a public use of land that is generally accepted
by the owners of land dissected by the highway Because of
the similarity between a trail and a road it is possible that
the concept of a trail could be more readily accepted by
landowners than other types of public intrusion If a road
or highway were to be planned and built by the state most
landowners would not object The straightening of Highway
One that occurred twenty years ago is an example of this
It seems to be an accepted right of the state to build roads
and a need of the general public to have roads How large
is the difference between a path for automobile traffic and
a path for bicycles or those on foot
Economically this difference is real at the present
time Public roads provide access to proper~y and thereby
increase property value Trails do not benefit landowners
in this way However as the recognized value of trails
for slow recreational travel approaches that of highways for
faster forms of travel the difference to a landowner between
a road and trail over his property will diminish
11
On the north coast of Santa Cruz County are landowners
who treasure the exclusiveness of their property There are
laws in the state of California that ensure the publics
right to gain access to tidelands whenever it is required for
any public purpose Now there are people who desire to
to create a trail along the coast so that more people can
enjoy its special abundance of beauty
If such a trail is to exist it must be planned in a way
that will receive the acceptance of the landowner Once
again social thought is important to this plan The very
fact that a right of way can potentially be obtained
reflects a growing desire for public contact with coastal land
even when that land is privately owned The methods by which
a central California coastal trail can be acquired will
depend upon the current thought of the population landowners
and court
A pleasing method of acquisition would be for the landowner
to donate or sell an easement for a right of way but fears
exist to prevent this Landowners fear liability for injuries
sustained on their property public abuse and misuse of their
property and loss of privacy These fears 9an be intelligently
dealt with during the process of negotiating for rights of
way If this is done and the owner is willing to donate or
sell an easement the costs of other methods of acquisition
can be avoided
Court decisions for liability against landowners often
receive much publicity These cases often deal with recreationists
who have paid to use the property California Civil Code 846
12
states that the landowner owes no duty of care--responsibility
for safety--to those who do not pay to participate in recreational
uses of his land In 1968 the Supreme Court of California
decided in Rowland v Christian that landowners are liable
for injuries sustained by those using the recreation on their
land free of charge In other words the court erased the
distinction between duty of care owed to paying and nonpaying
users In 1970 however the Legislature reacted to reenforce
these distinctions One of the laws enacted at this time
Government Code 8314 gives immunity to a public agency to
any injury occuring on a trail or on an unimproved road used
for access to certain recreational activities The grantor
of the easement is also given immunity This means that when
~ a property owner donates an easement to a public agency or public
employee neither is liable for injury if the easement is either
unimproved or properly designed and maintained
Another new law Civil Code Section 846 limits the
liability of landowners when their land is used for certain
recreational purposes including hiking and riding This
section does not protect them from duty of care owed to paying
users invited guests or from the liability for a willful or
malicious failure to warn against danger
Although these laws offer some protection they are unknown
to many landowners In an effort to escape liability landowners
have tried waivers and contracts to release them from liability
but these methods have not stood up in court Landowners
should be aware of the protection provided by law and of the
13
benefits of liability insurance If the easement is
dedicated to a public entity then it becomes the public
entitys responsibility to maintain the premises Once
the landowners are aware of the laws and the protection of
dedicating an easement to a public entity their fear should
be calmed
Landowners also worry about damages done by the public
to their property and they are concerned over their loss
of privacy There are several solutions to these problems
Where access crosses near to development the public access
can be hidden in a gully or ravine or separated by a barrier
of shrubs or trees On longer segments of trail where landshy
owners fear maintenance costs a trail patrolman such as the
r one at Castle Rock State Park could watch the area
Maintenance of the area would probably be less expensive
than complete prevention of disturbance Small segments of
the trail could be given to individuals or groups to maintain
In Switzerland this is done quite effectively Footpaths
are determined and maintained by district branches of the
Swiss Footpath Protection Agency Each district has exclusive
supervision over its footpaths Each path is examined and
kept in repair periodically
Solutions like these can be presented to the landowners
when discussing acquisition The landowners may have
suggestions as to methods of teaching the users of the
trail careful treatment of the valuable assets of natural land
14
The owner should be encouraged to dedicate the property
Even if he is willing to sell the right of way this can be
much more harmonious than court trials or eminant domain
proceedings If the owner will not sell or dedicate the
right of way the other solutions are possible
A knowledge opound the variety of means to attain public
rights in property is necessary The set of rights that make
up property rights are not tied up in an inseparable bundle
A few of these rights may be purchased as easily as the
entire bundle Someone may want to buy the right to cross
over another persons property A community may buy the
development rights to someone s land cThis would mean that
the landowner retains the right to cross his property to
visit it or sell it and he also retains other privileges of
ownership Only the community though has the right to
develop the property Purchases of one or a few rights are
called easements Easements are generally cheaper than
purchase of what is called fee simple absolute--full purchase
of the bundle of rights involved in owning property The
cost of an easement depends upon the depression in land value
that results from selling the rights In urban areas where
the value of land is virtually its development potential
easements to restrict development can be as expensive as fee
simple absolute
In California easements are becoming a valuable aid
in obtaining and retaining land rights for recreational
15
activities The types of useful easements vary from
government purchase to implied dedication of beach areas
Governments have the right to acquire these interests in
land as long as the purpose of the acquisition is public
welfare Recreation is now considered to be public welfare
At one time there was debaLd ~oncerning the domain of the
term public welfare Just what does this term include
The California Legislature passed the Open Space Act in 1959
This act broadened the idea of public welfare to include open
spaces and areas for public enjoymentS Open space according
to the legislature is an area with natural beauty or an area
with some quality--openness natural state or present use-shy
that if retained would increase the value of neighboring
urban development or be a valuable part of conserved scenic 6 or natural resources
This definition was further redefined to specifically
include recreation in the Open Space Easement Act of 1967
This act enabled California cities and counties to acquire
easements on land for open space within their jurisdictions
Preservation of open space resulting from these easements
must he consistent with the general plan and must be in
the best interest of the jurisdiction The publics enjoyment
of beauty and recreation the use of resources or the production
of food or fiber must be of major importance in the area
If money is available for the creation of a trail
purchasing a right of way easement is often the best way to
16
obtain the right of public use of the trail If money is
limited and the trail has already had public use for five
or more consecutive years another type of easement may be
applicable called easement by prescription
Easements created by prescription are created by
regular open use of someones property for five consecutive
years before the claim is made The use must be actual and
beneficial to the person claiming the easement The use
must be consistent during the period 7
Originally an easement by prescription was based upon
the presumption that the right had been granted but that
the grant had been lost and generallyit may be acquired by
the exclusive and uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the
~ right for a period of time analogous to the time sufficient
to acquire title by adverse possession uS
The attainment of easements by prescription is not
limited to private individuals The residents of a town or
city as a corporate identity can claim prescriptive easements
When a city or town does this it must prove its rights by
past record of regulation and control over the land upon which
an easement is claimed 9 It is in this ability of a
municipality to obtain easements by prescription that the
value of this method of acquisition lies
This use of easements for recreational purposes is
demonstrated in the case Gion v city of Santa Cruz (2 C3d 29)
The case dealt with three parcels of shore land Each lot
17
had a raised protion adjacent to a public road Cars had
been parking in these areas for sixty years Exclusive of an
old road bed the area had only been used for public pleasure
although it had been privately owned since 1880
The city had done maintenance in the area They pilled
in holes and placed riprap in weak areas They installed
an emergency alarm system School children planted iceplant
the city paved the parking lot and the sanitation department
maintained trash receptacles and cleaned after busy weekends
This maintenance activity was important to the citys claim
for an easement
The public had freely used the area to fish swim
picnic and watch the ocean The previous owner never told
anyone to leave The publics activity had been continuous
from 1900 until the time of trial The new owner had full
knowledge of the public use and city maintenance
The Santa Cruz Superior Court ruled that Gion was the
owner in fee of the property but his title was subject to
an easement in the City of Santa Cruz The Court based their
finding on several facts The publ~c had used the land
for an excess of five years The city had exercised
continued and uninterrupted dominion and control over the
property for a time in excess of five years In addition
Gion knew both of these facts when he bought the property
All of the conditions for an easement by prescription were
thus fulfilled
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
The central California coast is an extraordinary collage
of sandy beaches sharp rocky cliffs marching dune formations
marine terraces teeming estuaries and meandering stream-
mouths Curiously this stretch of coast although geographically
close to tLa heavily populated urban areas south from San
Francisco has remained relatively secluded and undeveloped
and today forms a truly unusual recreational asthetic
and educational asset for our soc~ety Today we are
beginning to realize the values of such places
Like winds and sunsets wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them Now we face the question whether a still higher standard of living is worth its cost in things natural wild and free For us of the minority the opportunity to see geese is more important than television and the chance to find a pasqueshyflower is a right as inalienable as free speech l
Aldo Leopold wrote these words in 1948 in Wisconsin and now
in 1974 in California we are seeing an increasing awareness
of the necessity for making such wild things an integral
part of our human existence We see the necessity to relate
more closely to the land and the sea and to the other
species living there weare eager to become a part of the
natural and beautiful
In this thesis I explore a possibility for bringing
man closer to our coastal wild places a coastal trail
Such a trail would take the form of a linear park leading
from an urban area to a private uncluttered glimpse of
2
nature Such a linear park has the advantage of a large
perimeter-to-area ratio which makes its area accessible
to the greatest number of people Also the area becomes
highly visible William Whyte wrote Landscape is not 2
beautiful if you do not see it Thus a linear park
provides a scenicview for all those people who live near
it or who pass by while those wishing to traverse land
are satisfied by the same park
Trails are by no means a new idea but recently the
use by the public of foot and bicycle paths has become
increasingly widespread and concepts of such paths are
receiving greater attention by recreational planning
agencies The idea of creating a coastal trail along the
central California coast and in particular along Santa
Cruz countys north coast is an appealing natural extension
of this new interest and enthusiasm Such a trail would enable
visitors to enjoy the diversity and continuity of the natural
beauty and recreational opportunities along the coast
A trail along this coast would provide a beautiful area
to traverse It would provide access to each special feature
along the coast and provide an opportunity to view the coast
in its entirety It would serve as a link from the urban
areas to close and distant natural coastal settings and
would connect the various parks that exist along the coast
Such a trail would also help maintain the rich amount
of undeveloped coast now visible to the public It would
3
do this be acting as a barrier--limiting the encroachment of
urban facilities onto the coast which is so unique in its
high aesthetic and recreational values and in its physiological
variety The creators of the trail would protect coastal
resources from being lost to the public forever when they
acquired public rights in the land
Several important problems need to be addressed in the
planning of such a trail such as how are public rights to
be acquired and what kinds of contracts may be made concerning
rights and liabilities with the landowners Other problems
include the selection of a route and the design of the trail
funding of the trail and the labor required to build the
trail Of these perhaps the two most important aspects
when beginning the planning of a trail are the acquisition
of rights of way and the design and location of the trail
These are the two problems that this thesis will cover
In the first part of the paper I discuss the methods
of acquisition potentially useful in acquiring trail rights
of way The social implications of acquisition and the subject
of private property will be discussed several methods of
acquisition will be described and the legal and political
foundations for these acquisition methods will be explored
Design will be considered from two aspects in the
second part of the paper Design will be shown to be dependent
on the natural physical features of the land as well as the
property owners existing land uses
4
Finally a summary of the two topics acquisition and
design will lead into conclusions and recommendations The
background of social legal and political considerations
should assist immeasurably the process of creating a trail
along the central California coast
Acquisition
To understand exactly what it is that needs to be acquired
in order for the public to have the right to use a trail the I
concept of property must be understood Property is often thoughtI
of as a material possession--something tangible that one has
control over As the term comes down ~hrough legal history
however it has a different meaning Property is a bundle
of rights recognized by some sort of authority and defensible
in law A person could buy the right to use a piece of land
for his house and garden exclusive of others and the state
would recognize this right It would be upheld in a court
of law His rights might also include the right to sell to
anyone at any time the right to rent any part or all of
his property and many more rights of this type Limitations
are placed on his rights by zoning restrictions and by the
states right of eminant domain In other words the
definition of property depends upon recognized law and thought
in a given time and place Property law in America has mostly
evolved from old English law although Mexican law has had
an influence in California and other southwestern states
5
The concept of private property then is flexible Any
change in this concept is correlated with a change in social
thought This flexibility is illustrated by the differences
in the concept of private property in different countries
The result and the potential of this flexibility in property
rights islt~ change over time in a given countrys concept of
private property
Traditionally in this country ownership of land has been
thought of as almost entirely exclusive It has been a Godshy
given right for an owner of land to till the soil clear his
land and exclude others from it The treatment and guarding
of privately held land was considered ones private affair
Only a few rights were held by the government two of these
were the right to tax and the right to condemn property
Recently some thought has been given to the idea that
exclusive property rights are not natural or God-given They
are a function of government and social thought For example
private property in Sweden has much less privacy than land
in ~he United States In Sweden the public has the right
to cross camp on or visit private property under certain restrictions This right is called Allemansratten or
Everymans Right The historical roots of this practice
extend back to a time of few roads when crossing other peoples
land was often necessary These rights are existent today
because the responsibility of Allemanstratten is acknowledged
and demonstrated by the public
6
Sweden is not the only country with a different concept
of private property from the United States Every society
has a different concept of the rights and limitations properly
included in private property
One of the traditional rights inherent in private property
in the United States is the right to dispose of ones propery
This means that law pertaining to the disposal of property
is deeply interwoven into the concept of private property
This is the reason a discussion of property is necessary to
understand the significance of the changing forms of public
acquisition
The right to dispose of ones property is being challenged
by the new thought that land has a value in itself and that
this value is defendable by members of the public This new
thought could be worded to suggest that the land has rights
that are defendable by interested persons or that certain
persons have rights in land which does not belong to them in
the traditional sense of ownership Eivind Berggrav of
Norway was quoted as saying The motive for limiting
property rights is not the desire to deprive anyone of that
which is rightfully his We begin with the assumption that
we are more than one living on this mountain 3 The rights
of the government and public--or the limitations on property
owners rights--could easily be extended a little There
is no absolute domain of the term property Coastal
property for example has long been treated less exclusively
7
than other property This is an important fact in a study
of acquisition for a coastal trail
Coastal property has stood out as a special type of
property since early times In AD 530 Justinian I a
Roman wrote The public use of the seashore as of the sea
itself is part of the law of natiollts consequently everyone
is free to build a cottage upon it for purposes of retreat
as well as to dry his nets and haul them up from the sea
But they cannot be said to belong to anyone as private property bull
The seashore is still treated specially In current
California law private property terminates at the mean high
tide mark1 unless a grant from the state specifies otherwise
the tidelands belong to the public Even if the state deeds
the tidelands to individuals the people retain the right of
public use for navigation and commerce This tideland trust
has its historical roots in the treaty which ceded California
to the United States--the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo This
treaty placed all of the states tidelands under a public
trust Not only does the public hold a trust on these lands
but access to the tidelands is guaranteed in the California
Constitution article XV section 2 It reads No individual
partnership or corporation claiming or possessing the frontage
or tidal lands of a harbor bay inlet estuary or other navigable
water in this state shall be permitted to exclude the right of
way to such water whenever it is required for some public
purpose nor to destroy or obstruct the free navigation of
8
such water This public right in private property reflects
the motive stated so eloquently by Eivind Berggrav above The
public owns the land between the high and low tide marks and
has the right to gain access to those lands whenever it is
required for any public purpose
We see that legally there is a tradition of some limited
public rights to the seashore Not everyone is enthusiastic
about sharing private rights in property with the public
The particular shoreline dealt with in this paper is the
shoreline in northern Santa Cruz County--from Santa Cruz
north to Ano Nuevo Some of the people along this coast
the landowners whose property a coastai trail would cross
are reserved about the public use of the land
The landowners with whom I talked would argue that there
is indeed a certain amount of defineable essence in the concept
of property Man has a need for territory--a place to call
his own in private peace Those whose families have lived
on the coast for generations feel a responsibility to preserve
the land handed down to them They say and this is often
true that those who rent property or who are traveling over
property do not show the same care feeling~ of responsibility
and labor that longtime property owners show The landowners
did admit that not all property owners were as careful as they
could be but the institution of private property held more
potential in their judgment for preserving and treating land
carefully than public institutions or parks
9
With regard to sharing their land with the public some
of the landowners feel that if a group of people asked to
camp on their land they would allow it But to have
people wandering over their property as it it were a public
forest would be offensive--as if someone were walking a~ound
in an urban residents backyard There is an exception to
this Many landowners along the north coast have no objection
to public use of their beaches The main reason for the
exclusionary feelings of one couple is the inconsiderate
behavior on the part of the hikers in wilderness areas This
couple tries very hard to preserve their land yet visitors
still leave the scars of campsites andrestless wandering on
the property
There is another side to the landowners arguments
When they speak of mans need for territory they do not
consider the city dwellers with small yards around their
homes or no yards at all If one family has the right to
enjoy land left in its natural state might that not
necessarily imply that all families have the right to such
enjoyment
Some private landowners do feel great responsibility
for their property and this is commendable But the
system of private property tends to build a shield around
the landowners activities on their land While some people
take special care of their treasured property other people
may be tempted to exploit the land dump their garbage on it
10
and not be concerned about future owners This temptation
for irresponsibility is similar to the behavior of visiting
campers and hikers noted in the interview with the landowner-shy
a lack of concern for the people who will corne by tomrnorrow or
next year In such cases neither public nor private ownership
is a guarantee of quality care
Some public uses of land are accepted by private landowners
A highway is a public use of land that is generally accepted
by the owners of land dissected by the highway Because of
the similarity between a trail and a road it is possible that
the concept of a trail could be more readily accepted by
landowners than other types of public intrusion If a road
or highway were to be planned and built by the state most
landowners would not object The straightening of Highway
One that occurred twenty years ago is an example of this
It seems to be an accepted right of the state to build roads
and a need of the general public to have roads How large
is the difference between a path for automobile traffic and
a path for bicycles or those on foot
Economically this difference is real at the present
time Public roads provide access to proper~y and thereby
increase property value Trails do not benefit landowners
in this way However as the recognized value of trails
for slow recreational travel approaches that of highways for
faster forms of travel the difference to a landowner between
a road and trail over his property will diminish
11
On the north coast of Santa Cruz County are landowners
who treasure the exclusiveness of their property There are
laws in the state of California that ensure the publics
right to gain access to tidelands whenever it is required for
any public purpose Now there are people who desire to
to create a trail along the coast so that more people can
enjoy its special abundance of beauty
If such a trail is to exist it must be planned in a way
that will receive the acceptance of the landowner Once
again social thought is important to this plan The very
fact that a right of way can potentially be obtained
reflects a growing desire for public contact with coastal land
even when that land is privately owned The methods by which
a central California coastal trail can be acquired will
depend upon the current thought of the population landowners
and court
A pleasing method of acquisition would be for the landowner
to donate or sell an easement for a right of way but fears
exist to prevent this Landowners fear liability for injuries
sustained on their property public abuse and misuse of their
property and loss of privacy These fears 9an be intelligently
dealt with during the process of negotiating for rights of
way If this is done and the owner is willing to donate or
sell an easement the costs of other methods of acquisition
can be avoided
Court decisions for liability against landowners often
receive much publicity These cases often deal with recreationists
who have paid to use the property California Civil Code 846
12
states that the landowner owes no duty of care--responsibility
for safety--to those who do not pay to participate in recreational
uses of his land In 1968 the Supreme Court of California
decided in Rowland v Christian that landowners are liable
for injuries sustained by those using the recreation on their
land free of charge In other words the court erased the
distinction between duty of care owed to paying and nonpaying
users In 1970 however the Legislature reacted to reenforce
these distinctions One of the laws enacted at this time
Government Code 8314 gives immunity to a public agency to
any injury occuring on a trail or on an unimproved road used
for access to certain recreational activities The grantor
of the easement is also given immunity This means that when
~ a property owner donates an easement to a public agency or public
employee neither is liable for injury if the easement is either
unimproved or properly designed and maintained
Another new law Civil Code Section 846 limits the
liability of landowners when their land is used for certain
recreational purposes including hiking and riding This
section does not protect them from duty of care owed to paying
users invited guests or from the liability for a willful or
malicious failure to warn against danger
Although these laws offer some protection they are unknown
to many landowners In an effort to escape liability landowners
have tried waivers and contracts to release them from liability
but these methods have not stood up in court Landowners
should be aware of the protection provided by law and of the
13
benefits of liability insurance If the easement is
dedicated to a public entity then it becomes the public
entitys responsibility to maintain the premises Once
the landowners are aware of the laws and the protection of
dedicating an easement to a public entity their fear should
be calmed
Landowners also worry about damages done by the public
to their property and they are concerned over their loss
of privacy There are several solutions to these problems
Where access crosses near to development the public access
can be hidden in a gully or ravine or separated by a barrier
of shrubs or trees On longer segments of trail where landshy
owners fear maintenance costs a trail patrolman such as the
r one at Castle Rock State Park could watch the area
Maintenance of the area would probably be less expensive
than complete prevention of disturbance Small segments of
the trail could be given to individuals or groups to maintain
In Switzerland this is done quite effectively Footpaths
are determined and maintained by district branches of the
Swiss Footpath Protection Agency Each district has exclusive
supervision over its footpaths Each path is examined and
kept in repair periodically
Solutions like these can be presented to the landowners
when discussing acquisition The landowners may have
suggestions as to methods of teaching the users of the
trail careful treatment of the valuable assets of natural land
14
The owner should be encouraged to dedicate the property
Even if he is willing to sell the right of way this can be
much more harmonious than court trials or eminant domain
proceedings If the owner will not sell or dedicate the
right of way the other solutions are possible
A knowledge opound the variety of means to attain public
rights in property is necessary The set of rights that make
up property rights are not tied up in an inseparable bundle
A few of these rights may be purchased as easily as the
entire bundle Someone may want to buy the right to cross
over another persons property A community may buy the
development rights to someone s land cThis would mean that
the landowner retains the right to cross his property to
visit it or sell it and he also retains other privileges of
ownership Only the community though has the right to
develop the property Purchases of one or a few rights are
called easements Easements are generally cheaper than
purchase of what is called fee simple absolute--full purchase
of the bundle of rights involved in owning property The
cost of an easement depends upon the depression in land value
that results from selling the rights In urban areas where
the value of land is virtually its development potential
easements to restrict development can be as expensive as fee
simple absolute
In California easements are becoming a valuable aid
in obtaining and retaining land rights for recreational
15
activities The types of useful easements vary from
government purchase to implied dedication of beach areas
Governments have the right to acquire these interests in
land as long as the purpose of the acquisition is public
welfare Recreation is now considered to be public welfare
At one time there was debaLd ~oncerning the domain of the
term public welfare Just what does this term include
The California Legislature passed the Open Space Act in 1959
This act broadened the idea of public welfare to include open
spaces and areas for public enjoymentS Open space according
to the legislature is an area with natural beauty or an area
with some quality--openness natural state or present use-shy
that if retained would increase the value of neighboring
urban development or be a valuable part of conserved scenic 6 or natural resources
This definition was further redefined to specifically
include recreation in the Open Space Easement Act of 1967
This act enabled California cities and counties to acquire
easements on land for open space within their jurisdictions
Preservation of open space resulting from these easements
must he consistent with the general plan and must be in
the best interest of the jurisdiction The publics enjoyment
of beauty and recreation the use of resources or the production
of food or fiber must be of major importance in the area
If money is available for the creation of a trail
purchasing a right of way easement is often the best way to
16
obtain the right of public use of the trail If money is
limited and the trail has already had public use for five
or more consecutive years another type of easement may be
applicable called easement by prescription
Easements created by prescription are created by
regular open use of someones property for five consecutive
years before the claim is made The use must be actual and
beneficial to the person claiming the easement The use
must be consistent during the period 7
Originally an easement by prescription was based upon
the presumption that the right had been granted but that
the grant had been lost and generallyit may be acquired by
the exclusive and uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the
~ right for a period of time analogous to the time sufficient
to acquire title by adverse possession uS
The attainment of easements by prescription is not
limited to private individuals The residents of a town or
city as a corporate identity can claim prescriptive easements
When a city or town does this it must prove its rights by
past record of regulation and control over the land upon which
an easement is claimed 9 It is in this ability of a
municipality to obtain easements by prescription that the
value of this method of acquisition lies
This use of easements for recreational purposes is
demonstrated in the case Gion v city of Santa Cruz (2 C3d 29)
The case dealt with three parcels of shore land Each lot
17
had a raised protion adjacent to a public road Cars had
been parking in these areas for sixty years Exclusive of an
old road bed the area had only been used for public pleasure
although it had been privately owned since 1880
The city had done maintenance in the area They pilled
in holes and placed riprap in weak areas They installed
an emergency alarm system School children planted iceplant
the city paved the parking lot and the sanitation department
maintained trash receptacles and cleaned after busy weekends
This maintenance activity was important to the citys claim
for an easement
The public had freely used the area to fish swim
picnic and watch the ocean The previous owner never told
anyone to leave The publics activity had been continuous
from 1900 until the time of trial The new owner had full
knowledge of the public use and city maintenance
The Santa Cruz Superior Court ruled that Gion was the
owner in fee of the property but his title was subject to
an easement in the City of Santa Cruz The Court based their
finding on several facts The publ~c had used the land
for an excess of five years The city had exercised
continued and uninterrupted dominion and control over the
property for a time in excess of five years In addition
Gion knew both of these facts when he bought the property
All of the conditions for an easement by prescription were
thus fulfilled
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
2
nature Such a linear park has the advantage of a large
perimeter-to-area ratio which makes its area accessible
to the greatest number of people Also the area becomes
highly visible William Whyte wrote Landscape is not 2
beautiful if you do not see it Thus a linear park
provides a scenicview for all those people who live near
it or who pass by while those wishing to traverse land
are satisfied by the same park
Trails are by no means a new idea but recently the
use by the public of foot and bicycle paths has become
increasingly widespread and concepts of such paths are
receiving greater attention by recreational planning
agencies The idea of creating a coastal trail along the
central California coast and in particular along Santa
Cruz countys north coast is an appealing natural extension
of this new interest and enthusiasm Such a trail would enable
visitors to enjoy the diversity and continuity of the natural
beauty and recreational opportunities along the coast
A trail along this coast would provide a beautiful area
to traverse It would provide access to each special feature
along the coast and provide an opportunity to view the coast
in its entirety It would serve as a link from the urban
areas to close and distant natural coastal settings and
would connect the various parks that exist along the coast
Such a trail would also help maintain the rich amount
of undeveloped coast now visible to the public It would
3
do this be acting as a barrier--limiting the encroachment of
urban facilities onto the coast which is so unique in its
high aesthetic and recreational values and in its physiological
variety The creators of the trail would protect coastal
resources from being lost to the public forever when they
acquired public rights in the land
Several important problems need to be addressed in the
planning of such a trail such as how are public rights to
be acquired and what kinds of contracts may be made concerning
rights and liabilities with the landowners Other problems
include the selection of a route and the design of the trail
funding of the trail and the labor required to build the
trail Of these perhaps the two most important aspects
when beginning the planning of a trail are the acquisition
of rights of way and the design and location of the trail
These are the two problems that this thesis will cover
In the first part of the paper I discuss the methods
of acquisition potentially useful in acquiring trail rights
of way The social implications of acquisition and the subject
of private property will be discussed several methods of
acquisition will be described and the legal and political
foundations for these acquisition methods will be explored
Design will be considered from two aspects in the
second part of the paper Design will be shown to be dependent
on the natural physical features of the land as well as the
property owners existing land uses
4
Finally a summary of the two topics acquisition and
design will lead into conclusions and recommendations The
background of social legal and political considerations
should assist immeasurably the process of creating a trail
along the central California coast
Acquisition
To understand exactly what it is that needs to be acquired
in order for the public to have the right to use a trail the I
concept of property must be understood Property is often thoughtI
of as a material possession--something tangible that one has
control over As the term comes down ~hrough legal history
however it has a different meaning Property is a bundle
of rights recognized by some sort of authority and defensible
in law A person could buy the right to use a piece of land
for his house and garden exclusive of others and the state
would recognize this right It would be upheld in a court
of law His rights might also include the right to sell to
anyone at any time the right to rent any part or all of
his property and many more rights of this type Limitations
are placed on his rights by zoning restrictions and by the
states right of eminant domain In other words the
definition of property depends upon recognized law and thought
in a given time and place Property law in America has mostly
evolved from old English law although Mexican law has had
an influence in California and other southwestern states
5
The concept of private property then is flexible Any
change in this concept is correlated with a change in social
thought This flexibility is illustrated by the differences
in the concept of private property in different countries
The result and the potential of this flexibility in property
rights islt~ change over time in a given countrys concept of
private property
Traditionally in this country ownership of land has been
thought of as almost entirely exclusive It has been a Godshy
given right for an owner of land to till the soil clear his
land and exclude others from it The treatment and guarding
of privately held land was considered ones private affair
Only a few rights were held by the government two of these
were the right to tax and the right to condemn property
Recently some thought has been given to the idea that
exclusive property rights are not natural or God-given They
are a function of government and social thought For example
private property in Sweden has much less privacy than land
in ~he United States In Sweden the public has the right
to cross camp on or visit private property under certain restrictions This right is called Allemansratten or
Everymans Right The historical roots of this practice
extend back to a time of few roads when crossing other peoples
land was often necessary These rights are existent today
because the responsibility of Allemanstratten is acknowledged
and demonstrated by the public
6
Sweden is not the only country with a different concept
of private property from the United States Every society
has a different concept of the rights and limitations properly
included in private property
One of the traditional rights inherent in private property
in the United States is the right to dispose of ones propery
This means that law pertaining to the disposal of property
is deeply interwoven into the concept of private property
This is the reason a discussion of property is necessary to
understand the significance of the changing forms of public
acquisition
The right to dispose of ones property is being challenged
by the new thought that land has a value in itself and that
this value is defendable by members of the public This new
thought could be worded to suggest that the land has rights
that are defendable by interested persons or that certain
persons have rights in land which does not belong to them in
the traditional sense of ownership Eivind Berggrav of
Norway was quoted as saying The motive for limiting
property rights is not the desire to deprive anyone of that
which is rightfully his We begin with the assumption that
we are more than one living on this mountain 3 The rights
of the government and public--or the limitations on property
owners rights--could easily be extended a little There
is no absolute domain of the term property Coastal
property for example has long been treated less exclusively
7
than other property This is an important fact in a study
of acquisition for a coastal trail
Coastal property has stood out as a special type of
property since early times In AD 530 Justinian I a
Roman wrote The public use of the seashore as of the sea
itself is part of the law of natiollts consequently everyone
is free to build a cottage upon it for purposes of retreat
as well as to dry his nets and haul them up from the sea
But they cannot be said to belong to anyone as private property bull
The seashore is still treated specially In current
California law private property terminates at the mean high
tide mark1 unless a grant from the state specifies otherwise
the tidelands belong to the public Even if the state deeds
the tidelands to individuals the people retain the right of
public use for navigation and commerce This tideland trust
has its historical roots in the treaty which ceded California
to the United States--the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo This
treaty placed all of the states tidelands under a public
trust Not only does the public hold a trust on these lands
but access to the tidelands is guaranteed in the California
Constitution article XV section 2 It reads No individual
partnership or corporation claiming or possessing the frontage
or tidal lands of a harbor bay inlet estuary or other navigable
water in this state shall be permitted to exclude the right of
way to such water whenever it is required for some public
purpose nor to destroy or obstruct the free navigation of
8
such water This public right in private property reflects
the motive stated so eloquently by Eivind Berggrav above The
public owns the land between the high and low tide marks and
has the right to gain access to those lands whenever it is
required for any public purpose
We see that legally there is a tradition of some limited
public rights to the seashore Not everyone is enthusiastic
about sharing private rights in property with the public
The particular shoreline dealt with in this paper is the
shoreline in northern Santa Cruz County--from Santa Cruz
north to Ano Nuevo Some of the people along this coast
the landowners whose property a coastai trail would cross
are reserved about the public use of the land
The landowners with whom I talked would argue that there
is indeed a certain amount of defineable essence in the concept
of property Man has a need for territory--a place to call
his own in private peace Those whose families have lived
on the coast for generations feel a responsibility to preserve
the land handed down to them They say and this is often
true that those who rent property or who are traveling over
property do not show the same care feeling~ of responsibility
and labor that longtime property owners show The landowners
did admit that not all property owners were as careful as they
could be but the institution of private property held more
potential in their judgment for preserving and treating land
carefully than public institutions or parks
9
With regard to sharing their land with the public some
of the landowners feel that if a group of people asked to
camp on their land they would allow it But to have
people wandering over their property as it it were a public
forest would be offensive--as if someone were walking a~ound
in an urban residents backyard There is an exception to
this Many landowners along the north coast have no objection
to public use of their beaches The main reason for the
exclusionary feelings of one couple is the inconsiderate
behavior on the part of the hikers in wilderness areas This
couple tries very hard to preserve their land yet visitors
still leave the scars of campsites andrestless wandering on
the property
There is another side to the landowners arguments
When they speak of mans need for territory they do not
consider the city dwellers with small yards around their
homes or no yards at all If one family has the right to
enjoy land left in its natural state might that not
necessarily imply that all families have the right to such
enjoyment
Some private landowners do feel great responsibility
for their property and this is commendable But the
system of private property tends to build a shield around
the landowners activities on their land While some people
take special care of their treasured property other people
may be tempted to exploit the land dump their garbage on it
10
and not be concerned about future owners This temptation
for irresponsibility is similar to the behavior of visiting
campers and hikers noted in the interview with the landowner-shy
a lack of concern for the people who will corne by tomrnorrow or
next year In such cases neither public nor private ownership
is a guarantee of quality care
Some public uses of land are accepted by private landowners
A highway is a public use of land that is generally accepted
by the owners of land dissected by the highway Because of
the similarity between a trail and a road it is possible that
the concept of a trail could be more readily accepted by
landowners than other types of public intrusion If a road
or highway were to be planned and built by the state most
landowners would not object The straightening of Highway
One that occurred twenty years ago is an example of this
It seems to be an accepted right of the state to build roads
and a need of the general public to have roads How large
is the difference between a path for automobile traffic and
a path for bicycles or those on foot
Economically this difference is real at the present
time Public roads provide access to proper~y and thereby
increase property value Trails do not benefit landowners
in this way However as the recognized value of trails
for slow recreational travel approaches that of highways for
faster forms of travel the difference to a landowner between
a road and trail over his property will diminish
11
On the north coast of Santa Cruz County are landowners
who treasure the exclusiveness of their property There are
laws in the state of California that ensure the publics
right to gain access to tidelands whenever it is required for
any public purpose Now there are people who desire to
to create a trail along the coast so that more people can
enjoy its special abundance of beauty
If such a trail is to exist it must be planned in a way
that will receive the acceptance of the landowner Once
again social thought is important to this plan The very
fact that a right of way can potentially be obtained
reflects a growing desire for public contact with coastal land
even when that land is privately owned The methods by which
a central California coastal trail can be acquired will
depend upon the current thought of the population landowners
and court
A pleasing method of acquisition would be for the landowner
to donate or sell an easement for a right of way but fears
exist to prevent this Landowners fear liability for injuries
sustained on their property public abuse and misuse of their
property and loss of privacy These fears 9an be intelligently
dealt with during the process of negotiating for rights of
way If this is done and the owner is willing to donate or
sell an easement the costs of other methods of acquisition
can be avoided
Court decisions for liability against landowners often
receive much publicity These cases often deal with recreationists
who have paid to use the property California Civil Code 846
12
states that the landowner owes no duty of care--responsibility
for safety--to those who do not pay to participate in recreational
uses of his land In 1968 the Supreme Court of California
decided in Rowland v Christian that landowners are liable
for injuries sustained by those using the recreation on their
land free of charge In other words the court erased the
distinction between duty of care owed to paying and nonpaying
users In 1970 however the Legislature reacted to reenforce
these distinctions One of the laws enacted at this time
Government Code 8314 gives immunity to a public agency to
any injury occuring on a trail or on an unimproved road used
for access to certain recreational activities The grantor
of the easement is also given immunity This means that when
~ a property owner donates an easement to a public agency or public
employee neither is liable for injury if the easement is either
unimproved or properly designed and maintained
Another new law Civil Code Section 846 limits the
liability of landowners when their land is used for certain
recreational purposes including hiking and riding This
section does not protect them from duty of care owed to paying
users invited guests or from the liability for a willful or
malicious failure to warn against danger
Although these laws offer some protection they are unknown
to many landowners In an effort to escape liability landowners
have tried waivers and contracts to release them from liability
but these methods have not stood up in court Landowners
should be aware of the protection provided by law and of the
13
benefits of liability insurance If the easement is
dedicated to a public entity then it becomes the public
entitys responsibility to maintain the premises Once
the landowners are aware of the laws and the protection of
dedicating an easement to a public entity their fear should
be calmed
Landowners also worry about damages done by the public
to their property and they are concerned over their loss
of privacy There are several solutions to these problems
Where access crosses near to development the public access
can be hidden in a gully or ravine or separated by a barrier
of shrubs or trees On longer segments of trail where landshy
owners fear maintenance costs a trail patrolman such as the
r one at Castle Rock State Park could watch the area
Maintenance of the area would probably be less expensive
than complete prevention of disturbance Small segments of
the trail could be given to individuals or groups to maintain
In Switzerland this is done quite effectively Footpaths
are determined and maintained by district branches of the
Swiss Footpath Protection Agency Each district has exclusive
supervision over its footpaths Each path is examined and
kept in repair periodically
Solutions like these can be presented to the landowners
when discussing acquisition The landowners may have
suggestions as to methods of teaching the users of the
trail careful treatment of the valuable assets of natural land
14
The owner should be encouraged to dedicate the property
Even if he is willing to sell the right of way this can be
much more harmonious than court trials or eminant domain
proceedings If the owner will not sell or dedicate the
right of way the other solutions are possible
A knowledge opound the variety of means to attain public
rights in property is necessary The set of rights that make
up property rights are not tied up in an inseparable bundle
A few of these rights may be purchased as easily as the
entire bundle Someone may want to buy the right to cross
over another persons property A community may buy the
development rights to someone s land cThis would mean that
the landowner retains the right to cross his property to
visit it or sell it and he also retains other privileges of
ownership Only the community though has the right to
develop the property Purchases of one or a few rights are
called easements Easements are generally cheaper than
purchase of what is called fee simple absolute--full purchase
of the bundle of rights involved in owning property The
cost of an easement depends upon the depression in land value
that results from selling the rights In urban areas where
the value of land is virtually its development potential
easements to restrict development can be as expensive as fee
simple absolute
In California easements are becoming a valuable aid
in obtaining and retaining land rights for recreational
15
activities The types of useful easements vary from
government purchase to implied dedication of beach areas
Governments have the right to acquire these interests in
land as long as the purpose of the acquisition is public
welfare Recreation is now considered to be public welfare
At one time there was debaLd ~oncerning the domain of the
term public welfare Just what does this term include
The California Legislature passed the Open Space Act in 1959
This act broadened the idea of public welfare to include open
spaces and areas for public enjoymentS Open space according
to the legislature is an area with natural beauty or an area
with some quality--openness natural state or present use-shy
that if retained would increase the value of neighboring
urban development or be a valuable part of conserved scenic 6 or natural resources
This definition was further redefined to specifically
include recreation in the Open Space Easement Act of 1967
This act enabled California cities and counties to acquire
easements on land for open space within their jurisdictions
Preservation of open space resulting from these easements
must he consistent with the general plan and must be in
the best interest of the jurisdiction The publics enjoyment
of beauty and recreation the use of resources or the production
of food or fiber must be of major importance in the area
If money is available for the creation of a trail
purchasing a right of way easement is often the best way to
16
obtain the right of public use of the trail If money is
limited and the trail has already had public use for five
or more consecutive years another type of easement may be
applicable called easement by prescription
Easements created by prescription are created by
regular open use of someones property for five consecutive
years before the claim is made The use must be actual and
beneficial to the person claiming the easement The use
must be consistent during the period 7
Originally an easement by prescription was based upon
the presumption that the right had been granted but that
the grant had been lost and generallyit may be acquired by
the exclusive and uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the
~ right for a period of time analogous to the time sufficient
to acquire title by adverse possession uS
The attainment of easements by prescription is not
limited to private individuals The residents of a town or
city as a corporate identity can claim prescriptive easements
When a city or town does this it must prove its rights by
past record of regulation and control over the land upon which
an easement is claimed 9 It is in this ability of a
municipality to obtain easements by prescription that the
value of this method of acquisition lies
This use of easements for recreational purposes is
demonstrated in the case Gion v city of Santa Cruz (2 C3d 29)
The case dealt with three parcels of shore land Each lot
17
had a raised protion adjacent to a public road Cars had
been parking in these areas for sixty years Exclusive of an
old road bed the area had only been used for public pleasure
although it had been privately owned since 1880
The city had done maintenance in the area They pilled
in holes and placed riprap in weak areas They installed
an emergency alarm system School children planted iceplant
the city paved the parking lot and the sanitation department
maintained trash receptacles and cleaned after busy weekends
This maintenance activity was important to the citys claim
for an easement
The public had freely used the area to fish swim
picnic and watch the ocean The previous owner never told
anyone to leave The publics activity had been continuous
from 1900 until the time of trial The new owner had full
knowledge of the public use and city maintenance
The Santa Cruz Superior Court ruled that Gion was the
owner in fee of the property but his title was subject to
an easement in the City of Santa Cruz The Court based their
finding on several facts The publ~c had used the land
for an excess of five years The city had exercised
continued and uninterrupted dominion and control over the
property for a time in excess of five years In addition
Gion knew both of these facts when he bought the property
All of the conditions for an easement by prescription were
thus fulfilled
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
3
do this be acting as a barrier--limiting the encroachment of
urban facilities onto the coast which is so unique in its
high aesthetic and recreational values and in its physiological
variety The creators of the trail would protect coastal
resources from being lost to the public forever when they
acquired public rights in the land
Several important problems need to be addressed in the
planning of such a trail such as how are public rights to
be acquired and what kinds of contracts may be made concerning
rights and liabilities with the landowners Other problems
include the selection of a route and the design of the trail
funding of the trail and the labor required to build the
trail Of these perhaps the two most important aspects
when beginning the planning of a trail are the acquisition
of rights of way and the design and location of the trail
These are the two problems that this thesis will cover
In the first part of the paper I discuss the methods
of acquisition potentially useful in acquiring trail rights
of way The social implications of acquisition and the subject
of private property will be discussed several methods of
acquisition will be described and the legal and political
foundations for these acquisition methods will be explored
Design will be considered from two aspects in the
second part of the paper Design will be shown to be dependent
on the natural physical features of the land as well as the
property owners existing land uses
4
Finally a summary of the two topics acquisition and
design will lead into conclusions and recommendations The
background of social legal and political considerations
should assist immeasurably the process of creating a trail
along the central California coast
Acquisition
To understand exactly what it is that needs to be acquired
in order for the public to have the right to use a trail the I
concept of property must be understood Property is often thoughtI
of as a material possession--something tangible that one has
control over As the term comes down ~hrough legal history
however it has a different meaning Property is a bundle
of rights recognized by some sort of authority and defensible
in law A person could buy the right to use a piece of land
for his house and garden exclusive of others and the state
would recognize this right It would be upheld in a court
of law His rights might also include the right to sell to
anyone at any time the right to rent any part or all of
his property and many more rights of this type Limitations
are placed on his rights by zoning restrictions and by the
states right of eminant domain In other words the
definition of property depends upon recognized law and thought
in a given time and place Property law in America has mostly
evolved from old English law although Mexican law has had
an influence in California and other southwestern states
5
The concept of private property then is flexible Any
change in this concept is correlated with a change in social
thought This flexibility is illustrated by the differences
in the concept of private property in different countries
The result and the potential of this flexibility in property
rights islt~ change over time in a given countrys concept of
private property
Traditionally in this country ownership of land has been
thought of as almost entirely exclusive It has been a Godshy
given right for an owner of land to till the soil clear his
land and exclude others from it The treatment and guarding
of privately held land was considered ones private affair
Only a few rights were held by the government two of these
were the right to tax and the right to condemn property
Recently some thought has been given to the idea that
exclusive property rights are not natural or God-given They
are a function of government and social thought For example
private property in Sweden has much less privacy than land
in ~he United States In Sweden the public has the right
to cross camp on or visit private property under certain restrictions This right is called Allemansratten or
Everymans Right The historical roots of this practice
extend back to a time of few roads when crossing other peoples
land was often necessary These rights are existent today
because the responsibility of Allemanstratten is acknowledged
and demonstrated by the public
6
Sweden is not the only country with a different concept
of private property from the United States Every society
has a different concept of the rights and limitations properly
included in private property
One of the traditional rights inherent in private property
in the United States is the right to dispose of ones propery
This means that law pertaining to the disposal of property
is deeply interwoven into the concept of private property
This is the reason a discussion of property is necessary to
understand the significance of the changing forms of public
acquisition
The right to dispose of ones property is being challenged
by the new thought that land has a value in itself and that
this value is defendable by members of the public This new
thought could be worded to suggest that the land has rights
that are defendable by interested persons or that certain
persons have rights in land which does not belong to them in
the traditional sense of ownership Eivind Berggrav of
Norway was quoted as saying The motive for limiting
property rights is not the desire to deprive anyone of that
which is rightfully his We begin with the assumption that
we are more than one living on this mountain 3 The rights
of the government and public--or the limitations on property
owners rights--could easily be extended a little There
is no absolute domain of the term property Coastal
property for example has long been treated less exclusively
7
than other property This is an important fact in a study
of acquisition for a coastal trail
Coastal property has stood out as a special type of
property since early times In AD 530 Justinian I a
Roman wrote The public use of the seashore as of the sea
itself is part of the law of natiollts consequently everyone
is free to build a cottage upon it for purposes of retreat
as well as to dry his nets and haul them up from the sea
But they cannot be said to belong to anyone as private property bull
The seashore is still treated specially In current
California law private property terminates at the mean high
tide mark1 unless a grant from the state specifies otherwise
the tidelands belong to the public Even if the state deeds
the tidelands to individuals the people retain the right of
public use for navigation and commerce This tideland trust
has its historical roots in the treaty which ceded California
to the United States--the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo This
treaty placed all of the states tidelands under a public
trust Not only does the public hold a trust on these lands
but access to the tidelands is guaranteed in the California
Constitution article XV section 2 It reads No individual
partnership or corporation claiming or possessing the frontage
or tidal lands of a harbor bay inlet estuary or other navigable
water in this state shall be permitted to exclude the right of
way to such water whenever it is required for some public
purpose nor to destroy or obstruct the free navigation of
8
such water This public right in private property reflects
the motive stated so eloquently by Eivind Berggrav above The
public owns the land between the high and low tide marks and
has the right to gain access to those lands whenever it is
required for any public purpose
We see that legally there is a tradition of some limited
public rights to the seashore Not everyone is enthusiastic
about sharing private rights in property with the public
The particular shoreline dealt with in this paper is the
shoreline in northern Santa Cruz County--from Santa Cruz
north to Ano Nuevo Some of the people along this coast
the landowners whose property a coastai trail would cross
are reserved about the public use of the land
The landowners with whom I talked would argue that there
is indeed a certain amount of defineable essence in the concept
of property Man has a need for territory--a place to call
his own in private peace Those whose families have lived
on the coast for generations feel a responsibility to preserve
the land handed down to them They say and this is often
true that those who rent property or who are traveling over
property do not show the same care feeling~ of responsibility
and labor that longtime property owners show The landowners
did admit that not all property owners were as careful as they
could be but the institution of private property held more
potential in their judgment for preserving and treating land
carefully than public institutions or parks
9
With regard to sharing their land with the public some
of the landowners feel that if a group of people asked to
camp on their land they would allow it But to have
people wandering over their property as it it were a public
forest would be offensive--as if someone were walking a~ound
in an urban residents backyard There is an exception to
this Many landowners along the north coast have no objection
to public use of their beaches The main reason for the
exclusionary feelings of one couple is the inconsiderate
behavior on the part of the hikers in wilderness areas This
couple tries very hard to preserve their land yet visitors
still leave the scars of campsites andrestless wandering on
the property
There is another side to the landowners arguments
When they speak of mans need for territory they do not
consider the city dwellers with small yards around their
homes or no yards at all If one family has the right to
enjoy land left in its natural state might that not
necessarily imply that all families have the right to such
enjoyment
Some private landowners do feel great responsibility
for their property and this is commendable But the
system of private property tends to build a shield around
the landowners activities on their land While some people
take special care of their treasured property other people
may be tempted to exploit the land dump their garbage on it
10
and not be concerned about future owners This temptation
for irresponsibility is similar to the behavior of visiting
campers and hikers noted in the interview with the landowner-shy
a lack of concern for the people who will corne by tomrnorrow or
next year In such cases neither public nor private ownership
is a guarantee of quality care
Some public uses of land are accepted by private landowners
A highway is a public use of land that is generally accepted
by the owners of land dissected by the highway Because of
the similarity between a trail and a road it is possible that
the concept of a trail could be more readily accepted by
landowners than other types of public intrusion If a road
or highway were to be planned and built by the state most
landowners would not object The straightening of Highway
One that occurred twenty years ago is an example of this
It seems to be an accepted right of the state to build roads
and a need of the general public to have roads How large
is the difference between a path for automobile traffic and
a path for bicycles or those on foot
Economically this difference is real at the present
time Public roads provide access to proper~y and thereby
increase property value Trails do not benefit landowners
in this way However as the recognized value of trails
for slow recreational travel approaches that of highways for
faster forms of travel the difference to a landowner between
a road and trail over his property will diminish
11
On the north coast of Santa Cruz County are landowners
who treasure the exclusiveness of their property There are
laws in the state of California that ensure the publics
right to gain access to tidelands whenever it is required for
any public purpose Now there are people who desire to
to create a trail along the coast so that more people can
enjoy its special abundance of beauty
If such a trail is to exist it must be planned in a way
that will receive the acceptance of the landowner Once
again social thought is important to this plan The very
fact that a right of way can potentially be obtained
reflects a growing desire for public contact with coastal land
even when that land is privately owned The methods by which
a central California coastal trail can be acquired will
depend upon the current thought of the population landowners
and court
A pleasing method of acquisition would be for the landowner
to donate or sell an easement for a right of way but fears
exist to prevent this Landowners fear liability for injuries
sustained on their property public abuse and misuse of their
property and loss of privacy These fears 9an be intelligently
dealt with during the process of negotiating for rights of
way If this is done and the owner is willing to donate or
sell an easement the costs of other methods of acquisition
can be avoided
Court decisions for liability against landowners often
receive much publicity These cases often deal with recreationists
who have paid to use the property California Civil Code 846
12
states that the landowner owes no duty of care--responsibility
for safety--to those who do not pay to participate in recreational
uses of his land In 1968 the Supreme Court of California
decided in Rowland v Christian that landowners are liable
for injuries sustained by those using the recreation on their
land free of charge In other words the court erased the
distinction between duty of care owed to paying and nonpaying
users In 1970 however the Legislature reacted to reenforce
these distinctions One of the laws enacted at this time
Government Code 8314 gives immunity to a public agency to
any injury occuring on a trail or on an unimproved road used
for access to certain recreational activities The grantor
of the easement is also given immunity This means that when
~ a property owner donates an easement to a public agency or public
employee neither is liable for injury if the easement is either
unimproved or properly designed and maintained
Another new law Civil Code Section 846 limits the
liability of landowners when their land is used for certain
recreational purposes including hiking and riding This
section does not protect them from duty of care owed to paying
users invited guests or from the liability for a willful or
malicious failure to warn against danger
Although these laws offer some protection they are unknown
to many landowners In an effort to escape liability landowners
have tried waivers and contracts to release them from liability
but these methods have not stood up in court Landowners
should be aware of the protection provided by law and of the
13
benefits of liability insurance If the easement is
dedicated to a public entity then it becomes the public
entitys responsibility to maintain the premises Once
the landowners are aware of the laws and the protection of
dedicating an easement to a public entity their fear should
be calmed
Landowners also worry about damages done by the public
to their property and they are concerned over their loss
of privacy There are several solutions to these problems
Where access crosses near to development the public access
can be hidden in a gully or ravine or separated by a barrier
of shrubs or trees On longer segments of trail where landshy
owners fear maintenance costs a trail patrolman such as the
r one at Castle Rock State Park could watch the area
Maintenance of the area would probably be less expensive
than complete prevention of disturbance Small segments of
the trail could be given to individuals or groups to maintain
In Switzerland this is done quite effectively Footpaths
are determined and maintained by district branches of the
Swiss Footpath Protection Agency Each district has exclusive
supervision over its footpaths Each path is examined and
kept in repair periodically
Solutions like these can be presented to the landowners
when discussing acquisition The landowners may have
suggestions as to methods of teaching the users of the
trail careful treatment of the valuable assets of natural land
14
The owner should be encouraged to dedicate the property
Even if he is willing to sell the right of way this can be
much more harmonious than court trials or eminant domain
proceedings If the owner will not sell or dedicate the
right of way the other solutions are possible
A knowledge opound the variety of means to attain public
rights in property is necessary The set of rights that make
up property rights are not tied up in an inseparable bundle
A few of these rights may be purchased as easily as the
entire bundle Someone may want to buy the right to cross
over another persons property A community may buy the
development rights to someone s land cThis would mean that
the landowner retains the right to cross his property to
visit it or sell it and he also retains other privileges of
ownership Only the community though has the right to
develop the property Purchases of one or a few rights are
called easements Easements are generally cheaper than
purchase of what is called fee simple absolute--full purchase
of the bundle of rights involved in owning property The
cost of an easement depends upon the depression in land value
that results from selling the rights In urban areas where
the value of land is virtually its development potential
easements to restrict development can be as expensive as fee
simple absolute
In California easements are becoming a valuable aid
in obtaining and retaining land rights for recreational
15
activities The types of useful easements vary from
government purchase to implied dedication of beach areas
Governments have the right to acquire these interests in
land as long as the purpose of the acquisition is public
welfare Recreation is now considered to be public welfare
At one time there was debaLd ~oncerning the domain of the
term public welfare Just what does this term include
The California Legislature passed the Open Space Act in 1959
This act broadened the idea of public welfare to include open
spaces and areas for public enjoymentS Open space according
to the legislature is an area with natural beauty or an area
with some quality--openness natural state or present use-shy
that if retained would increase the value of neighboring
urban development or be a valuable part of conserved scenic 6 or natural resources
This definition was further redefined to specifically
include recreation in the Open Space Easement Act of 1967
This act enabled California cities and counties to acquire
easements on land for open space within their jurisdictions
Preservation of open space resulting from these easements
must he consistent with the general plan and must be in
the best interest of the jurisdiction The publics enjoyment
of beauty and recreation the use of resources or the production
of food or fiber must be of major importance in the area
If money is available for the creation of a trail
purchasing a right of way easement is often the best way to
16
obtain the right of public use of the trail If money is
limited and the trail has already had public use for five
or more consecutive years another type of easement may be
applicable called easement by prescription
Easements created by prescription are created by
regular open use of someones property for five consecutive
years before the claim is made The use must be actual and
beneficial to the person claiming the easement The use
must be consistent during the period 7
Originally an easement by prescription was based upon
the presumption that the right had been granted but that
the grant had been lost and generallyit may be acquired by
the exclusive and uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the
~ right for a period of time analogous to the time sufficient
to acquire title by adverse possession uS
The attainment of easements by prescription is not
limited to private individuals The residents of a town or
city as a corporate identity can claim prescriptive easements
When a city or town does this it must prove its rights by
past record of regulation and control over the land upon which
an easement is claimed 9 It is in this ability of a
municipality to obtain easements by prescription that the
value of this method of acquisition lies
This use of easements for recreational purposes is
demonstrated in the case Gion v city of Santa Cruz (2 C3d 29)
The case dealt with three parcels of shore land Each lot
17
had a raised protion adjacent to a public road Cars had
been parking in these areas for sixty years Exclusive of an
old road bed the area had only been used for public pleasure
although it had been privately owned since 1880
The city had done maintenance in the area They pilled
in holes and placed riprap in weak areas They installed
an emergency alarm system School children planted iceplant
the city paved the parking lot and the sanitation department
maintained trash receptacles and cleaned after busy weekends
This maintenance activity was important to the citys claim
for an easement
The public had freely used the area to fish swim
picnic and watch the ocean The previous owner never told
anyone to leave The publics activity had been continuous
from 1900 until the time of trial The new owner had full
knowledge of the public use and city maintenance
The Santa Cruz Superior Court ruled that Gion was the
owner in fee of the property but his title was subject to
an easement in the City of Santa Cruz The Court based their
finding on several facts The publ~c had used the land
for an excess of five years The city had exercised
continued and uninterrupted dominion and control over the
property for a time in excess of five years In addition
Gion knew both of these facts when he bought the property
All of the conditions for an easement by prescription were
thus fulfilled
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
4
Finally a summary of the two topics acquisition and
design will lead into conclusions and recommendations The
background of social legal and political considerations
should assist immeasurably the process of creating a trail
along the central California coast
Acquisition
To understand exactly what it is that needs to be acquired
in order for the public to have the right to use a trail the I
concept of property must be understood Property is often thoughtI
of as a material possession--something tangible that one has
control over As the term comes down ~hrough legal history
however it has a different meaning Property is a bundle
of rights recognized by some sort of authority and defensible
in law A person could buy the right to use a piece of land
for his house and garden exclusive of others and the state
would recognize this right It would be upheld in a court
of law His rights might also include the right to sell to
anyone at any time the right to rent any part or all of
his property and many more rights of this type Limitations
are placed on his rights by zoning restrictions and by the
states right of eminant domain In other words the
definition of property depends upon recognized law and thought
in a given time and place Property law in America has mostly
evolved from old English law although Mexican law has had
an influence in California and other southwestern states
5
The concept of private property then is flexible Any
change in this concept is correlated with a change in social
thought This flexibility is illustrated by the differences
in the concept of private property in different countries
The result and the potential of this flexibility in property
rights islt~ change over time in a given countrys concept of
private property
Traditionally in this country ownership of land has been
thought of as almost entirely exclusive It has been a Godshy
given right for an owner of land to till the soil clear his
land and exclude others from it The treatment and guarding
of privately held land was considered ones private affair
Only a few rights were held by the government two of these
were the right to tax and the right to condemn property
Recently some thought has been given to the idea that
exclusive property rights are not natural or God-given They
are a function of government and social thought For example
private property in Sweden has much less privacy than land
in ~he United States In Sweden the public has the right
to cross camp on or visit private property under certain restrictions This right is called Allemansratten or
Everymans Right The historical roots of this practice
extend back to a time of few roads when crossing other peoples
land was often necessary These rights are existent today
because the responsibility of Allemanstratten is acknowledged
and demonstrated by the public
6
Sweden is not the only country with a different concept
of private property from the United States Every society
has a different concept of the rights and limitations properly
included in private property
One of the traditional rights inherent in private property
in the United States is the right to dispose of ones propery
This means that law pertaining to the disposal of property
is deeply interwoven into the concept of private property
This is the reason a discussion of property is necessary to
understand the significance of the changing forms of public
acquisition
The right to dispose of ones property is being challenged
by the new thought that land has a value in itself and that
this value is defendable by members of the public This new
thought could be worded to suggest that the land has rights
that are defendable by interested persons or that certain
persons have rights in land which does not belong to them in
the traditional sense of ownership Eivind Berggrav of
Norway was quoted as saying The motive for limiting
property rights is not the desire to deprive anyone of that
which is rightfully his We begin with the assumption that
we are more than one living on this mountain 3 The rights
of the government and public--or the limitations on property
owners rights--could easily be extended a little There
is no absolute domain of the term property Coastal
property for example has long been treated less exclusively
7
than other property This is an important fact in a study
of acquisition for a coastal trail
Coastal property has stood out as a special type of
property since early times In AD 530 Justinian I a
Roman wrote The public use of the seashore as of the sea
itself is part of the law of natiollts consequently everyone
is free to build a cottage upon it for purposes of retreat
as well as to dry his nets and haul them up from the sea
But they cannot be said to belong to anyone as private property bull
The seashore is still treated specially In current
California law private property terminates at the mean high
tide mark1 unless a grant from the state specifies otherwise
the tidelands belong to the public Even if the state deeds
the tidelands to individuals the people retain the right of
public use for navigation and commerce This tideland trust
has its historical roots in the treaty which ceded California
to the United States--the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo This
treaty placed all of the states tidelands under a public
trust Not only does the public hold a trust on these lands
but access to the tidelands is guaranteed in the California
Constitution article XV section 2 It reads No individual
partnership or corporation claiming or possessing the frontage
or tidal lands of a harbor bay inlet estuary or other navigable
water in this state shall be permitted to exclude the right of
way to such water whenever it is required for some public
purpose nor to destroy or obstruct the free navigation of
8
such water This public right in private property reflects
the motive stated so eloquently by Eivind Berggrav above The
public owns the land between the high and low tide marks and
has the right to gain access to those lands whenever it is
required for any public purpose
We see that legally there is a tradition of some limited
public rights to the seashore Not everyone is enthusiastic
about sharing private rights in property with the public
The particular shoreline dealt with in this paper is the
shoreline in northern Santa Cruz County--from Santa Cruz
north to Ano Nuevo Some of the people along this coast
the landowners whose property a coastai trail would cross
are reserved about the public use of the land
The landowners with whom I talked would argue that there
is indeed a certain amount of defineable essence in the concept
of property Man has a need for territory--a place to call
his own in private peace Those whose families have lived
on the coast for generations feel a responsibility to preserve
the land handed down to them They say and this is often
true that those who rent property or who are traveling over
property do not show the same care feeling~ of responsibility
and labor that longtime property owners show The landowners
did admit that not all property owners were as careful as they
could be but the institution of private property held more
potential in their judgment for preserving and treating land
carefully than public institutions or parks
9
With regard to sharing their land with the public some
of the landowners feel that if a group of people asked to
camp on their land they would allow it But to have
people wandering over their property as it it were a public
forest would be offensive--as if someone were walking a~ound
in an urban residents backyard There is an exception to
this Many landowners along the north coast have no objection
to public use of their beaches The main reason for the
exclusionary feelings of one couple is the inconsiderate
behavior on the part of the hikers in wilderness areas This
couple tries very hard to preserve their land yet visitors
still leave the scars of campsites andrestless wandering on
the property
There is another side to the landowners arguments
When they speak of mans need for territory they do not
consider the city dwellers with small yards around their
homes or no yards at all If one family has the right to
enjoy land left in its natural state might that not
necessarily imply that all families have the right to such
enjoyment
Some private landowners do feel great responsibility
for their property and this is commendable But the
system of private property tends to build a shield around
the landowners activities on their land While some people
take special care of their treasured property other people
may be tempted to exploit the land dump their garbage on it
10
and not be concerned about future owners This temptation
for irresponsibility is similar to the behavior of visiting
campers and hikers noted in the interview with the landowner-shy
a lack of concern for the people who will corne by tomrnorrow or
next year In such cases neither public nor private ownership
is a guarantee of quality care
Some public uses of land are accepted by private landowners
A highway is a public use of land that is generally accepted
by the owners of land dissected by the highway Because of
the similarity between a trail and a road it is possible that
the concept of a trail could be more readily accepted by
landowners than other types of public intrusion If a road
or highway were to be planned and built by the state most
landowners would not object The straightening of Highway
One that occurred twenty years ago is an example of this
It seems to be an accepted right of the state to build roads
and a need of the general public to have roads How large
is the difference between a path for automobile traffic and
a path for bicycles or those on foot
Economically this difference is real at the present
time Public roads provide access to proper~y and thereby
increase property value Trails do not benefit landowners
in this way However as the recognized value of trails
for slow recreational travel approaches that of highways for
faster forms of travel the difference to a landowner between
a road and trail over his property will diminish
11
On the north coast of Santa Cruz County are landowners
who treasure the exclusiveness of their property There are
laws in the state of California that ensure the publics
right to gain access to tidelands whenever it is required for
any public purpose Now there are people who desire to
to create a trail along the coast so that more people can
enjoy its special abundance of beauty
If such a trail is to exist it must be planned in a way
that will receive the acceptance of the landowner Once
again social thought is important to this plan The very
fact that a right of way can potentially be obtained
reflects a growing desire for public contact with coastal land
even when that land is privately owned The methods by which
a central California coastal trail can be acquired will
depend upon the current thought of the population landowners
and court
A pleasing method of acquisition would be for the landowner
to donate or sell an easement for a right of way but fears
exist to prevent this Landowners fear liability for injuries
sustained on their property public abuse and misuse of their
property and loss of privacy These fears 9an be intelligently
dealt with during the process of negotiating for rights of
way If this is done and the owner is willing to donate or
sell an easement the costs of other methods of acquisition
can be avoided
Court decisions for liability against landowners often
receive much publicity These cases often deal with recreationists
who have paid to use the property California Civil Code 846
12
states that the landowner owes no duty of care--responsibility
for safety--to those who do not pay to participate in recreational
uses of his land In 1968 the Supreme Court of California
decided in Rowland v Christian that landowners are liable
for injuries sustained by those using the recreation on their
land free of charge In other words the court erased the
distinction between duty of care owed to paying and nonpaying
users In 1970 however the Legislature reacted to reenforce
these distinctions One of the laws enacted at this time
Government Code 8314 gives immunity to a public agency to
any injury occuring on a trail or on an unimproved road used
for access to certain recreational activities The grantor
of the easement is also given immunity This means that when
~ a property owner donates an easement to a public agency or public
employee neither is liable for injury if the easement is either
unimproved or properly designed and maintained
Another new law Civil Code Section 846 limits the
liability of landowners when their land is used for certain
recreational purposes including hiking and riding This
section does not protect them from duty of care owed to paying
users invited guests or from the liability for a willful or
malicious failure to warn against danger
Although these laws offer some protection they are unknown
to many landowners In an effort to escape liability landowners
have tried waivers and contracts to release them from liability
but these methods have not stood up in court Landowners
should be aware of the protection provided by law and of the
13
benefits of liability insurance If the easement is
dedicated to a public entity then it becomes the public
entitys responsibility to maintain the premises Once
the landowners are aware of the laws and the protection of
dedicating an easement to a public entity their fear should
be calmed
Landowners also worry about damages done by the public
to their property and they are concerned over their loss
of privacy There are several solutions to these problems
Where access crosses near to development the public access
can be hidden in a gully or ravine or separated by a barrier
of shrubs or trees On longer segments of trail where landshy
owners fear maintenance costs a trail patrolman such as the
r one at Castle Rock State Park could watch the area
Maintenance of the area would probably be less expensive
than complete prevention of disturbance Small segments of
the trail could be given to individuals or groups to maintain
In Switzerland this is done quite effectively Footpaths
are determined and maintained by district branches of the
Swiss Footpath Protection Agency Each district has exclusive
supervision over its footpaths Each path is examined and
kept in repair periodically
Solutions like these can be presented to the landowners
when discussing acquisition The landowners may have
suggestions as to methods of teaching the users of the
trail careful treatment of the valuable assets of natural land
14
The owner should be encouraged to dedicate the property
Even if he is willing to sell the right of way this can be
much more harmonious than court trials or eminant domain
proceedings If the owner will not sell or dedicate the
right of way the other solutions are possible
A knowledge opound the variety of means to attain public
rights in property is necessary The set of rights that make
up property rights are not tied up in an inseparable bundle
A few of these rights may be purchased as easily as the
entire bundle Someone may want to buy the right to cross
over another persons property A community may buy the
development rights to someone s land cThis would mean that
the landowner retains the right to cross his property to
visit it or sell it and he also retains other privileges of
ownership Only the community though has the right to
develop the property Purchases of one or a few rights are
called easements Easements are generally cheaper than
purchase of what is called fee simple absolute--full purchase
of the bundle of rights involved in owning property The
cost of an easement depends upon the depression in land value
that results from selling the rights In urban areas where
the value of land is virtually its development potential
easements to restrict development can be as expensive as fee
simple absolute
In California easements are becoming a valuable aid
in obtaining and retaining land rights for recreational
15
activities The types of useful easements vary from
government purchase to implied dedication of beach areas
Governments have the right to acquire these interests in
land as long as the purpose of the acquisition is public
welfare Recreation is now considered to be public welfare
At one time there was debaLd ~oncerning the domain of the
term public welfare Just what does this term include
The California Legislature passed the Open Space Act in 1959
This act broadened the idea of public welfare to include open
spaces and areas for public enjoymentS Open space according
to the legislature is an area with natural beauty or an area
with some quality--openness natural state or present use-shy
that if retained would increase the value of neighboring
urban development or be a valuable part of conserved scenic 6 or natural resources
This definition was further redefined to specifically
include recreation in the Open Space Easement Act of 1967
This act enabled California cities and counties to acquire
easements on land for open space within their jurisdictions
Preservation of open space resulting from these easements
must he consistent with the general plan and must be in
the best interest of the jurisdiction The publics enjoyment
of beauty and recreation the use of resources or the production
of food or fiber must be of major importance in the area
If money is available for the creation of a trail
purchasing a right of way easement is often the best way to
16
obtain the right of public use of the trail If money is
limited and the trail has already had public use for five
or more consecutive years another type of easement may be
applicable called easement by prescription
Easements created by prescription are created by
regular open use of someones property for five consecutive
years before the claim is made The use must be actual and
beneficial to the person claiming the easement The use
must be consistent during the period 7
Originally an easement by prescription was based upon
the presumption that the right had been granted but that
the grant had been lost and generallyit may be acquired by
the exclusive and uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the
~ right for a period of time analogous to the time sufficient
to acquire title by adverse possession uS
The attainment of easements by prescription is not
limited to private individuals The residents of a town or
city as a corporate identity can claim prescriptive easements
When a city or town does this it must prove its rights by
past record of regulation and control over the land upon which
an easement is claimed 9 It is in this ability of a
municipality to obtain easements by prescription that the
value of this method of acquisition lies
This use of easements for recreational purposes is
demonstrated in the case Gion v city of Santa Cruz (2 C3d 29)
The case dealt with three parcels of shore land Each lot
17
had a raised protion adjacent to a public road Cars had
been parking in these areas for sixty years Exclusive of an
old road bed the area had only been used for public pleasure
although it had been privately owned since 1880
The city had done maintenance in the area They pilled
in holes and placed riprap in weak areas They installed
an emergency alarm system School children planted iceplant
the city paved the parking lot and the sanitation department
maintained trash receptacles and cleaned after busy weekends
This maintenance activity was important to the citys claim
for an easement
The public had freely used the area to fish swim
picnic and watch the ocean The previous owner never told
anyone to leave The publics activity had been continuous
from 1900 until the time of trial The new owner had full
knowledge of the public use and city maintenance
The Santa Cruz Superior Court ruled that Gion was the
owner in fee of the property but his title was subject to
an easement in the City of Santa Cruz The Court based their
finding on several facts The publ~c had used the land
for an excess of five years The city had exercised
continued and uninterrupted dominion and control over the
property for a time in excess of five years In addition
Gion knew both of these facts when he bought the property
All of the conditions for an easement by prescription were
thus fulfilled
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
5
The concept of private property then is flexible Any
change in this concept is correlated with a change in social
thought This flexibility is illustrated by the differences
in the concept of private property in different countries
The result and the potential of this flexibility in property
rights islt~ change over time in a given countrys concept of
private property
Traditionally in this country ownership of land has been
thought of as almost entirely exclusive It has been a Godshy
given right for an owner of land to till the soil clear his
land and exclude others from it The treatment and guarding
of privately held land was considered ones private affair
Only a few rights were held by the government two of these
were the right to tax and the right to condemn property
Recently some thought has been given to the idea that
exclusive property rights are not natural or God-given They
are a function of government and social thought For example
private property in Sweden has much less privacy than land
in ~he United States In Sweden the public has the right
to cross camp on or visit private property under certain restrictions This right is called Allemansratten or
Everymans Right The historical roots of this practice
extend back to a time of few roads when crossing other peoples
land was often necessary These rights are existent today
because the responsibility of Allemanstratten is acknowledged
and demonstrated by the public
6
Sweden is not the only country with a different concept
of private property from the United States Every society
has a different concept of the rights and limitations properly
included in private property
One of the traditional rights inherent in private property
in the United States is the right to dispose of ones propery
This means that law pertaining to the disposal of property
is deeply interwoven into the concept of private property
This is the reason a discussion of property is necessary to
understand the significance of the changing forms of public
acquisition
The right to dispose of ones property is being challenged
by the new thought that land has a value in itself and that
this value is defendable by members of the public This new
thought could be worded to suggest that the land has rights
that are defendable by interested persons or that certain
persons have rights in land which does not belong to them in
the traditional sense of ownership Eivind Berggrav of
Norway was quoted as saying The motive for limiting
property rights is not the desire to deprive anyone of that
which is rightfully his We begin with the assumption that
we are more than one living on this mountain 3 The rights
of the government and public--or the limitations on property
owners rights--could easily be extended a little There
is no absolute domain of the term property Coastal
property for example has long been treated less exclusively
7
than other property This is an important fact in a study
of acquisition for a coastal trail
Coastal property has stood out as a special type of
property since early times In AD 530 Justinian I a
Roman wrote The public use of the seashore as of the sea
itself is part of the law of natiollts consequently everyone
is free to build a cottage upon it for purposes of retreat
as well as to dry his nets and haul them up from the sea
But they cannot be said to belong to anyone as private property bull
The seashore is still treated specially In current
California law private property terminates at the mean high
tide mark1 unless a grant from the state specifies otherwise
the tidelands belong to the public Even if the state deeds
the tidelands to individuals the people retain the right of
public use for navigation and commerce This tideland trust
has its historical roots in the treaty which ceded California
to the United States--the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo This
treaty placed all of the states tidelands under a public
trust Not only does the public hold a trust on these lands
but access to the tidelands is guaranteed in the California
Constitution article XV section 2 It reads No individual
partnership or corporation claiming or possessing the frontage
or tidal lands of a harbor bay inlet estuary or other navigable
water in this state shall be permitted to exclude the right of
way to such water whenever it is required for some public
purpose nor to destroy or obstruct the free navigation of
8
such water This public right in private property reflects
the motive stated so eloquently by Eivind Berggrav above The
public owns the land between the high and low tide marks and
has the right to gain access to those lands whenever it is
required for any public purpose
We see that legally there is a tradition of some limited
public rights to the seashore Not everyone is enthusiastic
about sharing private rights in property with the public
The particular shoreline dealt with in this paper is the
shoreline in northern Santa Cruz County--from Santa Cruz
north to Ano Nuevo Some of the people along this coast
the landowners whose property a coastai trail would cross
are reserved about the public use of the land
The landowners with whom I talked would argue that there
is indeed a certain amount of defineable essence in the concept
of property Man has a need for territory--a place to call
his own in private peace Those whose families have lived
on the coast for generations feel a responsibility to preserve
the land handed down to them They say and this is often
true that those who rent property or who are traveling over
property do not show the same care feeling~ of responsibility
and labor that longtime property owners show The landowners
did admit that not all property owners were as careful as they
could be but the institution of private property held more
potential in their judgment for preserving and treating land
carefully than public institutions or parks
9
With regard to sharing their land with the public some
of the landowners feel that if a group of people asked to
camp on their land they would allow it But to have
people wandering over their property as it it were a public
forest would be offensive--as if someone were walking a~ound
in an urban residents backyard There is an exception to
this Many landowners along the north coast have no objection
to public use of their beaches The main reason for the
exclusionary feelings of one couple is the inconsiderate
behavior on the part of the hikers in wilderness areas This
couple tries very hard to preserve their land yet visitors
still leave the scars of campsites andrestless wandering on
the property
There is another side to the landowners arguments
When they speak of mans need for territory they do not
consider the city dwellers with small yards around their
homes or no yards at all If one family has the right to
enjoy land left in its natural state might that not
necessarily imply that all families have the right to such
enjoyment
Some private landowners do feel great responsibility
for their property and this is commendable But the
system of private property tends to build a shield around
the landowners activities on their land While some people
take special care of their treasured property other people
may be tempted to exploit the land dump their garbage on it
10
and not be concerned about future owners This temptation
for irresponsibility is similar to the behavior of visiting
campers and hikers noted in the interview with the landowner-shy
a lack of concern for the people who will corne by tomrnorrow or
next year In such cases neither public nor private ownership
is a guarantee of quality care
Some public uses of land are accepted by private landowners
A highway is a public use of land that is generally accepted
by the owners of land dissected by the highway Because of
the similarity between a trail and a road it is possible that
the concept of a trail could be more readily accepted by
landowners than other types of public intrusion If a road
or highway were to be planned and built by the state most
landowners would not object The straightening of Highway
One that occurred twenty years ago is an example of this
It seems to be an accepted right of the state to build roads
and a need of the general public to have roads How large
is the difference between a path for automobile traffic and
a path for bicycles or those on foot
Economically this difference is real at the present
time Public roads provide access to proper~y and thereby
increase property value Trails do not benefit landowners
in this way However as the recognized value of trails
for slow recreational travel approaches that of highways for
faster forms of travel the difference to a landowner between
a road and trail over his property will diminish
11
On the north coast of Santa Cruz County are landowners
who treasure the exclusiveness of their property There are
laws in the state of California that ensure the publics
right to gain access to tidelands whenever it is required for
any public purpose Now there are people who desire to
to create a trail along the coast so that more people can
enjoy its special abundance of beauty
If such a trail is to exist it must be planned in a way
that will receive the acceptance of the landowner Once
again social thought is important to this plan The very
fact that a right of way can potentially be obtained
reflects a growing desire for public contact with coastal land
even when that land is privately owned The methods by which
a central California coastal trail can be acquired will
depend upon the current thought of the population landowners
and court
A pleasing method of acquisition would be for the landowner
to donate or sell an easement for a right of way but fears
exist to prevent this Landowners fear liability for injuries
sustained on their property public abuse and misuse of their
property and loss of privacy These fears 9an be intelligently
dealt with during the process of negotiating for rights of
way If this is done and the owner is willing to donate or
sell an easement the costs of other methods of acquisition
can be avoided
Court decisions for liability against landowners often
receive much publicity These cases often deal with recreationists
who have paid to use the property California Civil Code 846
12
states that the landowner owes no duty of care--responsibility
for safety--to those who do not pay to participate in recreational
uses of his land In 1968 the Supreme Court of California
decided in Rowland v Christian that landowners are liable
for injuries sustained by those using the recreation on their
land free of charge In other words the court erased the
distinction between duty of care owed to paying and nonpaying
users In 1970 however the Legislature reacted to reenforce
these distinctions One of the laws enacted at this time
Government Code 8314 gives immunity to a public agency to
any injury occuring on a trail or on an unimproved road used
for access to certain recreational activities The grantor
of the easement is also given immunity This means that when
~ a property owner donates an easement to a public agency or public
employee neither is liable for injury if the easement is either
unimproved or properly designed and maintained
Another new law Civil Code Section 846 limits the
liability of landowners when their land is used for certain
recreational purposes including hiking and riding This
section does not protect them from duty of care owed to paying
users invited guests or from the liability for a willful or
malicious failure to warn against danger
Although these laws offer some protection they are unknown
to many landowners In an effort to escape liability landowners
have tried waivers and contracts to release them from liability
but these methods have not stood up in court Landowners
should be aware of the protection provided by law and of the
13
benefits of liability insurance If the easement is
dedicated to a public entity then it becomes the public
entitys responsibility to maintain the premises Once
the landowners are aware of the laws and the protection of
dedicating an easement to a public entity their fear should
be calmed
Landowners also worry about damages done by the public
to their property and they are concerned over their loss
of privacy There are several solutions to these problems
Where access crosses near to development the public access
can be hidden in a gully or ravine or separated by a barrier
of shrubs or trees On longer segments of trail where landshy
owners fear maintenance costs a trail patrolman such as the
r one at Castle Rock State Park could watch the area
Maintenance of the area would probably be less expensive
than complete prevention of disturbance Small segments of
the trail could be given to individuals or groups to maintain
In Switzerland this is done quite effectively Footpaths
are determined and maintained by district branches of the
Swiss Footpath Protection Agency Each district has exclusive
supervision over its footpaths Each path is examined and
kept in repair periodically
Solutions like these can be presented to the landowners
when discussing acquisition The landowners may have
suggestions as to methods of teaching the users of the
trail careful treatment of the valuable assets of natural land
14
The owner should be encouraged to dedicate the property
Even if he is willing to sell the right of way this can be
much more harmonious than court trials or eminant domain
proceedings If the owner will not sell or dedicate the
right of way the other solutions are possible
A knowledge opound the variety of means to attain public
rights in property is necessary The set of rights that make
up property rights are not tied up in an inseparable bundle
A few of these rights may be purchased as easily as the
entire bundle Someone may want to buy the right to cross
over another persons property A community may buy the
development rights to someone s land cThis would mean that
the landowner retains the right to cross his property to
visit it or sell it and he also retains other privileges of
ownership Only the community though has the right to
develop the property Purchases of one or a few rights are
called easements Easements are generally cheaper than
purchase of what is called fee simple absolute--full purchase
of the bundle of rights involved in owning property The
cost of an easement depends upon the depression in land value
that results from selling the rights In urban areas where
the value of land is virtually its development potential
easements to restrict development can be as expensive as fee
simple absolute
In California easements are becoming a valuable aid
in obtaining and retaining land rights for recreational
15
activities The types of useful easements vary from
government purchase to implied dedication of beach areas
Governments have the right to acquire these interests in
land as long as the purpose of the acquisition is public
welfare Recreation is now considered to be public welfare
At one time there was debaLd ~oncerning the domain of the
term public welfare Just what does this term include
The California Legislature passed the Open Space Act in 1959
This act broadened the idea of public welfare to include open
spaces and areas for public enjoymentS Open space according
to the legislature is an area with natural beauty or an area
with some quality--openness natural state or present use-shy
that if retained would increase the value of neighboring
urban development or be a valuable part of conserved scenic 6 or natural resources
This definition was further redefined to specifically
include recreation in the Open Space Easement Act of 1967
This act enabled California cities and counties to acquire
easements on land for open space within their jurisdictions
Preservation of open space resulting from these easements
must he consistent with the general plan and must be in
the best interest of the jurisdiction The publics enjoyment
of beauty and recreation the use of resources or the production
of food or fiber must be of major importance in the area
If money is available for the creation of a trail
purchasing a right of way easement is often the best way to
16
obtain the right of public use of the trail If money is
limited and the trail has already had public use for five
or more consecutive years another type of easement may be
applicable called easement by prescription
Easements created by prescription are created by
regular open use of someones property for five consecutive
years before the claim is made The use must be actual and
beneficial to the person claiming the easement The use
must be consistent during the period 7
Originally an easement by prescription was based upon
the presumption that the right had been granted but that
the grant had been lost and generallyit may be acquired by
the exclusive and uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the
~ right for a period of time analogous to the time sufficient
to acquire title by adverse possession uS
The attainment of easements by prescription is not
limited to private individuals The residents of a town or
city as a corporate identity can claim prescriptive easements
When a city or town does this it must prove its rights by
past record of regulation and control over the land upon which
an easement is claimed 9 It is in this ability of a
municipality to obtain easements by prescription that the
value of this method of acquisition lies
This use of easements for recreational purposes is
demonstrated in the case Gion v city of Santa Cruz (2 C3d 29)
The case dealt with three parcels of shore land Each lot
17
had a raised protion adjacent to a public road Cars had
been parking in these areas for sixty years Exclusive of an
old road bed the area had only been used for public pleasure
although it had been privately owned since 1880
The city had done maintenance in the area They pilled
in holes and placed riprap in weak areas They installed
an emergency alarm system School children planted iceplant
the city paved the parking lot and the sanitation department
maintained trash receptacles and cleaned after busy weekends
This maintenance activity was important to the citys claim
for an easement
The public had freely used the area to fish swim
picnic and watch the ocean The previous owner never told
anyone to leave The publics activity had been continuous
from 1900 until the time of trial The new owner had full
knowledge of the public use and city maintenance
The Santa Cruz Superior Court ruled that Gion was the
owner in fee of the property but his title was subject to
an easement in the City of Santa Cruz The Court based their
finding on several facts The publ~c had used the land
for an excess of five years The city had exercised
continued and uninterrupted dominion and control over the
property for a time in excess of five years In addition
Gion knew both of these facts when he bought the property
All of the conditions for an easement by prescription were
thus fulfilled
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
6
Sweden is not the only country with a different concept
of private property from the United States Every society
has a different concept of the rights and limitations properly
included in private property
One of the traditional rights inherent in private property
in the United States is the right to dispose of ones propery
This means that law pertaining to the disposal of property
is deeply interwoven into the concept of private property
This is the reason a discussion of property is necessary to
understand the significance of the changing forms of public
acquisition
The right to dispose of ones property is being challenged
by the new thought that land has a value in itself and that
this value is defendable by members of the public This new
thought could be worded to suggest that the land has rights
that are defendable by interested persons or that certain
persons have rights in land which does not belong to them in
the traditional sense of ownership Eivind Berggrav of
Norway was quoted as saying The motive for limiting
property rights is not the desire to deprive anyone of that
which is rightfully his We begin with the assumption that
we are more than one living on this mountain 3 The rights
of the government and public--or the limitations on property
owners rights--could easily be extended a little There
is no absolute domain of the term property Coastal
property for example has long been treated less exclusively
7
than other property This is an important fact in a study
of acquisition for a coastal trail
Coastal property has stood out as a special type of
property since early times In AD 530 Justinian I a
Roman wrote The public use of the seashore as of the sea
itself is part of the law of natiollts consequently everyone
is free to build a cottage upon it for purposes of retreat
as well as to dry his nets and haul them up from the sea
But they cannot be said to belong to anyone as private property bull
The seashore is still treated specially In current
California law private property terminates at the mean high
tide mark1 unless a grant from the state specifies otherwise
the tidelands belong to the public Even if the state deeds
the tidelands to individuals the people retain the right of
public use for navigation and commerce This tideland trust
has its historical roots in the treaty which ceded California
to the United States--the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo This
treaty placed all of the states tidelands under a public
trust Not only does the public hold a trust on these lands
but access to the tidelands is guaranteed in the California
Constitution article XV section 2 It reads No individual
partnership or corporation claiming or possessing the frontage
or tidal lands of a harbor bay inlet estuary or other navigable
water in this state shall be permitted to exclude the right of
way to such water whenever it is required for some public
purpose nor to destroy or obstruct the free navigation of
8
such water This public right in private property reflects
the motive stated so eloquently by Eivind Berggrav above The
public owns the land between the high and low tide marks and
has the right to gain access to those lands whenever it is
required for any public purpose
We see that legally there is a tradition of some limited
public rights to the seashore Not everyone is enthusiastic
about sharing private rights in property with the public
The particular shoreline dealt with in this paper is the
shoreline in northern Santa Cruz County--from Santa Cruz
north to Ano Nuevo Some of the people along this coast
the landowners whose property a coastai trail would cross
are reserved about the public use of the land
The landowners with whom I talked would argue that there
is indeed a certain amount of defineable essence in the concept
of property Man has a need for territory--a place to call
his own in private peace Those whose families have lived
on the coast for generations feel a responsibility to preserve
the land handed down to them They say and this is often
true that those who rent property or who are traveling over
property do not show the same care feeling~ of responsibility
and labor that longtime property owners show The landowners
did admit that not all property owners were as careful as they
could be but the institution of private property held more
potential in their judgment for preserving and treating land
carefully than public institutions or parks
9
With regard to sharing their land with the public some
of the landowners feel that if a group of people asked to
camp on their land they would allow it But to have
people wandering over their property as it it were a public
forest would be offensive--as if someone were walking a~ound
in an urban residents backyard There is an exception to
this Many landowners along the north coast have no objection
to public use of their beaches The main reason for the
exclusionary feelings of one couple is the inconsiderate
behavior on the part of the hikers in wilderness areas This
couple tries very hard to preserve their land yet visitors
still leave the scars of campsites andrestless wandering on
the property
There is another side to the landowners arguments
When they speak of mans need for territory they do not
consider the city dwellers with small yards around their
homes or no yards at all If one family has the right to
enjoy land left in its natural state might that not
necessarily imply that all families have the right to such
enjoyment
Some private landowners do feel great responsibility
for their property and this is commendable But the
system of private property tends to build a shield around
the landowners activities on their land While some people
take special care of their treasured property other people
may be tempted to exploit the land dump their garbage on it
10
and not be concerned about future owners This temptation
for irresponsibility is similar to the behavior of visiting
campers and hikers noted in the interview with the landowner-shy
a lack of concern for the people who will corne by tomrnorrow or
next year In such cases neither public nor private ownership
is a guarantee of quality care
Some public uses of land are accepted by private landowners
A highway is a public use of land that is generally accepted
by the owners of land dissected by the highway Because of
the similarity between a trail and a road it is possible that
the concept of a trail could be more readily accepted by
landowners than other types of public intrusion If a road
or highway were to be planned and built by the state most
landowners would not object The straightening of Highway
One that occurred twenty years ago is an example of this
It seems to be an accepted right of the state to build roads
and a need of the general public to have roads How large
is the difference between a path for automobile traffic and
a path for bicycles or those on foot
Economically this difference is real at the present
time Public roads provide access to proper~y and thereby
increase property value Trails do not benefit landowners
in this way However as the recognized value of trails
for slow recreational travel approaches that of highways for
faster forms of travel the difference to a landowner between
a road and trail over his property will diminish
11
On the north coast of Santa Cruz County are landowners
who treasure the exclusiveness of their property There are
laws in the state of California that ensure the publics
right to gain access to tidelands whenever it is required for
any public purpose Now there are people who desire to
to create a trail along the coast so that more people can
enjoy its special abundance of beauty
If such a trail is to exist it must be planned in a way
that will receive the acceptance of the landowner Once
again social thought is important to this plan The very
fact that a right of way can potentially be obtained
reflects a growing desire for public contact with coastal land
even when that land is privately owned The methods by which
a central California coastal trail can be acquired will
depend upon the current thought of the population landowners
and court
A pleasing method of acquisition would be for the landowner
to donate or sell an easement for a right of way but fears
exist to prevent this Landowners fear liability for injuries
sustained on their property public abuse and misuse of their
property and loss of privacy These fears 9an be intelligently
dealt with during the process of negotiating for rights of
way If this is done and the owner is willing to donate or
sell an easement the costs of other methods of acquisition
can be avoided
Court decisions for liability against landowners often
receive much publicity These cases often deal with recreationists
who have paid to use the property California Civil Code 846
12
states that the landowner owes no duty of care--responsibility
for safety--to those who do not pay to participate in recreational
uses of his land In 1968 the Supreme Court of California
decided in Rowland v Christian that landowners are liable
for injuries sustained by those using the recreation on their
land free of charge In other words the court erased the
distinction between duty of care owed to paying and nonpaying
users In 1970 however the Legislature reacted to reenforce
these distinctions One of the laws enacted at this time
Government Code 8314 gives immunity to a public agency to
any injury occuring on a trail or on an unimproved road used
for access to certain recreational activities The grantor
of the easement is also given immunity This means that when
~ a property owner donates an easement to a public agency or public
employee neither is liable for injury if the easement is either
unimproved or properly designed and maintained
Another new law Civil Code Section 846 limits the
liability of landowners when their land is used for certain
recreational purposes including hiking and riding This
section does not protect them from duty of care owed to paying
users invited guests or from the liability for a willful or
malicious failure to warn against danger
Although these laws offer some protection they are unknown
to many landowners In an effort to escape liability landowners
have tried waivers and contracts to release them from liability
but these methods have not stood up in court Landowners
should be aware of the protection provided by law and of the
13
benefits of liability insurance If the easement is
dedicated to a public entity then it becomes the public
entitys responsibility to maintain the premises Once
the landowners are aware of the laws and the protection of
dedicating an easement to a public entity their fear should
be calmed
Landowners also worry about damages done by the public
to their property and they are concerned over their loss
of privacy There are several solutions to these problems
Where access crosses near to development the public access
can be hidden in a gully or ravine or separated by a barrier
of shrubs or trees On longer segments of trail where landshy
owners fear maintenance costs a trail patrolman such as the
r one at Castle Rock State Park could watch the area
Maintenance of the area would probably be less expensive
than complete prevention of disturbance Small segments of
the trail could be given to individuals or groups to maintain
In Switzerland this is done quite effectively Footpaths
are determined and maintained by district branches of the
Swiss Footpath Protection Agency Each district has exclusive
supervision over its footpaths Each path is examined and
kept in repair periodically
Solutions like these can be presented to the landowners
when discussing acquisition The landowners may have
suggestions as to methods of teaching the users of the
trail careful treatment of the valuable assets of natural land
14
The owner should be encouraged to dedicate the property
Even if he is willing to sell the right of way this can be
much more harmonious than court trials or eminant domain
proceedings If the owner will not sell or dedicate the
right of way the other solutions are possible
A knowledge opound the variety of means to attain public
rights in property is necessary The set of rights that make
up property rights are not tied up in an inseparable bundle
A few of these rights may be purchased as easily as the
entire bundle Someone may want to buy the right to cross
over another persons property A community may buy the
development rights to someone s land cThis would mean that
the landowner retains the right to cross his property to
visit it or sell it and he also retains other privileges of
ownership Only the community though has the right to
develop the property Purchases of one or a few rights are
called easements Easements are generally cheaper than
purchase of what is called fee simple absolute--full purchase
of the bundle of rights involved in owning property The
cost of an easement depends upon the depression in land value
that results from selling the rights In urban areas where
the value of land is virtually its development potential
easements to restrict development can be as expensive as fee
simple absolute
In California easements are becoming a valuable aid
in obtaining and retaining land rights for recreational
15
activities The types of useful easements vary from
government purchase to implied dedication of beach areas
Governments have the right to acquire these interests in
land as long as the purpose of the acquisition is public
welfare Recreation is now considered to be public welfare
At one time there was debaLd ~oncerning the domain of the
term public welfare Just what does this term include
The California Legislature passed the Open Space Act in 1959
This act broadened the idea of public welfare to include open
spaces and areas for public enjoymentS Open space according
to the legislature is an area with natural beauty or an area
with some quality--openness natural state or present use-shy
that if retained would increase the value of neighboring
urban development or be a valuable part of conserved scenic 6 or natural resources
This definition was further redefined to specifically
include recreation in the Open Space Easement Act of 1967
This act enabled California cities and counties to acquire
easements on land for open space within their jurisdictions
Preservation of open space resulting from these easements
must he consistent with the general plan and must be in
the best interest of the jurisdiction The publics enjoyment
of beauty and recreation the use of resources or the production
of food or fiber must be of major importance in the area
If money is available for the creation of a trail
purchasing a right of way easement is often the best way to
16
obtain the right of public use of the trail If money is
limited and the trail has already had public use for five
or more consecutive years another type of easement may be
applicable called easement by prescription
Easements created by prescription are created by
regular open use of someones property for five consecutive
years before the claim is made The use must be actual and
beneficial to the person claiming the easement The use
must be consistent during the period 7
Originally an easement by prescription was based upon
the presumption that the right had been granted but that
the grant had been lost and generallyit may be acquired by
the exclusive and uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the
~ right for a period of time analogous to the time sufficient
to acquire title by adverse possession uS
The attainment of easements by prescription is not
limited to private individuals The residents of a town or
city as a corporate identity can claim prescriptive easements
When a city or town does this it must prove its rights by
past record of regulation and control over the land upon which
an easement is claimed 9 It is in this ability of a
municipality to obtain easements by prescription that the
value of this method of acquisition lies
This use of easements for recreational purposes is
demonstrated in the case Gion v city of Santa Cruz (2 C3d 29)
The case dealt with three parcels of shore land Each lot
17
had a raised protion adjacent to a public road Cars had
been parking in these areas for sixty years Exclusive of an
old road bed the area had only been used for public pleasure
although it had been privately owned since 1880
The city had done maintenance in the area They pilled
in holes and placed riprap in weak areas They installed
an emergency alarm system School children planted iceplant
the city paved the parking lot and the sanitation department
maintained trash receptacles and cleaned after busy weekends
This maintenance activity was important to the citys claim
for an easement
The public had freely used the area to fish swim
picnic and watch the ocean The previous owner never told
anyone to leave The publics activity had been continuous
from 1900 until the time of trial The new owner had full
knowledge of the public use and city maintenance
The Santa Cruz Superior Court ruled that Gion was the
owner in fee of the property but his title was subject to
an easement in the City of Santa Cruz The Court based their
finding on several facts The publ~c had used the land
for an excess of five years The city had exercised
continued and uninterrupted dominion and control over the
property for a time in excess of five years In addition
Gion knew both of these facts when he bought the property
All of the conditions for an easement by prescription were
thus fulfilled
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
7
than other property This is an important fact in a study
of acquisition for a coastal trail
Coastal property has stood out as a special type of
property since early times In AD 530 Justinian I a
Roman wrote The public use of the seashore as of the sea
itself is part of the law of natiollts consequently everyone
is free to build a cottage upon it for purposes of retreat
as well as to dry his nets and haul them up from the sea
But they cannot be said to belong to anyone as private property bull
The seashore is still treated specially In current
California law private property terminates at the mean high
tide mark1 unless a grant from the state specifies otherwise
the tidelands belong to the public Even if the state deeds
the tidelands to individuals the people retain the right of
public use for navigation and commerce This tideland trust
has its historical roots in the treaty which ceded California
to the United States--the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo This
treaty placed all of the states tidelands under a public
trust Not only does the public hold a trust on these lands
but access to the tidelands is guaranteed in the California
Constitution article XV section 2 It reads No individual
partnership or corporation claiming or possessing the frontage
or tidal lands of a harbor bay inlet estuary or other navigable
water in this state shall be permitted to exclude the right of
way to such water whenever it is required for some public
purpose nor to destroy or obstruct the free navigation of
8
such water This public right in private property reflects
the motive stated so eloquently by Eivind Berggrav above The
public owns the land between the high and low tide marks and
has the right to gain access to those lands whenever it is
required for any public purpose
We see that legally there is a tradition of some limited
public rights to the seashore Not everyone is enthusiastic
about sharing private rights in property with the public
The particular shoreline dealt with in this paper is the
shoreline in northern Santa Cruz County--from Santa Cruz
north to Ano Nuevo Some of the people along this coast
the landowners whose property a coastai trail would cross
are reserved about the public use of the land
The landowners with whom I talked would argue that there
is indeed a certain amount of defineable essence in the concept
of property Man has a need for territory--a place to call
his own in private peace Those whose families have lived
on the coast for generations feel a responsibility to preserve
the land handed down to them They say and this is often
true that those who rent property or who are traveling over
property do not show the same care feeling~ of responsibility
and labor that longtime property owners show The landowners
did admit that not all property owners were as careful as they
could be but the institution of private property held more
potential in their judgment for preserving and treating land
carefully than public institutions or parks
9
With regard to sharing their land with the public some
of the landowners feel that if a group of people asked to
camp on their land they would allow it But to have
people wandering over their property as it it were a public
forest would be offensive--as if someone were walking a~ound
in an urban residents backyard There is an exception to
this Many landowners along the north coast have no objection
to public use of their beaches The main reason for the
exclusionary feelings of one couple is the inconsiderate
behavior on the part of the hikers in wilderness areas This
couple tries very hard to preserve their land yet visitors
still leave the scars of campsites andrestless wandering on
the property
There is another side to the landowners arguments
When they speak of mans need for territory they do not
consider the city dwellers with small yards around their
homes or no yards at all If one family has the right to
enjoy land left in its natural state might that not
necessarily imply that all families have the right to such
enjoyment
Some private landowners do feel great responsibility
for their property and this is commendable But the
system of private property tends to build a shield around
the landowners activities on their land While some people
take special care of their treasured property other people
may be tempted to exploit the land dump their garbage on it
10
and not be concerned about future owners This temptation
for irresponsibility is similar to the behavior of visiting
campers and hikers noted in the interview with the landowner-shy
a lack of concern for the people who will corne by tomrnorrow or
next year In such cases neither public nor private ownership
is a guarantee of quality care
Some public uses of land are accepted by private landowners
A highway is a public use of land that is generally accepted
by the owners of land dissected by the highway Because of
the similarity between a trail and a road it is possible that
the concept of a trail could be more readily accepted by
landowners than other types of public intrusion If a road
or highway were to be planned and built by the state most
landowners would not object The straightening of Highway
One that occurred twenty years ago is an example of this
It seems to be an accepted right of the state to build roads
and a need of the general public to have roads How large
is the difference between a path for automobile traffic and
a path for bicycles or those on foot
Economically this difference is real at the present
time Public roads provide access to proper~y and thereby
increase property value Trails do not benefit landowners
in this way However as the recognized value of trails
for slow recreational travel approaches that of highways for
faster forms of travel the difference to a landowner between
a road and trail over his property will diminish
11
On the north coast of Santa Cruz County are landowners
who treasure the exclusiveness of their property There are
laws in the state of California that ensure the publics
right to gain access to tidelands whenever it is required for
any public purpose Now there are people who desire to
to create a trail along the coast so that more people can
enjoy its special abundance of beauty
If such a trail is to exist it must be planned in a way
that will receive the acceptance of the landowner Once
again social thought is important to this plan The very
fact that a right of way can potentially be obtained
reflects a growing desire for public contact with coastal land
even when that land is privately owned The methods by which
a central California coastal trail can be acquired will
depend upon the current thought of the population landowners
and court
A pleasing method of acquisition would be for the landowner
to donate or sell an easement for a right of way but fears
exist to prevent this Landowners fear liability for injuries
sustained on their property public abuse and misuse of their
property and loss of privacy These fears 9an be intelligently
dealt with during the process of negotiating for rights of
way If this is done and the owner is willing to donate or
sell an easement the costs of other methods of acquisition
can be avoided
Court decisions for liability against landowners often
receive much publicity These cases often deal with recreationists
who have paid to use the property California Civil Code 846
12
states that the landowner owes no duty of care--responsibility
for safety--to those who do not pay to participate in recreational
uses of his land In 1968 the Supreme Court of California
decided in Rowland v Christian that landowners are liable
for injuries sustained by those using the recreation on their
land free of charge In other words the court erased the
distinction between duty of care owed to paying and nonpaying
users In 1970 however the Legislature reacted to reenforce
these distinctions One of the laws enacted at this time
Government Code 8314 gives immunity to a public agency to
any injury occuring on a trail or on an unimproved road used
for access to certain recreational activities The grantor
of the easement is also given immunity This means that when
~ a property owner donates an easement to a public agency or public
employee neither is liable for injury if the easement is either
unimproved or properly designed and maintained
Another new law Civil Code Section 846 limits the
liability of landowners when their land is used for certain
recreational purposes including hiking and riding This
section does not protect them from duty of care owed to paying
users invited guests or from the liability for a willful or
malicious failure to warn against danger
Although these laws offer some protection they are unknown
to many landowners In an effort to escape liability landowners
have tried waivers and contracts to release them from liability
but these methods have not stood up in court Landowners
should be aware of the protection provided by law and of the
13
benefits of liability insurance If the easement is
dedicated to a public entity then it becomes the public
entitys responsibility to maintain the premises Once
the landowners are aware of the laws and the protection of
dedicating an easement to a public entity their fear should
be calmed
Landowners also worry about damages done by the public
to their property and they are concerned over their loss
of privacy There are several solutions to these problems
Where access crosses near to development the public access
can be hidden in a gully or ravine or separated by a barrier
of shrubs or trees On longer segments of trail where landshy
owners fear maintenance costs a trail patrolman such as the
r one at Castle Rock State Park could watch the area
Maintenance of the area would probably be less expensive
than complete prevention of disturbance Small segments of
the trail could be given to individuals or groups to maintain
In Switzerland this is done quite effectively Footpaths
are determined and maintained by district branches of the
Swiss Footpath Protection Agency Each district has exclusive
supervision over its footpaths Each path is examined and
kept in repair periodically
Solutions like these can be presented to the landowners
when discussing acquisition The landowners may have
suggestions as to methods of teaching the users of the
trail careful treatment of the valuable assets of natural land
14
The owner should be encouraged to dedicate the property
Even if he is willing to sell the right of way this can be
much more harmonious than court trials or eminant domain
proceedings If the owner will not sell or dedicate the
right of way the other solutions are possible
A knowledge opound the variety of means to attain public
rights in property is necessary The set of rights that make
up property rights are not tied up in an inseparable bundle
A few of these rights may be purchased as easily as the
entire bundle Someone may want to buy the right to cross
over another persons property A community may buy the
development rights to someone s land cThis would mean that
the landowner retains the right to cross his property to
visit it or sell it and he also retains other privileges of
ownership Only the community though has the right to
develop the property Purchases of one or a few rights are
called easements Easements are generally cheaper than
purchase of what is called fee simple absolute--full purchase
of the bundle of rights involved in owning property The
cost of an easement depends upon the depression in land value
that results from selling the rights In urban areas where
the value of land is virtually its development potential
easements to restrict development can be as expensive as fee
simple absolute
In California easements are becoming a valuable aid
in obtaining and retaining land rights for recreational
15
activities The types of useful easements vary from
government purchase to implied dedication of beach areas
Governments have the right to acquire these interests in
land as long as the purpose of the acquisition is public
welfare Recreation is now considered to be public welfare
At one time there was debaLd ~oncerning the domain of the
term public welfare Just what does this term include
The California Legislature passed the Open Space Act in 1959
This act broadened the idea of public welfare to include open
spaces and areas for public enjoymentS Open space according
to the legislature is an area with natural beauty or an area
with some quality--openness natural state or present use-shy
that if retained would increase the value of neighboring
urban development or be a valuable part of conserved scenic 6 or natural resources
This definition was further redefined to specifically
include recreation in the Open Space Easement Act of 1967
This act enabled California cities and counties to acquire
easements on land for open space within their jurisdictions
Preservation of open space resulting from these easements
must he consistent with the general plan and must be in
the best interest of the jurisdiction The publics enjoyment
of beauty and recreation the use of resources or the production
of food or fiber must be of major importance in the area
If money is available for the creation of a trail
purchasing a right of way easement is often the best way to
16
obtain the right of public use of the trail If money is
limited and the trail has already had public use for five
or more consecutive years another type of easement may be
applicable called easement by prescription
Easements created by prescription are created by
regular open use of someones property for five consecutive
years before the claim is made The use must be actual and
beneficial to the person claiming the easement The use
must be consistent during the period 7
Originally an easement by prescription was based upon
the presumption that the right had been granted but that
the grant had been lost and generallyit may be acquired by
the exclusive and uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the
~ right for a period of time analogous to the time sufficient
to acquire title by adverse possession uS
The attainment of easements by prescription is not
limited to private individuals The residents of a town or
city as a corporate identity can claim prescriptive easements
When a city or town does this it must prove its rights by
past record of regulation and control over the land upon which
an easement is claimed 9 It is in this ability of a
municipality to obtain easements by prescription that the
value of this method of acquisition lies
This use of easements for recreational purposes is
demonstrated in the case Gion v city of Santa Cruz (2 C3d 29)
The case dealt with three parcels of shore land Each lot
17
had a raised protion adjacent to a public road Cars had
been parking in these areas for sixty years Exclusive of an
old road bed the area had only been used for public pleasure
although it had been privately owned since 1880
The city had done maintenance in the area They pilled
in holes and placed riprap in weak areas They installed
an emergency alarm system School children planted iceplant
the city paved the parking lot and the sanitation department
maintained trash receptacles and cleaned after busy weekends
This maintenance activity was important to the citys claim
for an easement
The public had freely used the area to fish swim
picnic and watch the ocean The previous owner never told
anyone to leave The publics activity had been continuous
from 1900 until the time of trial The new owner had full
knowledge of the public use and city maintenance
The Santa Cruz Superior Court ruled that Gion was the
owner in fee of the property but his title was subject to
an easement in the City of Santa Cruz The Court based their
finding on several facts The publ~c had used the land
for an excess of five years The city had exercised
continued and uninterrupted dominion and control over the
property for a time in excess of five years In addition
Gion knew both of these facts when he bought the property
All of the conditions for an easement by prescription were
thus fulfilled
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
8
such water This public right in private property reflects
the motive stated so eloquently by Eivind Berggrav above The
public owns the land between the high and low tide marks and
has the right to gain access to those lands whenever it is
required for any public purpose
We see that legally there is a tradition of some limited
public rights to the seashore Not everyone is enthusiastic
about sharing private rights in property with the public
The particular shoreline dealt with in this paper is the
shoreline in northern Santa Cruz County--from Santa Cruz
north to Ano Nuevo Some of the people along this coast
the landowners whose property a coastai trail would cross
are reserved about the public use of the land
The landowners with whom I talked would argue that there
is indeed a certain amount of defineable essence in the concept
of property Man has a need for territory--a place to call
his own in private peace Those whose families have lived
on the coast for generations feel a responsibility to preserve
the land handed down to them They say and this is often
true that those who rent property or who are traveling over
property do not show the same care feeling~ of responsibility
and labor that longtime property owners show The landowners
did admit that not all property owners were as careful as they
could be but the institution of private property held more
potential in their judgment for preserving and treating land
carefully than public institutions or parks
9
With regard to sharing their land with the public some
of the landowners feel that if a group of people asked to
camp on their land they would allow it But to have
people wandering over their property as it it were a public
forest would be offensive--as if someone were walking a~ound
in an urban residents backyard There is an exception to
this Many landowners along the north coast have no objection
to public use of their beaches The main reason for the
exclusionary feelings of one couple is the inconsiderate
behavior on the part of the hikers in wilderness areas This
couple tries very hard to preserve their land yet visitors
still leave the scars of campsites andrestless wandering on
the property
There is another side to the landowners arguments
When they speak of mans need for territory they do not
consider the city dwellers with small yards around their
homes or no yards at all If one family has the right to
enjoy land left in its natural state might that not
necessarily imply that all families have the right to such
enjoyment
Some private landowners do feel great responsibility
for their property and this is commendable But the
system of private property tends to build a shield around
the landowners activities on their land While some people
take special care of their treasured property other people
may be tempted to exploit the land dump their garbage on it
10
and not be concerned about future owners This temptation
for irresponsibility is similar to the behavior of visiting
campers and hikers noted in the interview with the landowner-shy
a lack of concern for the people who will corne by tomrnorrow or
next year In such cases neither public nor private ownership
is a guarantee of quality care
Some public uses of land are accepted by private landowners
A highway is a public use of land that is generally accepted
by the owners of land dissected by the highway Because of
the similarity between a trail and a road it is possible that
the concept of a trail could be more readily accepted by
landowners than other types of public intrusion If a road
or highway were to be planned and built by the state most
landowners would not object The straightening of Highway
One that occurred twenty years ago is an example of this
It seems to be an accepted right of the state to build roads
and a need of the general public to have roads How large
is the difference between a path for automobile traffic and
a path for bicycles or those on foot
Economically this difference is real at the present
time Public roads provide access to proper~y and thereby
increase property value Trails do not benefit landowners
in this way However as the recognized value of trails
for slow recreational travel approaches that of highways for
faster forms of travel the difference to a landowner between
a road and trail over his property will diminish
11
On the north coast of Santa Cruz County are landowners
who treasure the exclusiveness of their property There are
laws in the state of California that ensure the publics
right to gain access to tidelands whenever it is required for
any public purpose Now there are people who desire to
to create a trail along the coast so that more people can
enjoy its special abundance of beauty
If such a trail is to exist it must be planned in a way
that will receive the acceptance of the landowner Once
again social thought is important to this plan The very
fact that a right of way can potentially be obtained
reflects a growing desire for public contact with coastal land
even when that land is privately owned The methods by which
a central California coastal trail can be acquired will
depend upon the current thought of the population landowners
and court
A pleasing method of acquisition would be for the landowner
to donate or sell an easement for a right of way but fears
exist to prevent this Landowners fear liability for injuries
sustained on their property public abuse and misuse of their
property and loss of privacy These fears 9an be intelligently
dealt with during the process of negotiating for rights of
way If this is done and the owner is willing to donate or
sell an easement the costs of other methods of acquisition
can be avoided
Court decisions for liability against landowners often
receive much publicity These cases often deal with recreationists
who have paid to use the property California Civil Code 846
12
states that the landowner owes no duty of care--responsibility
for safety--to those who do not pay to participate in recreational
uses of his land In 1968 the Supreme Court of California
decided in Rowland v Christian that landowners are liable
for injuries sustained by those using the recreation on their
land free of charge In other words the court erased the
distinction between duty of care owed to paying and nonpaying
users In 1970 however the Legislature reacted to reenforce
these distinctions One of the laws enacted at this time
Government Code 8314 gives immunity to a public agency to
any injury occuring on a trail or on an unimproved road used
for access to certain recreational activities The grantor
of the easement is also given immunity This means that when
~ a property owner donates an easement to a public agency or public
employee neither is liable for injury if the easement is either
unimproved or properly designed and maintained
Another new law Civil Code Section 846 limits the
liability of landowners when their land is used for certain
recreational purposes including hiking and riding This
section does not protect them from duty of care owed to paying
users invited guests or from the liability for a willful or
malicious failure to warn against danger
Although these laws offer some protection they are unknown
to many landowners In an effort to escape liability landowners
have tried waivers and contracts to release them from liability
but these methods have not stood up in court Landowners
should be aware of the protection provided by law and of the
13
benefits of liability insurance If the easement is
dedicated to a public entity then it becomes the public
entitys responsibility to maintain the premises Once
the landowners are aware of the laws and the protection of
dedicating an easement to a public entity their fear should
be calmed
Landowners also worry about damages done by the public
to their property and they are concerned over their loss
of privacy There are several solutions to these problems
Where access crosses near to development the public access
can be hidden in a gully or ravine or separated by a barrier
of shrubs or trees On longer segments of trail where landshy
owners fear maintenance costs a trail patrolman such as the
r one at Castle Rock State Park could watch the area
Maintenance of the area would probably be less expensive
than complete prevention of disturbance Small segments of
the trail could be given to individuals or groups to maintain
In Switzerland this is done quite effectively Footpaths
are determined and maintained by district branches of the
Swiss Footpath Protection Agency Each district has exclusive
supervision over its footpaths Each path is examined and
kept in repair periodically
Solutions like these can be presented to the landowners
when discussing acquisition The landowners may have
suggestions as to methods of teaching the users of the
trail careful treatment of the valuable assets of natural land
14
The owner should be encouraged to dedicate the property
Even if he is willing to sell the right of way this can be
much more harmonious than court trials or eminant domain
proceedings If the owner will not sell or dedicate the
right of way the other solutions are possible
A knowledge opound the variety of means to attain public
rights in property is necessary The set of rights that make
up property rights are not tied up in an inseparable bundle
A few of these rights may be purchased as easily as the
entire bundle Someone may want to buy the right to cross
over another persons property A community may buy the
development rights to someone s land cThis would mean that
the landowner retains the right to cross his property to
visit it or sell it and he also retains other privileges of
ownership Only the community though has the right to
develop the property Purchases of one or a few rights are
called easements Easements are generally cheaper than
purchase of what is called fee simple absolute--full purchase
of the bundle of rights involved in owning property The
cost of an easement depends upon the depression in land value
that results from selling the rights In urban areas where
the value of land is virtually its development potential
easements to restrict development can be as expensive as fee
simple absolute
In California easements are becoming a valuable aid
in obtaining and retaining land rights for recreational
15
activities The types of useful easements vary from
government purchase to implied dedication of beach areas
Governments have the right to acquire these interests in
land as long as the purpose of the acquisition is public
welfare Recreation is now considered to be public welfare
At one time there was debaLd ~oncerning the domain of the
term public welfare Just what does this term include
The California Legislature passed the Open Space Act in 1959
This act broadened the idea of public welfare to include open
spaces and areas for public enjoymentS Open space according
to the legislature is an area with natural beauty or an area
with some quality--openness natural state or present use-shy
that if retained would increase the value of neighboring
urban development or be a valuable part of conserved scenic 6 or natural resources
This definition was further redefined to specifically
include recreation in the Open Space Easement Act of 1967
This act enabled California cities and counties to acquire
easements on land for open space within their jurisdictions
Preservation of open space resulting from these easements
must he consistent with the general plan and must be in
the best interest of the jurisdiction The publics enjoyment
of beauty and recreation the use of resources or the production
of food or fiber must be of major importance in the area
If money is available for the creation of a trail
purchasing a right of way easement is often the best way to
16
obtain the right of public use of the trail If money is
limited and the trail has already had public use for five
or more consecutive years another type of easement may be
applicable called easement by prescription
Easements created by prescription are created by
regular open use of someones property for five consecutive
years before the claim is made The use must be actual and
beneficial to the person claiming the easement The use
must be consistent during the period 7
Originally an easement by prescription was based upon
the presumption that the right had been granted but that
the grant had been lost and generallyit may be acquired by
the exclusive and uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the
~ right for a period of time analogous to the time sufficient
to acquire title by adverse possession uS
The attainment of easements by prescription is not
limited to private individuals The residents of a town or
city as a corporate identity can claim prescriptive easements
When a city or town does this it must prove its rights by
past record of regulation and control over the land upon which
an easement is claimed 9 It is in this ability of a
municipality to obtain easements by prescription that the
value of this method of acquisition lies
This use of easements for recreational purposes is
demonstrated in the case Gion v city of Santa Cruz (2 C3d 29)
The case dealt with three parcels of shore land Each lot
17
had a raised protion adjacent to a public road Cars had
been parking in these areas for sixty years Exclusive of an
old road bed the area had only been used for public pleasure
although it had been privately owned since 1880
The city had done maintenance in the area They pilled
in holes and placed riprap in weak areas They installed
an emergency alarm system School children planted iceplant
the city paved the parking lot and the sanitation department
maintained trash receptacles and cleaned after busy weekends
This maintenance activity was important to the citys claim
for an easement
The public had freely used the area to fish swim
picnic and watch the ocean The previous owner never told
anyone to leave The publics activity had been continuous
from 1900 until the time of trial The new owner had full
knowledge of the public use and city maintenance
The Santa Cruz Superior Court ruled that Gion was the
owner in fee of the property but his title was subject to
an easement in the City of Santa Cruz The Court based their
finding on several facts The publ~c had used the land
for an excess of five years The city had exercised
continued and uninterrupted dominion and control over the
property for a time in excess of five years In addition
Gion knew both of these facts when he bought the property
All of the conditions for an easement by prescription were
thus fulfilled
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
9
With regard to sharing their land with the public some
of the landowners feel that if a group of people asked to
camp on their land they would allow it But to have
people wandering over their property as it it were a public
forest would be offensive--as if someone were walking a~ound
in an urban residents backyard There is an exception to
this Many landowners along the north coast have no objection
to public use of their beaches The main reason for the
exclusionary feelings of one couple is the inconsiderate
behavior on the part of the hikers in wilderness areas This
couple tries very hard to preserve their land yet visitors
still leave the scars of campsites andrestless wandering on
the property
There is another side to the landowners arguments
When they speak of mans need for territory they do not
consider the city dwellers with small yards around their
homes or no yards at all If one family has the right to
enjoy land left in its natural state might that not
necessarily imply that all families have the right to such
enjoyment
Some private landowners do feel great responsibility
for their property and this is commendable But the
system of private property tends to build a shield around
the landowners activities on their land While some people
take special care of their treasured property other people
may be tempted to exploit the land dump their garbage on it
10
and not be concerned about future owners This temptation
for irresponsibility is similar to the behavior of visiting
campers and hikers noted in the interview with the landowner-shy
a lack of concern for the people who will corne by tomrnorrow or
next year In such cases neither public nor private ownership
is a guarantee of quality care
Some public uses of land are accepted by private landowners
A highway is a public use of land that is generally accepted
by the owners of land dissected by the highway Because of
the similarity between a trail and a road it is possible that
the concept of a trail could be more readily accepted by
landowners than other types of public intrusion If a road
or highway were to be planned and built by the state most
landowners would not object The straightening of Highway
One that occurred twenty years ago is an example of this
It seems to be an accepted right of the state to build roads
and a need of the general public to have roads How large
is the difference between a path for automobile traffic and
a path for bicycles or those on foot
Economically this difference is real at the present
time Public roads provide access to proper~y and thereby
increase property value Trails do not benefit landowners
in this way However as the recognized value of trails
for slow recreational travel approaches that of highways for
faster forms of travel the difference to a landowner between
a road and trail over his property will diminish
11
On the north coast of Santa Cruz County are landowners
who treasure the exclusiveness of their property There are
laws in the state of California that ensure the publics
right to gain access to tidelands whenever it is required for
any public purpose Now there are people who desire to
to create a trail along the coast so that more people can
enjoy its special abundance of beauty
If such a trail is to exist it must be planned in a way
that will receive the acceptance of the landowner Once
again social thought is important to this plan The very
fact that a right of way can potentially be obtained
reflects a growing desire for public contact with coastal land
even when that land is privately owned The methods by which
a central California coastal trail can be acquired will
depend upon the current thought of the population landowners
and court
A pleasing method of acquisition would be for the landowner
to donate or sell an easement for a right of way but fears
exist to prevent this Landowners fear liability for injuries
sustained on their property public abuse and misuse of their
property and loss of privacy These fears 9an be intelligently
dealt with during the process of negotiating for rights of
way If this is done and the owner is willing to donate or
sell an easement the costs of other methods of acquisition
can be avoided
Court decisions for liability against landowners often
receive much publicity These cases often deal with recreationists
who have paid to use the property California Civil Code 846
12
states that the landowner owes no duty of care--responsibility
for safety--to those who do not pay to participate in recreational
uses of his land In 1968 the Supreme Court of California
decided in Rowland v Christian that landowners are liable
for injuries sustained by those using the recreation on their
land free of charge In other words the court erased the
distinction between duty of care owed to paying and nonpaying
users In 1970 however the Legislature reacted to reenforce
these distinctions One of the laws enacted at this time
Government Code 8314 gives immunity to a public agency to
any injury occuring on a trail or on an unimproved road used
for access to certain recreational activities The grantor
of the easement is also given immunity This means that when
~ a property owner donates an easement to a public agency or public
employee neither is liable for injury if the easement is either
unimproved or properly designed and maintained
Another new law Civil Code Section 846 limits the
liability of landowners when their land is used for certain
recreational purposes including hiking and riding This
section does not protect them from duty of care owed to paying
users invited guests or from the liability for a willful or
malicious failure to warn against danger
Although these laws offer some protection they are unknown
to many landowners In an effort to escape liability landowners
have tried waivers and contracts to release them from liability
but these methods have not stood up in court Landowners
should be aware of the protection provided by law and of the
13
benefits of liability insurance If the easement is
dedicated to a public entity then it becomes the public
entitys responsibility to maintain the premises Once
the landowners are aware of the laws and the protection of
dedicating an easement to a public entity their fear should
be calmed
Landowners also worry about damages done by the public
to their property and they are concerned over their loss
of privacy There are several solutions to these problems
Where access crosses near to development the public access
can be hidden in a gully or ravine or separated by a barrier
of shrubs or trees On longer segments of trail where landshy
owners fear maintenance costs a trail patrolman such as the
r one at Castle Rock State Park could watch the area
Maintenance of the area would probably be less expensive
than complete prevention of disturbance Small segments of
the trail could be given to individuals or groups to maintain
In Switzerland this is done quite effectively Footpaths
are determined and maintained by district branches of the
Swiss Footpath Protection Agency Each district has exclusive
supervision over its footpaths Each path is examined and
kept in repair periodically
Solutions like these can be presented to the landowners
when discussing acquisition The landowners may have
suggestions as to methods of teaching the users of the
trail careful treatment of the valuable assets of natural land
14
The owner should be encouraged to dedicate the property
Even if he is willing to sell the right of way this can be
much more harmonious than court trials or eminant domain
proceedings If the owner will not sell or dedicate the
right of way the other solutions are possible
A knowledge opound the variety of means to attain public
rights in property is necessary The set of rights that make
up property rights are not tied up in an inseparable bundle
A few of these rights may be purchased as easily as the
entire bundle Someone may want to buy the right to cross
over another persons property A community may buy the
development rights to someone s land cThis would mean that
the landowner retains the right to cross his property to
visit it or sell it and he also retains other privileges of
ownership Only the community though has the right to
develop the property Purchases of one or a few rights are
called easements Easements are generally cheaper than
purchase of what is called fee simple absolute--full purchase
of the bundle of rights involved in owning property The
cost of an easement depends upon the depression in land value
that results from selling the rights In urban areas where
the value of land is virtually its development potential
easements to restrict development can be as expensive as fee
simple absolute
In California easements are becoming a valuable aid
in obtaining and retaining land rights for recreational
15
activities The types of useful easements vary from
government purchase to implied dedication of beach areas
Governments have the right to acquire these interests in
land as long as the purpose of the acquisition is public
welfare Recreation is now considered to be public welfare
At one time there was debaLd ~oncerning the domain of the
term public welfare Just what does this term include
The California Legislature passed the Open Space Act in 1959
This act broadened the idea of public welfare to include open
spaces and areas for public enjoymentS Open space according
to the legislature is an area with natural beauty or an area
with some quality--openness natural state or present use-shy
that if retained would increase the value of neighboring
urban development or be a valuable part of conserved scenic 6 or natural resources
This definition was further redefined to specifically
include recreation in the Open Space Easement Act of 1967
This act enabled California cities and counties to acquire
easements on land for open space within their jurisdictions
Preservation of open space resulting from these easements
must he consistent with the general plan and must be in
the best interest of the jurisdiction The publics enjoyment
of beauty and recreation the use of resources or the production
of food or fiber must be of major importance in the area
If money is available for the creation of a trail
purchasing a right of way easement is often the best way to
16
obtain the right of public use of the trail If money is
limited and the trail has already had public use for five
or more consecutive years another type of easement may be
applicable called easement by prescription
Easements created by prescription are created by
regular open use of someones property for five consecutive
years before the claim is made The use must be actual and
beneficial to the person claiming the easement The use
must be consistent during the period 7
Originally an easement by prescription was based upon
the presumption that the right had been granted but that
the grant had been lost and generallyit may be acquired by
the exclusive and uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the
~ right for a period of time analogous to the time sufficient
to acquire title by adverse possession uS
The attainment of easements by prescription is not
limited to private individuals The residents of a town or
city as a corporate identity can claim prescriptive easements
When a city or town does this it must prove its rights by
past record of regulation and control over the land upon which
an easement is claimed 9 It is in this ability of a
municipality to obtain easements by prescription that the
value of this method of acquisition lies
This use of easements for recreational purposes is
demonstrated in the case Gion v city of Santa Cruz (2 C3d 29)
The case dealt with three parcels of shore land Each lot
17
had a raised protion adjacent to a public road Cars had
been parking in these areas for sixty years Exclusive of an
old road bed the area had only been used for public pleasure
although it had been privately owned since 1880
The city had done maintenance in the area They pilled
in holes and placed riprap in weak areas They installed
an emergency alarm system School children planted iceplant
the city paved the parking lot and the sanitation department
maintained trash receptacles and cleaned after busy weekends
This maintenance activity was important to the citys claim
for an easement
The public had freely used the area to fish swim
picnic and watch the ocean The previous owner never told
anyone to leave The publics activity had been continuous
from 1900 until the time of trial The new owner had full
knowledge of the public use and city maintenance
The Santa Cruz Superior Court ruled that Gion was the
owner in fee of the property but his title was subject to
an easement in the City of Santa Cruz The Court based their
finding on several facts The publ~c had used the land
for an excess of five years The city had exercised
continued and uninterrupted dominion and control over the
property for a time in excess of five years In addition
Gion knew both of these facts when he bought the property
All of the conditions for an easement by prescription were
thus fulfilled
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
10
and not be concerned about future owners This temptation
for irresponsibility is similar to the behavior of visiting
campers and hikers noted in the interview with the landowner-shy
a lack of concern for the people who will corne by tomrnorrow or
next year In such cases neither public nor private ownership
is a guarantee of quality care
Some public uses of land are accepted by private landowners
A highway is a public use of land that is generally accepted
by the owners of land dissected by the highway Because of
the similarity between a trail and a road it is possible that
the concept of a trail could be more readily accepted by
landowners than other types of public intrusion If a road
or highway were to be planned and built by the state most
landowners would not object The straightening of Highway
One that occurred twenty years ago is an example of this
It seems to be an accepted right of the state to build roads
and a need of the general public to have roads How large
is the difference between a path for automobile traffic and
a path for bicycles or those on foot
Economically this difference is real at the present
time Public roads provide access to proper~y and thereby
increase property value Trails do not benefit landowners
in this way However as the recognized value of trails
for slow recreational travel approaches that of highways for
faster forms of travel the difference to a landowner between
a road and trail over his property will diminish
11
On the north coast of Santa Cruz County are landowners
who treasure the exclusiveness of their property There are
laws in the state of California that ensure the publics
right to gain access to tidelands whenever it is required for
any public purpose Now there are people who desire to
to create a trail along the coast so that more people can
enjoy its special abundance of beauty
If such a trail is to exist it must be planned in a way
that will receive the acceptance of the landowner Once
again social thought is important to this plan The very
fact that a right of way can potentially be obtained
reflects a growing desire for public contact with coastal land
even when that land is privately owned The methods by which
a central California coastal trail can be acquired will
depend upon the current thought of the population landowners
and court
A pleasing method of acquisition would be for the landowner
to donate or sell an easement for a right of way but fears
exist to prevent this Landowners fear liability for injuries
sustained on their property public abuse and misuse of their
property and loss of privacy These fears 9an be intelligently
dealt with during the process of negotiating for rights of
way If this is done and the owner is willing to donate or
sell an easement the costs of other methods of acquisition
can be avoided
Court decisions for liability against landowners often
receive much publicity These cases often deal with recreationists
who have paid to use the property California Civil Code 846
12
states that the landowner owes no duty of care--responsibility
for safety--to those who do not pay to participate in recreational
uses of his land In 1968 the Supreme Court of California
decided in Rowland v Christian that landowners are liable
for injuries sustained by those using the recreation on their
land free of charge In other words the court erased the
distinction between duty of care owed to paying and nonpaying
users In 1970 however the Legislature reacted to reenforce
these distinctions One of the laws enacted at this time
Government Code 8314 gives immunity to a public agency to
any injury occuring on a trail or on an unimproved road used
for access to certain recreational activities The grantor
of the easement is also given immunity This means that when
~ a property owner donates an easement to a public agency or public
employee neither is liable for injury if the easement is either
unimproved or properly designed and maintained
Another new law Civil Code Section 846 limits the
liability of landowners when their land is used for certain
recreational purposes including hiking and riding This
section does not protect them from duty of care owed to paying
users invited guests or from the liability for a willful or
malicious failure to warn against danger
Although these laws offer some protection they are unknown
to many landowners In an effort to escape liability landowners
have tried waivers and contracts to release them from liability
but these methods have not stood up in court Landowners
should be aware of the protection provided by law and of the
13
benefits of liability insurance If the easement is
dedicated to a public entity then it becomes the public
entitys responsibility to maintain the premises Once
the landowners are aware of the laws and the protection of
dedicating an easement to a public entity their fear should
be calmed
Landowners also worry about damages done by the public
to their property and they are concerned over their loss
of privacy There are several solutions to these problems
Where access crosses near to development the public access
can be hidden in a gully or ravine or separated by a barrier
of shrubs or trees On longer segments of trail where landshy
owners fear maintenance costs a trail patrolman such as the
r one at Castle Rock State Park could watch the area
Maintenance of the area would probably be less expensive
than complete prevention of disturbance Small segments of
the trail could be given to individuals or groups to maintain
In Switzerland this is done quite effectively Footpaths
are determined and maintained by district branches of the
Swiss Footpath Protection Agency Each district has exclusive
supervision over its footpaths Each path is examined and
kept in repair periodically
Solutions like these can be presented to the landowners
when discussing acquisition The landowners may have
suggestions as to methods of teaching the users of the
trail careful treatment of the valuable assets of natural land
14
The owner should be encouraged to dedicate the property
Even if he is willing to sell the right of way this can be
much more harmonious than court trials or eminant domain
proceedings If the owner will not sell or dedicate the
right of way the other solutions are possible
A knowledge opound the variety of means to attain public
rights in property is necessary The set of rights that make
up property rights are not tied up in an inseparable bundle
A few of these rights may be purchased as easily as the
entire bundle Someone may want to buy the right to cross
over another persons property A community may buy the
development rights to someone s land cThis would mean that
the landowner retains the right to cross his property to
visit it or sell it and he also retains other privileges of
ownership Only the community though has the right to
develop the property Purchases of one or a few rights are
called easements Easements are generally cheaper than
purchase of what is called fee simple absolute--full purchase
of the bundle of rights involved in owning property The
cost of an easement depends upon the depression in land value
that results from selling the rights In urban areas where
the value of land is virtually its development potential
easements to restrict development can be as expensive as fee
simple absolute
In California easements are becoming a valuable aid
in obtaining and retaining land rights for recreational
15
activities The types of useful easements vary from
government purchase to implied dedication of beach areas
Governments have the right to acquire these interests in
land as long as the purpose of the acquisition is public
welfare Recreation is now considered to be public welfare
At one time there was debaLd ~oncerning the domain of the
term public welfare Just what does this term include
The California Legislature passed the Open Space Act in 1959
This act broadened the idea of public welfare to include open
spaces and areas for public enjoymentS Open space according
to the legislature is an area with natural beauty or an area
with some quality--openness natural state or present use-shy
that if retained would increase the value of neighboring
urban development or be a valuable part of conserved scenic 6 or natural resources
This definition was further redefined to specifically
include recreation in the Open Space Easement Act of 1967
This act enabled California cities and counties to acquire
easements on land for open space within their jurisdictions
Preservation of open space resulting from these easements
must he consistent with the general plan and must be in
the best interest of the jurisdiction The publics enjoyment
of beauty and recreation the use of resources or the production
of food or fiber must be of major importance in the area
If money is available for the creation of a trail
purchasing a right of way easement is often the best way to
16
obtain the right of public use of the trail If money is
limited and the trail has already had public use for five
or more consecutive years another type of easement may be
applicable called easement by prescription
Easements created by prescription are created by
regular open use of someones property for five consecutive
years before the claim is made The use must be actual and
beneficial to the person claiming the easement The use
must be consistent during the period 7
Originally an easement by prescription was based upon
the presumption that the right had been granted but that
the grant had been lost and generallyit may be acquired by
the exclusive and uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the
~ right for a period of time analogous to the time sufficient
to acquire title by adverse possession uS
The attainment of easements by prescription is not
limited to private individuals The residents of a town or
city as a corporate identity can claim prescriptive easements
When a city or town does this it must prove its rights by
past record of regulation and control over the land upon which
an easement is claimed 9 It is in this ability of a
municipality to obtain easements by prescription that the
value of this method of acquisition lies
This use of easements for recreational purposes is
demonstrated in the case Gion v city of Santa Cruz (2 C3d 29)
The case dealt with three parcels of shore land Each lot
17
had a raised protion adjacent to a public road Cars had
been parking in these areas for sixty years Exclusive of an
old road bed the area had only been used for public pleasure
although it had been privately owned since 1880
The city had done maintenance in the area They pilled
in holes and placed riprap in weak areas They installed
an emergency alarm system School children planted iceplant
the city paved the parking lot and the sanitation department
maintained trash receptacles and cleaned after busy weekends
This maintenance activity was important to the citys claim
for an easement
The public had freely used the area to fish swim
picnic and watch the ocean The previous owner never told
anyone to leave The publics activity had been continuous
from 1900 until the time of trial The new owner had full
knowledge of the public use and city maintenance
The Santa Cruz Superior Court ruled that Gion was the
owner in fee of the property but his title was subject to
an easement in the City of Santa Cruz The Court based their
finding on several facts The publ~c had used the land
for an excess of five years The city had exercised
continued and uninterrupted dominion and control over the
property for a time in excess of five years In addition
Gion knew both of these facts when he bought the property
All of the conditions for an easement by prescription were
thus fulfilled
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
11
On the north coast of Santa Cruz County are landowners
who treasure the exclusiveness of their property There are
laws in the state of California that ensure the publics
right to gain access to tidelands whenever it is required for
any public purpose Now there are people who desire to
to create a trail along the coast so that more people can
enjoy its special abundance of beauty
If such a trail is to exist it must be planned in a way
that will receive the acceptance of the landowner Once
again social thought is important to this plan The very
fact that a right of way can potentially be obtained
reflects a growing desire for public contact with coastal land
even when that land is privately owned The methods by which
a central California coastal trail can be acquired will
depend upon the current thought of the population landowners
and court
A pleasing method of acquisition would be for the landowner
to donate or sell an easement for a right of way but fears
exist to prevent this Landowners fear liability for injuries
sustained on their property public abuse and misuse of their
property and loss of privacy These fears 9an be intelligently
dealt with during the process of negotiating for rights of
way If this is done and the owner is willing to donate or
sell an easement the costs of other methods of acquisition
can be avoided
Court decisions for liability against landowners often
receive much publicity These cases often deal with recreationists
who have paid to use the property California Civil Code 846
12
states that the landowner owes no duty of care--responsibility
for safety--to those who do not pay to participate in recreational
uses of his land In 1968 the Supreme Court of California
decided in Rowland v Christian that landowners are liable
for injuries sustained by those using the recreation on their
land free of charge In other words the court erased the
distinction between duty of care owed to paying and nonpaying
users In 1970 however the Legislature reacted to reenforce
these distinctions One of the laws enacted at this time
Government Code 8314 gives immunity to a public agency to
any injury occuring on a trail or on an unimproved road used
for access to certain recreational activities The grantor
of the easement is also given immunity This means that when
~ a property owner donates an easement to a public agency or public
employee neither is liable for injury if the easement is either
unimproved or properly designed and maintained
Another new law Civil Code Section 846 limits the
liability of landowners when their land is used for certain
recreational purposes including hiking and riding This
section does not protect them from duty of care owed to paying
users invited guests or from the liability for a willful or
malicious failure to warn against danger
Although these laws offer some protection they are unknown
to many landowners In an effort to escape liability landowners
have tried waivers and contracts to release them from liability
but these methods have not stood up in court Landowners
should be aware of the protection provided by law and of the
13
benefits of liability insurance If the easement is
dedicated to a public entity then it becomes the public
entitys responsibility to maintain the premises Once
the landowners are aware of the laws and the protection of
dedicating an easement to a public entity their fear should
be calmed
Landowners also worry about damages done by the public
to their property and they are concerned over their loss
of privacy There are several solutions to these problems
Where access crosses near to development the public access
can be hidden in a gully or ravine or separated by a barrier
of shrubs or trees On longer segments of trail where landshy
owners fear maintenance costs a trail patrolman such as the
r one at Castle Rock State Park could watch the area
Maintenance of the area would probably be less expensive
than complete prevention of disturbance Small segments of
the trail could be given to individuals or groups to maintain
In Switzerland this is done quite effectively Footpaths
are determined and maintained by district branches of the
Swiss Footpath Protection Agency Each district has exclusive
supervision over its footpaths Each path is examined and
kept in repair periodically
Solutions like these can be presented to the landowners
when discussing acquisition The landowners may have
suggestions as to methods of teaching the users of the
trail careful treatment of the valuable assets of natural land
14
The owner should be encouraged to dedicate the property
Even if he is willing to sell the right of way this can be
much more harmonious than court trials or eminant domain
proceedings If the owner will not sell or dedicate the
right of way the other solutions are possible
A knowledge opound the variety of means to attain public
rights in property is necessary The set of rights that make
up property rights are not tied up in an inseparable bundle
A few of these rights may be purchased as easily as the
entire bundle Someone may want to buy the right to cross
over another persons property A community may buy the
development rights to someone s land cThis would mean that
the landowner retains the right to cross his property to
visit it or sell it and he also retains other privileges of
ownership Only the community though has the right to
develop the property Purchases of one or a few rights are
called easements Easements are generally cheaper than
purchase of what is called fee simple absolute--full purchase
of the bundle of rights involved in owning property The
cost of an easement depends upon the depression in land value
that results from selling the rights In urban areas where
the value of land is virtually its development potential
easements to restrict development can be as expensive as fee
simple absolute
In California easements are becoming a valuable aid
in obtaining and retaining land rights for recreational
15
activities The types of useful easements vary from
government purchase to implied dedication of beach areas
Governments have the right to acquire these interests in
land as long as the purpose of the acquisition is public
welfare Recreation is now considered to be public welfare
At one time there was debaLd ~oncerning the domain of the
term public welfare Just what does this term include
The California Legislature passed the Open Space Act in 1959
This act broadened the idea of public welfare to include open
spaces and areas for public enjoymentS Open space according
to the legislature is an area with natural beauty or an area
with some quality--openness natural state or present use-shy
that if retained would increase the value of neighboring
urban development or be a valuable part of conserved scenic 6 or natural resources
This definition was further redefined to specifically
include recreation in the Open Space Easement Act of 1967
This act enabled California cities and counties to acquire
easements on land for open space within their jurisdictions
Preservation of open space resulting from these easements
must he consistent with the general plan and must be in
the best interest of the jurisdiction The publics enjoyment
of beauty and recreation the use of resources or the production
of food or fiber must be of major importance in the area
If money is available for the creation of a trail
purchasing a right of way easement is often the best way to
16
obtain the right of public use of the trail If money is
limited and the trail has already had public use for five
or more consecutive years another type of easement may be
applicable called easement by prescription
Easements created by prescription are created by
regular open use of someones property for five consecutive
years before the claim is made The use must be actual and
beneficial to the person claiming the easement The use
must be consistent during the period 7
Originally an easement by prescription was based upon
the presumption that the right had been granted but that
the grant had been lost and generallyit may be acquired by
the exclusive and uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the
~ right for a period of time analogous to the time sufficient
to acquire title by adverse possession uS
The attainment of easements by prescription is not
limited to private individuals The residents of a town or
city as a corporate identity can claim prescriptive easements
When a city or town does this it must prove its rights by
past record of regulation and control over the land upon which
an easement is claimed 9 It is in this ability of a
municipality to obtain easements by prescription that the
value of this method of acquisition lies
This use of easements for recreational purposes is
demonstrated in the case Gion v city of Santa Cruz (2 C3d 29)
The case dealt with three parcels of shore land Each lot
17
had a raised protion adjacent to a public road Cars had
been parking in these areas for sixty years Exclusive of an
old road bed the area had only been used for public pleasure
although it had been privately owned since 1880
The city had done maintenance in the area They pilled
in holes and placed riprap in weak areas They installed
an emergency alarm system School children planted iceplant
the city paved the parking lot and the sanitation department
maintained trash receptacles and cleaned after busy weekends
This maintenance activity was important to the citys claim
for an easement
The public had freely used the area to fish swim
picnic and watch the ocean The previous owner never told
anyone to leave The publics activity had been continuous
from 1900 until the time of trial The new owner had full
knowledge of the public use and city maintenance
The Santa Cruz Superior Court ruled that Gion was the
owner in fee of the property but his title was subject to
an easement in the City of Santa Cruz The Court based their
finding on several facts The publ~c had used the land
for an excess of five years The city had exercised
continued and uninterrupted dominion and control over the
property for a time in excess of five years In addition
Gion knew both of these facts when he bought the property
All of the conditions for an easement by prescription were
thus fulfilled
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
12
states that the landowner owes no duty of care--responsibility
for safety--to those who do not pay to participate in recreational
uses of his land In 1968 the Supreme Court of California
decided in Rowland v Christian that landowners are liable
for injuries sustained by those using the recreation on their
land free of charge In other words the court erased the
distinction between duty of care owed to paying and nonpaying
users In 1970 however the Legislature reacted to reenforce
these distinctions One of the laws enacted at this time
Government Code 8314 gives immunity to a public agency to
any injury occuring on a trail or on an unimproved road used
for access to certain recreational activities The grantor
of the easement is also given immunity This means that when
~ a property owner donates an easement to a public agency or public
employee neither is liable for injury if the easement is either
unimproved or properly designed and maintained
Another new law Civil Code Section 846 limits the
liability of landowners when their land is used for certain
recreational purposes including hiking and riding This
section does not protect them from duty of care owed to paying
users invited guests or from the liability for a willful or
malicious failure to warn against danger
Although these laws offer some protection they are unknown
to many landowners In an effort to escape liability landowners
have tried waivers and contracts to release them from liability
but these methods have not stood up in court Landowners
should be aware of the protection provided by law and of the
13
benefits of liability insurance If the easement is
dedicated to a public entity then it becomes the public
entitys responsibility to maintain the premises Once
the landowners are aware of the laws and the protection of
dedicating an easement to a public entity their fear should
be calmed
Landowners also worry about damages done by the public
to their property and they are concerned over their loss
of privacy There are several solutions to these problems
Where access crosses near to development the public access
can be hidden in a gully or ravine or separated by a barrier
of shrubs or trees On longer segments of trail where landshy
owners fear maintenance costs a trail patrolman such as the
r one at Castle Rock State Park could watch the area
Maintenance of the area would probably be less expensive
than complete prevention of disturbance Small segments of
the trail could be given to individuals or groups to maintain
In Switzerland this is done quite effectively Footpaths
are determined and maintained by district branches of the
Swiss Footpath Protection Agency Each district has exclusive
supervision over its footpaths Each path is examined and
kept in repair periodically
Solutions like these can be presented to the landowners
when discussing acquisition The landowners may have
suggestions as to methods of teaching the users of the
trail careful treatment of the valuable assets of natural land
14
The owner should be encouraged to dedicate the property
Even if he is willing to sell the right of way this can be
much more harmonious than court trials or eminant domain
proceedings If the owner will not sell or dedicate the
right of way the other solutions are possible
A knowledge opound the variety of means to attain public
rights in property is necessary The set of rights that make
up property rights are not tied up in an inseparable bundle
A few of these rights may be purchased as easily as the
entire bundle Someone may want to buy the right to cross
over another persons property A community may buy the
development rights to someone s land cThis would mean that
the landowner retains the right to cross his property to
visit it or sell it and he also retains other privileges of
ownership Only the community though has the right to
develop the property Purchases of one or a few rights are
called easements Easements are generally cheaper than
purchase of what is called fee simple absolute--full purchase
of the bundle of rights involved in owning property The
cost of an easement depends upon the depression in land value
that results from selling the rights In urban areas where
the value of land is virtually its development potential
easements to restrict development can be as expensive as fee
simple absolute
In California easements are becoming a valuable aid
in obtaining and retaining land rights for recreational
15
activities The types of useful easements vary from
government purchase to implied dedication of beach areas
Governments have the right to acquire these interests in
land as long as the purpose of the acquisition is public
welfare Recreation is now considered to be public welfare
At one time there was debaLd ~oncerning the domain of the
term public welfare Just what does this term include
The California Legislature passed the Open Space Act in 1959
This act broadened the idea of public welfare to include open
spaces and areas for public enjoymentS Open space according
to the legislature is an area with natural beauty or an area
with some quality--openness natural state or present use-shy
that if retained would increase the value of neighboring
urban development or be a valuable part of conserved scenic 6 or natural resources
This definition was further redefined to specifically
include recreation in the Open Space Easement Act of 1967
This act enabled California cities and counties to acquire
easements on land for open space within their jurisdictions
Preservation of open space resulting from these easements
must he consistent with the general plan and must be in
the best interest of the jurisdiction The publics enjoyment
of beauty and recreation the use of resources or the production
of food or fiber must be of major importance in the area
If money is available for the creation of a trail
purchasing a right of way easement is often the best way to
16
obtain the right of public use of the trail If money is
limited and the trail has already had public use for five
or more consecutive years another type of easement may be
applicable called easement by prescription
Easements created by prescription are created by
regular open use of someones property for five consecutive
years before the claim is made The use must be actual and
beneficial to the person claiming the easement The use
must be consistent during the period 7
Originally an easement by prescription was based upon
the presumption that the right had been granted but that
the grant had been lost and generallyit may be acquired by
the exclusive and uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the
~ right for a period of time analogous to the time sufficient
to acquire title by adverse possession uS
The attainment of easements by prescription is not
limited to private individuals The residents of a town or
city as a corporate identity can claim prescriptive easements
When a city or town does this it must prove its rights by
past record of regulation and control over the land upon which
an easement is claimed 9 It is in this ability of a
municipality to obtain easements by prescription that the
value of this method of acquisition lies
This use of easements for recreational purposes is
demonstrated in the case Gion v city of Santa Cruz (2 C3d 29)
The case dealt with three parcels of shore land Each lot
17
had a raised protion adjacent to a public road Cars had
been parking in these areas for sixty years Exclusive of an
old road bed the area had only been used for public pleasure
although it had been privately owned since 1880
The city had done maintenance in the area They pilled
in holes and placed riprap in weak areas They installed
an emergency alarm system School children planted iceplant
the city paved the parking lot and the sanitation department
maintained trash receptacles and cleaned after busy weekends
This maintenance activity was important to the citys claim
for an easement
The public had freely used the area to fish swim
picnic and watch the ocean The previous owner never told
anyone to leave The publics activity had been continuous
from 1900 until the time of trial The new owner had full
knowledge of the public use and city maintenance
The Santa Cruz Superior Court ruled that Gion was the
owner in fee of the property but his title was subject to
an easement in the City of Santa Cruz The Court based their
finding on several facts The publ~c had used the land
for an excess of five years The city had exercised
continued and uninterrupted dominion and control over the
property for a time in excess of five years In addition
Gion knew both of these facts when he bought the property
All of the conditions for an easement by prescription were
thus fulfilled
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
13
benefits of liability insurance If the easement is
dedicated to a public entity then it becomes the public
entitys responsibility to maintain the premises Once
the landowners are aware of the laws and the protection of
dedicating an easement to a public entity their fear should
be calmed
Landowners also worry about damages done by the public
to their property and they are concerned over their loss
of privacy There are several solutions to these problems
Where access crosses near to development the public access
can be hidden in a gully or ravine or separated by a barrier
of shrubs or trees On longer segments of trail where landshy
owners fear maintenance costs a trail patrolman such as the
r one at Castle Rock State Park could watch the area
Maintenance of the area would probably be less expensive
than complete prevention of disturbance Small segments of
the trail could be given to individuals or groups to maintain
In Switzerland this is done quite effectively Footpaths
are determined and maintained by district branches of the
Swiss Footpath Protection Agency Each district has exclusive
supervision over its footpaths Each path is examined and
kept in repair periodically
Solutions like these can be presented to the landowners
when discussing acquisition The landowners may have
suggestions as to methods of teaching the users of the
trail careful treatment of the valuable assets of natural land
14
The owner should be encouraged to dedicate the property
Even if he is willing to sell the right of way this can be
much more harmonious than court trials or eminant domain
proceedings If the owner will not sell or dedicate the
right of way the other solutions are possible
A knowledge opound the variety of means to attain public
rights in property is necessary The set of rights that make
up property rights are not tied up in an inseparable bundle
A few of these rights may be purchased as easily as the
entire bundle Someone may want to buy the right to cross
over another persons property A community may buy the
development rights to someone s land cThis would mean that
the landowner retains the right to cross his property to
visit it or sell it and he also retains other privileges of
ownership Only the community though has the right to
develop the property Purchases of one or a few rights are
called easements Easements are generally cheaper than
purchase of what is called fee simple absolute--full purchase
of the bundle of rights involved in owning property The
cost of an easement depends upon the depression in land value
that results from selling the rights In urban areas where
the value of land is virtually its development potential
easements to restrict development can be as expensive as fee
simple absolute
In California easements are becoming a valuable aid
in obtaining and retaining land rights for recreational
15
activities The types of useful easements vary from
government purchase to implied dedication of beach areas
Governments have the right to acquire these interests in
land as long as the purpose of the acquisition is public
welfare Recreation is now considered to be public welfare
At one time there was debaLd ~oncerning the domain of the
term public welfare Just what does this term include
The California Legislature passed the Open Space Act in 1959
This act broadened the idea of public welfare to include open
spaces and areas for public enjoymentS Open space according
to the legislature is an area with natural beauty or an area
with some quality--openness natural state or present use-shy
that if retained would increase the value of neighboring
urban development or be a valuable part of conserved scenic 6 or natural resources
This definition was further redefined to specifically
include recreation in the Open Space Easement Act of 1967
This act enabled California cities and counties to acquire
easements on land for open space within their jurisdictions
Preservation of open space resulting from these easements
must he consistent with the general plan and must be in
the best interest of the jurisdiction The publics enjoyment
of beauty and recreation the use of resources or the production
of food or fiber must be of major importance in the area
If money is available for the creation of a trail
purchasing a right of way easement is often the best way to
16
obtain the right of public use of the trail If money is
limited and the trail has already had public use for five
or more consecutive years another type of easement may be
applicable called easement by prescription
Easements created by prescription are created by
regular open use of someones property for five consecutive
years before the claim is made The use must be actual and
beneficial to the person claiming the easement The use
must be consistent during the period 7
Originally an easement by prescription was based upon
the presumption that the right had been granted but that
the grant had been lost and generallyit may be acquired by
the exclusive and uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the
~ right for a period of time analogous to the time sufficient
to acquire title by adverse possession uS
The attainment of easements by prescription is not
limited to private individuals The residents of a town or
city as a corporate identity can claim prescriptive easements
When a city or town does this it must prove its rights by
past record of regulation and control over the land upon which
an easement is claimed 9 It is in this ability of a
municipality to obtain easements by prescription that the
value of this method of acquisition lies
This use of easements for recreational purposes is
demonstrated in the case Gion v city of Santa Cruz (2 C3d 29)
The case dealt with three parcels of shore land Each lot
17
had a raised protion adjacent to a public road Cars had
been parking in these areas for sixty years Exclusive of an
old road bed the area had only been used for public pleasure
although it had been privately owned since 1880
The city had done maintenance in the area They pilled
in holes and placed riprap in weak areas They installed
an emergency alarm system School children planted iceplant
the city paved the parking lot and the sanitation department
maintained trash receptacles and cleaned after busy weekends
This maintenance activity was important to the citys claim
for an easement
The public had freely used the area to fish swim
picnic and watch the ocean The previous owner never told
anyone to leave The publics activity had been continuous
from 1900 until the time of trial The new owner had full
knowledge of the public use and city maintenance
The Santa Cruz Superior Court ruled that Gion was the
owner in fee of the property but his title was subject to
an easement in the City of Santa Cruz The Court based their
finding on several facts The publ~c had used the land
for an excess of five years The city had exercised
continued and uninterrupted dominion and control over the
property for a time in excess of five years In addition
Gion knew both of these facts when he bought the property
All of the conditions for an easement by prescription were
thus fulfilled
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
14
The owner should be encouraged to dedicate the property
Even if he is willing to sell the right of way this can be
much more harmonious than court trials or eminant domain
proceedings If the owner will not sell or dedicate the
right of way the other solutions are possible
A knowledge opound the variety of means to attain public
rights in property is necessary The set of rights that make
up property rights are not tied up in an inseparable bundle
A few of these rights may be purchased as easily as the
entire bundle Someone may want to buy the right to cross
over another persons property A community may buy the
development rights to someone s land cThis would mean that
the landowner retains the right to cross his property to
visit it or sell it and he also retains other privileges of
ownership Only the community though has the right to
develop the property Purchases of one or a few rights are
called easements Easements are generally cheaper than
purchase of what is called fee simple absolute--full purchase
of the bundle of rights involved in owning property The
cost of an easement depends upon the depression in land value
that results from selling the rights In urban areas where
the value of land is virtually its development potential
easements to restrict development can be as expensive as fee
simple absolute
In California easements are becoming a valuable aid
in obtaining and retaining land rights for recreational
15
activities The types of useful easements vary from
government purchase to implied dedication of beach areas
Governments have the right to acquire these interests in
land as long as the purpose of the acquisition is public
welfare Recreation is now considered to be public welfare
At one time there was debaLd ~oncerning the domain of the
term public welfare Just what does this term include
The California Legislature passed the Open Space Act in 1959
This act broadened the idea of public welfare to include open
spaces and areas for public enjoymentS Open space according
to the legislature is an area with natural beauty or an area
with some quality--openness natural state or present use-shy
that if retained would increase the value of neighboring
urban development or be a valuable part of conserved scenic 6 or natural resources
This definition was further redefined to specifically
include recreation in the Open Space Easement Act of 1967
This act enabled California cities and counties to acquire
easements on land for open space within their jurisdictions
Preservation of open space resulting from these easements
must he consistent with the general plan and must be in
the best interest of the jurisdiction The publics enjoyment
of beauty and recreation the use of resources or the production
of food or fiber must be of major importance in the area
If money is available for the creation of a trail
purchasing a right of way easement is often the best way to
16
obtain the right of public use of the trail If money is
limited and the trail has already had public use for five
or more consecutive years another type of easement may be
applicable called easement by prescription
Easements created by prescription are created by
regular open use of someones property for five consecutive
years before the claim is made The use must be actual and
beneficial to the person claiming the easement The use
must be consistent during the period 7
Originally an easement by prescription was based upon
the presumption that the right had been granted but that
the grant had been lost and generallyit may be acquired by
the exclusive and uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the
~ right for a period of time analogous to the time sufficient
to acquire title by adverse possession uS
The attainment of easements by prescription is not
limited to private individuals The residents of a town or
city as a corporate identity can claim prescriptive easements
When a city or town does this it must prove its rights by
past record of regulation and control over the land upon which
an easement is claimed 9 It is in this ability of a
municipality to obtain easements by prescription that the
value of this method of acquisition lies
This use of easements for recreational purposes is
demonstrated in the case Gion v city of Santa Cruz (2 C3d 29)
The case dealt with three parcels of shore land Each lot
17
had a raised protion adjacent to a public road Cars had
been parking in these areas for sixty years Exclusive of an
old road bed the area had only been used for public pleasure
although it had been privately owned since 1880
The city had done maintenance in the area They pilled
in holes and placed riprap in weak areas They installed
an emergency alarm system School children planted iceplant
the city paved the parking lot and the sanitation department
maintained trash receptacles and cleaned after busy weekends
This maintenance activity was important to the citys claim
for an easement
The public had freely used the area to fish swim
picnic and watch the ocean The previous owner never told
anyone to leave The publics activity had been continuous
from 1900 until the time of trial The new owner had full
knowledge of the public use and city maintenance
The Santa Cruz Superior Court ruled that Gion was the
owner in fee of the property but his title was subject to
an easement in the City of Santa Cruz The Court based their
finding on several facts The publ~c had used the land
for an excess of five years The city had exercised
continued and uninterrupted dominion and control over the
property for a time in excess of five years In addition
Gion knew both of these facts when he bought the property
All of the conditions for an easement by prescription were
thus fulfilled
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
15
activities The types of useful easements vary from
government purchase to implied dedication of beach areas
Governments have the right to acquire these interests in
land as long as the purpose of the acquisition is public
welfare Recreation is now considered to be public welfare
At one time there was debaLd ~oncerning the domain of the
term public welfare Just what does this term include
The California Legislature passed the Open Space Act in 1959
This act broadened the idea of public welfare to include open
spaces and areas for public enjoymentS Open space according
to the legislature is an area with natural beauty or an area
with some quality--openness natural state or present use-shy
that if retained would increase the value of neighboring
urban development or be a valuable part of conserved scenic 6 or natural resources
This definition was further redefined to specifically
include recreation in the Open Space Easement Act of 1967
This act enabled California cities and counties to acquire
easements on land for open space within their jurisdictions
Preservation of open space resulting from these easements
must he consistent with the general plan and must be in
the best interest of the jurisdiction The publics enjoyment
of beauty and recreation the use of resources or the production
of food or fiber must be of major importance in the area
If money is available for the creation of a trail
purchasing a right of way easement is often the best way to
16
obtain the right of public use of the trail If money is
limited and the trail has already had public use for five
or more consecutive years another type of easement may be
applicable called easement by prescription
Easements created by prescription are created by
regular open use of someones property for five consecutive
years before the claim is made The use must be actual and
beneficial to the person claiming the easement The use
must be consistent during the period 7
Originally an easement by prescription was based upon
the presumption that the right had been granted but that
the grant had been lost and generallyit may be acquired by
the exclusive and uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the
~ right for a period of time analogous to the time sufficient
to acquire title by adverse possession uS
The attainment of easements by prescription is not
limited to private individuals The residents of a town or
city as a corporate identity can claim prescriptive easements
When a city or town does this it must prove its rights by
past record of regulation and control over the land upon which
an easement is claimed 9 It is in this ability of a
municipality to obtain easements by prescription that the
value of this method of acquisition lies
This use of easements for recreational purposes is
demonstrated in the case Gion v city of Santa Cruz (2 C3d 29)
The case dealt with three parcels of shore land Each lot
17
had a raised protion adjacent to a public road Cars had
been parking in these areas for sixty years Exclusive of an
old road bed the area had only been used for public pleasure
although it had been privately owned since 1880
The city had done maintenance in the area They pilled
in holes and placed riprap in weak areas They installed
an emergency alarm system School children planted iceplant
the city paved the parking lot and the sanitation department
maintained trash receptacles and cleaned after busy weekends
This maintenance activity was important to the citys claim
for an easement
The public had freely used the area to fish swim
picnic and watch the ocean The previous owner never told
anyone to leave The publics activity had been continuous
from 1900 until the time of trial The new owner had full
knowledge of the public use and city maintenance
The Santa Cruz Superior Court ruled that Gion was the
owner in fee of the property but his title was subject to
an easement in the City of Santa Cruz The Court based their
finding on several facts The publ~c had used the land
for an excess of five years The city had exercised
continued and uninterrupted dominion and control over the
property for a time in excess of five years In addition
Gion knew both of these facts when he bought the property
All of the conditions for an easement by prescription were
thus fulfilled
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
16
obtain the right of public use of the trail If money is
limited and the trail has already had public use for five
or more consecutive years another type of easement may be
applicable called easement by prescription
Easements created by prescription are created by
regular open use of someones property for five consecutive
years before the claim is made The use must be actual and
beneficial to the person claiming the easement The use
must be consistent during the period 7
Originally an easement by prescription was based upon
the presumption that the right had been granted but that
the grant had been lost and generallyit may be acquired by
the exclusive and uninterrupted use and enjoyment of the
~ right for a period of time analogous to the time sufficient
to acquire title by adverse possession uS
The attainment of easements by prescription is not
limited to private individuals The residents of a town or
city as a corporate identity can claim prescriptive easements
When a city or town does this it must prove its rights by
past record of regulation and control over the land upon which
an easement is claimed 9 It is in this ability of a
municipality to obtain easements by prescription that the
value of this method of acquisition lies
This use of easements for recreational purposes is
demonstrated in the case Gion v city of Santa Cruz (2 C3d 29)
The case dealt with three parcels of shore land Each lot
17
had a raised protion adjacent to a public road Cars had
been parking in these areas for sixty years Exclusive of an
old road bed the area had only been used for public pleasure
although it had been privately owned since 1880
The city had done maintenance in the area They pilled
in holes and placed riprap in weak areas They installed
an emergency alarm system School children planted iceplant
the city paved the parking lot and the sanitation department
maintained trash receptacles and cleaned after busy weekends
This maintenance activity was important to the citys claim
for an easement
The public had freely used the area to fish swim
picnic and watch the ocean The previous owner never told
anyone to leave The publics activity had been continuous
from 1900 until the time of trial The new owner had full
knowledge of the public use and city maintenance
The Santa Cruz Superior Court ruled that Gion was the
owner in fee of the property but his title was subject to
an easement in the City of Santa Cruz The Court based their
finding on several facts The publ~c had used the land
for an excess of five years The city had exercised
continued and uninterrupted dominion and control over the
property for a time in excess of five years In addition
Gion knew both of these facts when he bought the property
All of the conditions for an easement by prescription were
thus fulfilled
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
17
had a raised protion adjacent to a public road Cars had
been parking in these areas for sixty years Exclusive of an
old road bed the area had only been used for public pleasure
although it had been privately owned since 1880
The city had done maintenance in the area They pilled
in holes and placed riprap in weak areas They installed
an emergency alarm system School children planted iceplant
the city paved the parking lot and the sanitation department
maintained trash receptacles and cleaned after busy weekends
This maintenance activity was important to the citys claim
for an easement
The public had freely used the area to fish swim
picnic and watch the ocean The previous owner never told
anyone to leave The publics activity had been continuous
from 1900 until the time of trial The new owner had full
knowledge of the public use and city maintenance
The Santa Cruz Superior Court ruled that Gion was the
owner in fee of the property but his title was subject to
an easement in the City of Santa Cruz The Court based their
finding on several facts The publ~c had used the land
for an excess of five years The city had exercised
continued and uninterrupted dominion and control over the
property for a time in excess of five years In addition
Gion knew both of these facts when he bought the property
All of the conditions for an easement by prescription were
thus fulfilled
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
18
The California Supreme Court upheld the lower courts
ruling The Supreme Court indicated the importance of the
fact that the public looked to the city for maintenance
The Court based its ruling on implied dedication
Implied dedication is another type of easement Its
basis is dedication--the gift of property or an easement of
property to the public and the publics acceptance of the
gift
The theory of dedication according to George ThompsonIO
is based on the principle of estoppel
That it is a violation of good faith to the public and to those who have acquired property with reference to the easement to deny its existence The doctrine rests on intention or a clear assent of the owner and must be under circumstances indicating abandonment to the use of the generalpublic bull
The owners intent to dedicate is the distinguishing
feature of dedication The acceptance by the public is
also very important These two facts--intent and acceptance-shy
are central Once a dedication is accepted it is irrevocable
In 1854 a court stated three methods of applying common
law dedication II The first was by deed or overt act of
the landowner The second involved a presumption arising
from long-time public use Acquiescence of the landowner
in public use was the third type12 Any dedication without
a written deed is implied dedication
In Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County 42
Cal 2d 235 the court summarized dedication into de~ioation
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
19
~ as implied by law adverse use and dedication as implied
in fact by acts of the owner or his acquiescence Once
again the ideas of acceptance and owners intent define dedication
The Gion-Dietz decision has been hailed as expanding the
limits of implied dedication to include beaches and to judge
mere public use as sufficient to establish adverse use A
trial judge in county of Los Angeles v Berk Civil No 999043
said during oral findings that he felt that the Gion-Dietz
decision required him to find tha~ a dedication of property
had been made when the public had used the land for five
years He admitted that he was unhappy with his decision 13
He made no mention of adverse use or of the owners intent
What did the court in Gion vSanta Cruz really say
The court said that common law dedication of property
to the public can be proved two ways One way is to show
acquiescence of the owner in use of the land under circumstances
that negate the idea that the use is under license The other
way is to show open and continuous use by public for the
prescriptive period l4 These two comments are directly from
Union Transportation Co v Sacramento County
The court continues to define the type of use needed for
dedication They say that dedication by adverse use examines
the intent and activities of the public The users must
act as if they are actually claiming a public right in the
property They must use the land as if it were public land
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
20
If the users look to a governmental agency for maintenance
of the land this is significant in establishing implied
dedication15 Also varied groups of persons must have
used the land Together all of the requirements mean
something more than mere public use
The court also gave the defendants a defense The
owner of the fee simple can prevent public use This
attempt must have been more than minimal and ineffectual
The owner can also prevent dedication by proving that the
public used the land by license 16 It is up to the owner
to prove he did have a license rather than to the public
to prove he did not
Whether or not the doctrine of implied dedication can
be used in obtaining the right to public use of coastal trails
is yet to he seen There is no exact precedent--but the
court in Gion certainly did not exclude hiking from the
recreational activities that determined that dedication Parts
of a new trail that have traditionally served as a public right
of way may be subject to implied dedication
Another form of dedication that holds promise is dedication
of recreational land that can be required o~ subdividers
In 1965 the California Legislature authorized cities and
counties to enact ordinances which would require dedications
of land or fees for park and recreational purposes from
subdividers I The dedications that can be required by
subdividers are public easements These easements CQuld
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
21
very well prove useful in adding segments to a trail in
growing communities
There are four restrictions on a jurisdictions power
to require recreational dedications The ordinance must
set specific standards to determine the proportion of the
subdivision which the developer must dedicate This
restriction is to prevent inequalities against any of the
subdivision projects The second restriction req~ires a
recreation element in the local legislatures general plan lS
The last two restrictions are very important The
dedication must be limited to use for recreational facilities
serving the subdivision In a similarsituation in Illinois
a court denied a dedication for a school and playground from
the developer of a two hundred and fifty unit subdivision
It appeared to the court that the demand for schools and
recreational space was the result of the total community
activity rather than the subdivisions activityl9 From
this it can be seen that in Illinois an entire communitys
recreational needs cannot be met through subdivision law
Only proportionately to the size of the development can
public recreational land be added in this w~y This type
of law allows a growing community to expand recreational
facilities with the growth of population
The fourth restriction on required subdivision dedication
is that the amount of land dedicated must bear a reasonable
relationship to the recreational needs created by the
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
22
20subd1V1S10n The California Supreme Court has not limited
the cities and counties with this restriction They ruled
in 1971 that the general public need for recreational facilities
justified dedications 21 This ruling lifts the burden of the
restriction from the jurisdictions and allows more power
to demand recreational space
The advantages of subdivision exaction are many It
is inexpensive and easy to administer Projected subdivision
where intensity of land use will be high can benefit tremendously
from the open space that recreational areas with trails supply
These recreational areas ensure open space because the city
or county does not have to improve land as long as it is used 22for recreational purposes Unfortunately subdivision
exaction only applies to land about to be developed This
is a severe limitation because it does not allow for a plan
of recreational areas with priorities Careful planning of
future development would have to be a part of any planning to
be done with extending a trail in this way
An alternative to this careful planning of the future is
a careful search of the past There are many miles of old
right of ways in the form of abandoned aque~ucts canals
and railroad lines Along the north coast of Santa Cruz
County there are long stretches of the old Highway 1 as
well as a railroad right of way These lend interesting
possibilities to trail planning
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
23
In San Mateo County abandoned railroad rights of way
are still owned by the Oceanshore Railroad Company of San
Rafael South of Carmel parts of the old highway still
exist which would make fascinating hiking or biking trails
These rights of way and others of this type should be preserved
for future use as part of a Central California Coast Trail
System
An example of the possible use of abandoned right of
ways is the Croton Aqueduct between New York City and Westcheste~
County In 1966 the state bought the abandoned right of
way and converted it into a continuous walkway from the Bronx
to northern Westchester County
of the several methods of acquisition discussed so far
the easiest is to purchase or be given an easement for a
public right of way from an agreeable landowner This
requires a carefully designed plan for the trail and carefully
designated liability maintenance and protection With
these plans in hand the landowner may agree
Prescriptive easements may be a possible way to acquire
public rights However doubt was cast on this method by the
Carlifornia Supreme Courts ruling of impli~d dedication inshy
stead of prescriptive easement in Gion v City of Santa Cruz
After this ruling implied dedication is a more assured
method of acquiring public rights on land long used by the
public These two methods both require the time and expense
of a court trial
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
24
Requirements for dedication of subdivisions have a lot
of potential if the coast is going to be built up But
since one purpose of this trail is to protect the natural
environment of the coast subdivision dedication is not
practical The Central California Coast Regional Conservation
Commission has successfully attempted a variation on this
method They have required dedications of trail rights of
way on certain permit requests on the Big Sur Coast
The old rights of way are tr~ly a rich promise Utilizing
old rights of way interxupts minimally with land uses requires
less construction costs and should be inexpensive It is
very important to preserve these old stretches of highway
secondary roads and abandoned railway rights of way
So far this discussion of acquisition has dwelled
predominantly on the judicial basis for obtaining public
rights in land Legislation has also played an important
role in the increasing abilities of the public to obtain
rights of way At the Federal level one bill and one act
have potential for significant contributions to this aim
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 and the National Open
Beaches Act each add uniq~e possibilities
The Federal-aid Highway Act of 1973 included a provision
for expenditures of Federal-aid Highway monies for bicycle
and footpaths On March 25 1974 the Federal Highway Commission
announced that these monies could be spent on paths outside
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
25
of the normal highway right of way The paths may be built with
70 percent Federal monies and 30 percent State monies The
Act provides a two million dollar limit per any state per
fiscal year Assistance should be sought through the California
State Highway Commission
In 1969 Bob Eckhardt introauc~d a bill in the House of
Representatives which is known as National Open Beaches
Bill of 1969 This bill H R 6656 would make it illegal
to interfere with the publics use of all beaches--and beaches
are defined in the bill as including the area between the high
tide line and the vegetation line or inland 200 feet from
the high tide line Texas Bob Eckhardts native state
passed a similar bill in 1959 which is entitled the Open
Beaches Act This national bill if enacted would simplify
immensely the costs of time and acquisition in implementing
the California coastal trail A hiking trail along the
coast would most certainly stay overwhelmingly on the
beaches themselves where no specific acquisition would need
to occur under this bill
California as stated earlier has long encouraged
and permitted public use of the coast Today public land
includes only the area between high and low tides although
there is evidence that the dry sand area of the coastline
has been treated as public property throughout Californias
history 23 Recently the legislature has introduced bills
which would help renew the publics access to the coast
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
26
In Assembly Bill 3594 (Dunlap) which would require a
California Recreational Trails System Plan and supply the
agency to implement such a plandeg lists as its first recommendation
for a trail to be studied and implemented a trail linking
state parks federal recreation areas and other areas of
statewide or national significance located in coastal areas
This bill would give the Director of Parks and Recreation
the right to use eminant domain when private property forms
a necessary and unavoidable link ~n a proposed state trail
Agreements with private landowners could result in gifts of fee
title easements or lesser interests If this bill passes
the possibility of a state trail along the horth coast of
Santa Cruz is a strong possibility
Senate Bill 420 (Collier) was signed by the Governor
in May 1974 This bill appropriates $2150000 from the
Abandoned Vehicle Trust Fund to be used by the State Department
of Parks and Recreation to provide hostel facilities in the
state parks and to acquire lands for develop and maintain
recreational trails to and between the hostels Santa
Cruz is one of the counties specified within the bill
The California Coastal Zone ConserVation Commission in
its draft recreation element also concerned itself with
public access to coastal areas It emphasized the importance
of eminant domain as a last measure The State of California
has the power of eminant domain in parks paths roads for
bicycles tricycles and motorcycles and public transportation
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
27
Each state agency must be specifically endowed by the
legislature to use this power IfAB 3594 passes the
director of the Department of Parks and Recreation
will have this power
The Coastal Zone Conservation Commission has also
suggested legislation that woul~ Qc~lare Californias dry
sand beaches to be public property In Oregon in Thornton
v Hay the State Supreme Court decided that the people of
Oregon have the right to enjoy Oregons beaches because
they always have enjoyed this right Under the doctrine
of Customary Rights if a given use of anothers property
goes back before recorded history it is assumed to be a
legal right The Oregon court ruled that the people had been
using the beaches as public land since before the State was
organized therefore the Doctrine of Customary Rights was
applicable The suggestion to declare Californias dry sand
beaches as public property follows the Oregonian decision
Summary
property landowners an eager public and an idea for
a trail have each vied for position in the first section of
my thesis Property it is learned is nota material
possession but the possession of certain rights agreed upon
by society and defensible in law Landowners own some of these
rights The public would like to believe that they too
own some rights in the coastline A trail would provide public
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
28
access to the coast with minimum disturbance to the
landowners
For example a foot path which crossed the beaches and
climbed over cliffs where necessary would generally stay on
land that many landowners dont begrudge to the public If
a publi~ ~qency acquired the rights of way to such a trail
assuring the landowner of the agencys responsibilities such
a trail would bless all
The main question asked in this section was how is the
right of way for such a trail obtained An easement can
be purchased or perhaps donated The public could witL the
right of way in court through the doctrine of implied dedication
or perhaps prescriptive easements The property could be
bought in fee simple
For most of the northern coast of Santa Cruz County
the easiest and best way to acquire the property would be through
purchase or donation of an easement The best easements to
buy are abandoned or partially used rights of way For
liability reasons a public agency should be the owner of
the easement or be the recipient of the dedication At the
end of this thesis after design considerations are discussed
and routes recommended the information in this chapter will
be used more specifically
Design
Questions of physical design will involve several factors
1) the physical characters of the area--its topography plant
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
29
and animal communities and its values 2) the advisability
for separate foot and bicycle paths and 3) the nature
of possible conflicts and blessings resulting from the physical
proximity of public rights of way to existing private uses
of the land
The topography of this region is very significant
The northern coast of Santa Cruz County is largely made up
of marine terraces These terraces are old beaches that have
become exposed and worn partially away by the changing levels
of the ocean and land The result is that the beautiful
beaches backed by rocky cliffs are interrupted periodically
by cliffs which reach out to sea The plateaus on top of
these cliffs are mostly used as brussel sprout fields
Segments of the old Highway One still exist as fragments
A railroad track and right of way still parallel the hew highway
on the ocean side Tractor roads combine with the old highway
and present railroad right of way to form interesting potential
for the beginnings of a trail along the top of the lower
cliffs still within view and reach of the ocean and its
promising beaches On the San Mateo Coast an abandoned
railroad right of way once used by the Oceanshore Railroad
Company still exists
Hikers capable of climbing and descending cliffs would
benefit from a trail which traces the beaches of the north
coast Bicyclists on the other hand need less lively
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
30
terrain and harder ground than sand and verbena A trail
along the terraces above the beach would allow the gentle
grades and curves requisite for a bicycle trail The
view would still justify the traiEs existence
Other benefits of a separate trail for bicyclists would
be enormO~b The dangers and impracticality of bicycling on
Highway One are obvious and yet there are frequent I
travelers on bicycles there especially in the summer A
special bike trail would not only provide all of the fine
recreational activity near the urban area of San Francisco
and Santa Cruz but it would serve to provide safety for
a segment of the society already enjoying the excitement
of bicycling along the coast
The idea of two separate trails is suggested by the
topography of the region The topography suggests other
design elements as well There should be feeder trails
perpendicular to the shore leading from the bicycle trail
to the scenic points on the coast The experience of bringing
a bicycle down a cliff would be detrimental to the bicycle
cliff and possibly the bicyclist The heads of these
trails should include some type of subtle structure in which
to safely leave the bike All of the feeder trails should
be foot trails
Another element to be considered is the frailtymiddot and
strength of the areas ecology Trails along the coast would
need to take advantage of the areas already used for travel-shy
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
31
such as the secondary roads railroad right of way and sandy
beach in order to preserve ~ maximum of natural area
Especially fragile areas such as the fern cave located
on the Wilder Ranch need to be protected The cliffs
should be subjected to as little climbing sliding and
criss~crossing as possible These fragile areas deserve
a trail design that will avoid them where possible and
cross over them safely where necessary Staircases especially
designed to blend in with the faces of the cliffs should
be provided Bridges may be appropriate over narrow ravines
Information given to those wishing to take t~e hike or
bicycle excursion should include descriptions of the novelty
valUe and fragile state of certain of the coasts features
It should not be allowed to pick plants or destroy wildlife
of any kind
The other major consideration in planning the trail
is the landowner The effect of keeping the hikers on the
actual beach as much as possible will limit in the interaction
between the landownersland uses and the hikers It may
seem advisable to build a fence or plant shrubs between the
paths and the brussel sprout fields where the path crosses
the fields These barriers have many benefi~s They can be
an attractive way to isolate the traveler from the fields
There is a hedgerow of Ceonothus used in this way along Bay
Drive as it approaches the University of California at Santa
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
32
Cruz Shrubs are also frequently used along footpaths in
Europe But beauty and isolation are not the only thing
such a barrier contributes--it can also act as a wind
barrier for both the farmer and the hikers The agency
which builds the trail should be responsible for the costs of
planting these shrubs or the co~tc of building a simple
fence where barriers seem necessary and appropriate
A bicycle trail such as the one suggested would be in
greater conflict with the landowners activities This
would be minimized by using existing rights of way as suggested
earlier I suggest locating secondary roads tractor roads
segments of theold highway and old or current railroad
rights of way on one map Residences and fields through
which these paths travel should also be included From this
information a trail could be devised that benefited from a
maximum of preexisting road and a minimum of interference with
residents and their activities The landowners themselves
may have valuable suggestions as to appropriate routes
The construction and organization of foot and bicycle
trails could actually benefit the relationship between
farmer and traveler Currently real conflict does exist
between the land owners and the increasing numbers of people
who c~oss the inland area to reach the beach At this
time the landowner is left to fend for himself in
diSCOUraging interference with his own activities and
protecting the environment The situation has little promise
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
33
of easing up because more and more people are discovering
the north coast
What if the public or specifically a public agency
were to take over the responsibility of assuring cooperation
in these two activities The public would be in a unique
position to resolve the conflicts if they owned rights in
the activity they were pursueing--in other words if the
public owned a right of way along the trail By formally
giving the right of way to the public the landowner also
gives away some of the responsibility that he is presently
bearing
This responsibility will first be demonstrated in a
trail design which would protect both the interest of the
landowner and the enjoyment of the public and which would
protect the fragile physical features of the north coast
If such a design is envisioned the success of the project
will be increased The public agency in charge of such
a trail should guide the users into attitudes of respect
for the-middotplans to prevent erosion and discourage irresponsible
behavior
Although the importance of remembering the needs and
knowledge of the landowners cannot be -minimized where
acquisition is needed there are some parts of the coast
where acquisition of a right of way will hot be necessary
at all--these are the state and federal parks Although the
land is owned by the government there are still problems to
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
34
be worked out Efforts should be made to ensure that the
trail passing through a park conforms to match existing
trails This must be done to preserve the attitude of least
disruption that should pervade the design of a coastal
trail
Some government land--such a~ the recently purchased
Wilder Ranch--is yet undeveloped for publicufJe The plans
for a coastal trail may aid in the design of the future
parks if communication is maintained between the park
designers and the trail planners The design of the
trail which would cross these lands must conform to the
requirements of trails within state or national parks
One last thing to keep in thought while planning
such a trail is its purpose The idea behind this trail
is to provide access to a beautiful part of California
which happens to be unique in its diversity and character
Also outdoor recreation especially in the forms of trails
is an increasing demand of urban areas The trail must
b~ designed to provide access to the heart of its beauty-shy
the interface between land and water The feeder trails
suggested earlier would accomplish this Not only would
they be a means of bringing bicyclists down to the sea but
they would provide access to the beach trail from many
points Those who care only to walk a short distance would
be provided with a variety of entry and exit points
because the proposed bicycle trail would often be near the
highway
I
I
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
I 35
A large part of the success of this trail would be
its ability to blend in with its surroundings In this
sense the structures and facilities accompanying the
trail are of vital importance
The structures to be used in this trail must be
practical as well as harmonious with the coastline They
must be made of materialthat can withstand long years of
use in an atmosphere of salt water wind sun and storm
Simplicity must be the theme of these structures The
beauty of the coast should not be in competition with elegant
or ornate man-made bridges stairs and bicycle b stands An example of a style which blends well with
coastal magnificence can be seen in Northern Ireland (see
apendix) bull
The location of such structures is also important When
stairs are necessary to descend a cliff face they should be
located in such a place that the total panorama is defaced
as little as possible The moresubtlty that can be built into
the design of these structures the better
What exactly is needed For the foot trail along the
beaches ladders will be needed in climbing over certain
cliffs to protect them from abuse Other cliffs t difficult
to climb could be ascended more safely with stairs At the
top of the terrace fences may be needed to ensure protection
for the brussel sprouts and privacy foil the farmer and workers
Styles may be needed occasionally to cross some fields along
the trail
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
36 I 1
For the bicycle trail much of the construction needs 1
will depend upon the route that is chosen At the head
of the feeder trails though some type of inconspicious I Ibike rack is needed Bicyclists on long distance rides i j
often do not carry locks so it would be advantageous if
the bike rack had a locking devlce ~ri th a removable key
such a luggage compartments at airports or train stations
and ski racks at ski areas
Other facilities are needed At certain prime
access points there should be some type of parking facilities
These locations would also be logical points to put restroom
facilities It would be best if the travelers would leave
the main trail and follow a feeder trail to the access point
restrooms and running water All points of access to the
trail should have garbage cans and should have the information
that all other access points have garbage cans The traveler
should be encouraged by this information to keep his trash
with him until he leaves the trail Wherever possible the
established parks should be relied on to provide these
facilities
Another structure that could prove beneficial to the
trail would be a little less directly related to the trail
itself In Some European countries there is a special place
on buses for bicycles If a coastal trail is established
buses could be used to transport people with their bicycles
to the place from which they wish to embark on the trail and
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
37
then pick the people up at their destination and return
them home Another user of such a bus would be the bicyclist
or hiker who hikes or rides away from his car and then needs
a ride back to his point of origin
An alternative to sending buses up and down the coast
period~cly middotmiddottOuld be a passenger train For parb~ of the
distance up the coast there are tracks currently used for
freight trains Perhaps a passenger train could adapt itself
to carrying bicycles easily
Summary
The form of trail I have proposed has a variety of
benefits It can be traveled a lo~g distance to please
those who desire to travel for a long period of time
With frequent access trails from the road to the bicycle path
and from the bicycle path to the beach people who prefer
shorter trips could use the system also With the highway so
near transportation could be provided to and from Santa Cruz
to certain areas of the trail but the users of the trail
would have the option of setting out from the edge of town
on foot or bike
The trail would serve to bring the public to the coast
and give them the opportunity to enjoy it in all its diversity
and color Thus the trail would be fulfilling the goals set
out for it in the beginning of this thesis
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
38
Conclusion
A trail is not born easily It is born out of the dreams
of many and out of the persistence of a few The idea for
a central California coastal trail is not new--the Sierra
Club has been leading hikes along some of its length of the
coast only to meet with unhappy lanuowners and insurmountable
1cliffs A bill in the California Legislature has specifically III
stated the need for a trail along the coast to connect the
state and federal parks Now the California Coastal Zone 1 i II
IConservation Commission is considering the possibilities of I
a trail along the entire coast of California But the 1 implementation of a trail requires more than ideas more
even than legislation It requires a knowledge of the area
to be traversed it requires a knowledge of ownership
patterns and it requires knowledge of the legal and social
responsibilities of publicly maintaining a trail Finally
it requires a group of people to acquire construct maintain
and supervise the trail
The thesis is incapable of providing people to build
upon an idea But hopefully it has illuminated some of the
processes of gaining legal and socially acceptable entrance
to a coast of outstanding beauty It has endeavored to
guide the design of a trail into quietness and simplicity
that would grace the grou~d it covered instead of treading
on the natural surroundings
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
39
The trail proposed in this thesis would not be routed
entirely on existing public property For this reason the
planners of this trail must communicate with the owners
of coastal property and reach an agreeable decision about
a right of way If an owner will not donate or sell a~
easement to the responsible public agency the circumstances
must determine how the property rights are to be obtained
In cases which fit the requirements for an implied dedication
plea the court may be the answer If an agency is involved
that has the power eminant domain purchase may be the
answer The situation of power social activity and
thought will determine the method for acquiring public
rights of way
Before rights of way can be specifically obtained a
route must be established I recommend that a foot trail be
created that follows the coast by using the beaches for a
route wherever possible The path may follow the edge of
the terrace where no beach protects the cliff from the
waves Where erosion is a problem stairs can be used to
ascend cliffs and carry the travelers above the eroding
cliff face These stairs could be very simple--perhaps
resembling a ladder
The bicycle trail should be farther removed from the
beach Its route should take advantage of existing rights
of way such as old roads and tractor trails This would
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
40
prevent unnecessary interruption of eXisting land uses and
provide a head start on construction of the proper surface
In the beginning of this thesis I suggested that a
coastal trail could be a tool for bringing man closer to
wild places Myhope is that if this trail is ever initiated
it will b~ designed in such a way that it will promote
healthy-relationships between visitors and property owners
instead of reenforcing established disagreements1 that it
will encourage preservation of the coast while providing
recreation and beauty for its travelers 1 and that it will
bring more of the beauty of nature into the awareness of
mankind
II
III II II I I
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
41
Explanations of Photographs
A A bench invites the hiker to rest a moment and
perceive the coast
B This photograph shows the manner in which a fence can be useful in separating the agricultural land from a
coastal foot trail In some situations a hedge might be
used instead of a fence and serve as a windbreak There
is no barrier between the path and the cliff edge Such
a barrier would tend to interrupt the skyline when viewed
from belOtmiddot or from above The National Trust of Northern Ireland said in a letter to Peter Scott dated 17th April
1972 Local landowners on the whole are very pleased with
the result because by providing access to the coast for the public peopl are channelled away from agricultural land
where they can be a nuisance knocking down fences lmiddot~aving
gates opn etc
C and D Two types of styles used on the trail in Northern Ireland
E Here is a simple way to cross a stream
Please notice the simplicity with which th2se strucshy
tures were built They are all practical unobtrusive
and usefUl
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
Footnotes
1 Aldo Leopold A Sand County Almanac p xvii
2 Whyte William The Last Landscape p 163
3 Berggrav Eivinid Staten og Menneskey Land Og Kirk 223-24 (1945 as quoted in Fred Mann Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britian p 458
4 Johnston Hugh Coastal Access and the Law p 113
5 Cal Govt Code 6950
6 Cal Govt Code 6954
7 28 Corpur Juris Secundum 645
8 Ibid 640
9 poundpound 643
10 Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real property Vol 2 p 466
11 City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
12 Gallagher John V Implied Dedication Waves of Gion-Dietz p 53
The Imaginery
13 28 Corpus Juris Secundum 640
14 Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Robert B King 2 C 3d 38
Lester J Dietz v
15 Ibid pp 38-39
16 Ibid p 41
17 Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory Dedication pp 218-219
18 Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer p 37
19 Pioneer Trust and Savings 22 Ill 375
v Village of Mount Prospect
20 Rhea loccib
-shy
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
21 Ibidp 38
22 Ibid p 37
23 California State Coastal Commission Element p 71
Draft Recreational
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
Bibliography
California Assembly AB 3594 Dunlap
California Civil Code 846 ICalifornia Government Code 6950 6954 and 8314 III
California Senate SB420 Collier
California State Coastal Commission Draft Recreational Element May 1974
City of Palo Alto California Trails and Paths Plan July 1968
City of San Francisco v Scott 4 Cal 114
Corpus Juris Secundum volumes 28 and 28
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Private Lands for Public Recreation Use Preliminary Report Southwest Region February 1974
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Proceedings National symposium on Trails Washington DC 1971
Department of the Interior Bureau of Outdoor Recreation Trails for America Report on the Nationwide Trail Study December 1966 f
Gallagher John V June Curt W Agnew Gerald E Jr Implied Dedication The Imaginary Waves of Gion-Dietz Southwestern Law Review Volume 5 number I Spring 1973
Leopold Aldo A Sand County Almanac Sierra ClubBallantine Books New York 1966
Mann Fred L t Trends in the Use of Public Controls Affecting Agricultural Landownership in Europe and Great Britain Iowa Law Review Volume 50 number 2 Winter 1965
Pioneer Trust and Savings v Village of Mount Prospect 22 Ill 375
bull Public or Private Ownership of Beaches an --=-aT1t-er=-naLtive to implied dedication UCLA Law Review I Summer I
1971
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain
~ Rhea Gordon C California Land Use Primer Stanford Environmental Law Society 1973
Rowland v Christian 70 Cal Report 97
Scott Peter and Cynthia Wayburn editors In the Ocean Wind Glenwood Publishers Felton California 1974
Stallings Constance On the Waterfront Open Space Action Volume 1 number 5 August 1969
Stone Christopher D Should Trees Have Standin~7 William Kaufmann Incorporated Los Altos Ca11fornia 1972
Strong Ann Louise Open Space for Urban America Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington DC 1965
bull Taking Without Compensation Through Compulsory -DeaYica-tion Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review January I
1972 bull
Thomas Gion v City of Santa Cruz Lester J Dietz v Robert B King 2 C 3d 29
Thompson George Commentaries on the Modern Law of Real Pr6~erty volume 2 Babbs-Merrill Corporation Ind1anapolis 1961
United States Congress HRI0395 Eckhardt
Whyte William The Last Landscape Doubleday and Company Garden City New York 1968
Personal Resources
Gerald Bowden Peter Scott Les Strnad Fredrick Styles Dale Wilson Landowners on Santa Cruzs north coast
Correspondence with Consulates in San Francisco
Sweden The Netherlands Switzerland Great Britain