SB428: implications for all California: A slide show with documentation links

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SAVE OUR CHILDREN’S POOLTHE CHILDREN’S POOL CONSTRUCTION, 1930

from a rocky point with no beaches

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SAVE OUR CHILDREN’S POOL THE CHILDREN’S POOL, 1931A public pool behind a sea wall

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SAVE OUR CHILDREN’S POOLJuly 4, 2007, citizens enjoy Children’s Pool,

though they are on a sand dune over the Pool

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SAVE OUR CHILDREN’S POOLWHAT SB 428 WOULD DO

• Deny public access to a metropolitan public beach• Ignore Coastal Commission mandates for beach access• Allow San Diego to continue to do nothing, and have no

plan of action or marine mammal management policy.• Attract further litigation, local and State• Set a dangerous precedent to circumvent Public

Land Grant Trusts for “convenience” and weaken every estate trust grant, past and future.

• Give San Diego a bill without the discretions which it asked for See documentation

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SAVE OUR CHILDREN’S POOL

SECTION (a) THE 1931 TRUST

“That said lands shall be devoted exclusively to public park, bathing pool for children, parkway, highway, playground and recreational purposes, and to such other uses as may be incident to, or convenient for the full enjoyment of such purposes”

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SAVE OUR CHILDREN’S POOLSB 248 PROPOSED MODIFICATION READS

“That said lands shall be devoted exclusively to public park, marine mammal park for the enjoyment and educational benefit of children, bathing pool for children, parkway, highway, playground and recreational purposes, and to such other uses as may be incident to, or convenient for the full enjoyment of such purposes”

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SAVE OUR CHILDREN’S POOL

WHAT THE CHANGE WOULD MEAN

Since County Health cannot allow Children to play and swim in seal feces and the majority of the pool is filled with sand - the City of San Diego will have only the option to establish a MARINE MAMMAL PARK, (Definition) invalidating the original Trust. Citizens will finally lose access to Children’s Pool.

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SAVE OUR CHILDREN’S POOLO’SULLIVAN vs CITY OF SAN DIEGO

2005 COURT DECISION

Superior Court Judge William C. Pate ruled the City is

“in violation of its fiduciary duties” and ruled in 2005:

“The City, as trustee of the Children’s Pool, is hereby ordered to employ all reasonable means to restore the Pool to its 1941 condition by removing the sand build-up and further to reduce the level of water contamination in the Pool to levels certified by the County of San Diego as being safe for humans”

His statement of the history & decision took 31 pages.Hint: the last 2 pages say it all

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WHAT THE COURT DID NOT ORDER• It did not order dispersal of seals

(The City’s own studies required that)• It did not specify how the sand was to be removed

(The City already had plans and estimates from 1999 and 2004)

• It did not require sand removal and water decontamination occur at the same time, as the City has unsuccessfully claimed

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SAVE OUR CHILDREN’S POOL

HARBOR SEALS IN CALIFORNIA• There are in excess of 1,000 other seal haul out

sites in California. See Documentation• There are an estimated 36,000 harbor seals in

California, a growing population with no natural predators left except large sharks

• Besides prospering in California, this species ranges from Baja to Alaska

• Swimming range for a seal can be the length of California

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SAVE OUR CHILDREN’S POOLHARBOR SEALS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (continued)

• Pinnipeds have become problems in many harbors and coastal towns, such as La Jolla, Carpinteria, Newport Beach, Monterey and Pacific Grove.

• Harbor seals recently began to ‘colonize’ the beach immediately south of the Children’s Pool (South Casa Beach) and are known to frequent the “La Jolla Cove” in San Diego as well. Several other nearby public beaches could be colonized.

• Seals that have lost fear of people will endanger public access to beaches all over California

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SAVE OUR CHILDREN’S POOL

HARBOR SEALS’ HABITAT IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

• Harbor seals can haul out, rest and and pup on any sandy or rocky beach or outcrop

• There are 350 miles of coastal habitat in Southern California where seals can haul out

• There are 11 offshore islands along Southern California where seals are known to haul out in large numbers.

• They do not need the 200 FEET of coastal beach in Southern California dedicated to children: The Children’s Pool

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The counts shown were only of seals seen on land, which scientists multiply by 1.2 to estimate min true population.

•Federal intervention can prevent getting a beach back once a seals are allowed to occupy it.

•California harbor seal population doubled in the last 20 years after tripling in the 20 years before = 36,000 estimated.(25,000 in Oregon & Washington, 180,017 in Alaska)

•Data shown on right, taken from NOAA Harbor Seal, California Stock Assessment Report 2005

Calif. Harbor Seal Census to 2005

SAVE OUR CHILDREN’S POOL

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Children’s Pool is not a natural phenomenon. Before 1992, Sea World released all rescued seals & sea lions 8-12 miles at sea off unpopulated coastline.

From 1992 to 2003, rehab harbor seals that had lost fear of humans were preferentially dropped close to Children’s Pool. Data supplied by National Marine Fisheries Service shows how to create a metropolitan seal colony What happened.

Photo from Sea World San Diego website

SAVE OUR CHILDREN’S POOL

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SAVE OUR CHILDREN’S POOLOUR POSITION

• The City wants to turn the Children’s Pool into a “marine mammal park.” This would eliminate ocean access, the purpose for which the Pool was built, to save the cost of restoring the beach.

• To preserve a tourist attraction, 740,000 San Diego Children are to be denied the beach for swimming. The City has ceded the Children’s Pool to an activist organization. It uses Children’s as it’s primary source of income. (and harasses the public off the beach) Its strongarm tactics disgrace true environmentalism.

• The City believes a spillover of tourist dollars makes this a good idea.

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SAVE OUR CHILDREN’S POOLOUR POSITION (continued)• Seals have 11 islands and 350 miles of coastline they

can call their own. The children have but 200 feet and this is now in danger due to the short sightedness of San Diego City officials.

• Changing a State Trust to bail out a greedy city from its obligations is a dangerous precedent. We STRONGLY encourage the legislature to vote 428 down thereby honoring the existing Trust.

• All California cities should employ the Marine Mammal Protection Act Section 109(h) to keep seals wild and protect public beaches.

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SAVE OUR CHILDREN’S POOL

OUR PLEA• The Children’s Pool was built for the Children of

San Diego 78 years ago for use as a safe swimming venue.

• Please let the children enjoy this treasure for untold generations to come. Please let the seals return to the natural ways of their ancestors.

• Do not support SB428. That’s all you that is required. The courts will do the rest

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SAVE OUR CHILDREN’S POOL

• SAN DIEGO OFFICIALS & ORGANIZATIONS NOT WILLING TO SUPPORT SB428

• Sherri Lightner, San Diego City Councilwoman, La Jolla

• Friends of the Children’s Pool

• California Council of Divers

• San Diego Council of Divers

• Local dive clubs in San Diego

• San Diegans Against Beach Closure

• San Diego FreeDivers

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Myths You May Be Told

• A million visitors come to Children’s Pool every year to look at the seals

• The seals have been there forever• If the seals cannot stay at CP they will perish.• Children’s is the only place seals have in Southern

California• Children can’t use Children’s Pool beach anyway

because it is dangerous• SB428 gives local control of Children’s to the City