***update, the county board has announced this ordinance will not really be taken seriously by them, fines only will be given if you are playing too close to others and continue to ignore the lifeguards in asking you to stop. Lame excuse by the county but they obviously have seen the negative feedback for their poorly written ordinance*****
For decades, we have safely enjoyed the beaches of Los Angeles County. Recently, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors has created an ordinance (http://cbsla.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/beach.pdf) which fines you $1000 for throwing a football, frisbee, or other non beach ball type item at the beach in between Memorial Day and Labor Day (section 49, 17.12.430):
"it is unlawful for any person to cast, toss, throw, kick, or roll any ball, tube, or any light object other than a beach ball or beach volleyball over the beach"
and fines you or your child for digging a hole in the sand deeper than 18 inches (section 30, 17.12.205):
"No person shall dig a hole deeper than 18" into the sand, or dig into any vertical embankment except at the Director's discretion..."
You know where else you can't throw a football at the beach? North Korea. The board of supervisors says this is due to safety, but these activities have been safely enjoyed for years. If we want to improve the safety of our beaches, we should spend more time and money on beach and ocean clean ups. It is almost impossible to understand why the simple activities we have enjoyed all our lives are now considered too dangerous and fines must be imposed if you don't get a permit from the fire chief. If this is not reversed, who knows what other future activities could be put on the banned list as well.
We the undersigned request a reversal to the new ordinance (sections 30, 17.12.205 and section 49, 17.12.430) fining the use of footballs, frisbees, and other non beach ball items, along with the fine for digging in the sand deeper than 18 inches without a permit between Memorial Day and Labor Day. These are basic activities that have been enjoyed safely by the citizens and children of Los Angeles County for decades. Once we start fining these activities, and open the door for more to come, beach goers will have to worry about regulations and fines, instead of enjoying themselves. The beach will no longer be enjoyed like it used to, and already internet buzz shows the shock from potential tourists to our regulations here. Thank you for your consideration and we hope that more effort and time will be spent on important issues such as cleaning up our beaches and oceans from pollutants, which actually do put our citizens at risk.
