Coastal Commission to Face Off with Beach Toughs

Beach ruffians will be the focus of increased efforts to make a prime section of Pacific coastline available to everyone instead of being used as a private surf spot for a local gang that has protected it as its own.

Amid complaints that local agencies, including law enforcement, have turned a blind eye to victims hoping to ride some of the best waves in Southern California, the California Coastal has gotten involved on the premise that the Bay Boys surfer gang is so entrenched at Lunada Bay in Palos Verdes Estates that it falls under the commission’s watchdog regulations and permitting processes.

Agency enforcement officer Jordan Sanchez wrote city officials that the Bay Boys gang’s prevention of so-called outsiders from using the beach “whether through devices ... or impediments, such as threatening behavior intended to discourage public use of the coastline, represents a change of access to water, and, thus, constitutes development.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, Sanchez’s next step will be to discuss with city leaders a plan to step up criminal and code enforcement that will eliminate the Bay Boys’ obstruction of public access, which has included intimidation and vandalism, according to witnesses.

The band of beach toughs has been accused of throwing dirt clods, slashing car tires and assaulting other surfers while on the water in an effort to keep their spot free of outsiders.

--Photo of Lunada Bay via Flickr