HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) - California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration gave approval Tuesday to plans by Huntington Beach and two smaller cities to reopen beaches that fell under his order shutting down the entire Orange County coast after a heat wave drew large crowds to the shore.
Huntington Beach, the world famous surfing mecca, and the cities of Dana Point and Seal Beach submitted plans consistent with the governor’s orders in response to the coronavirus pandemic and include measures to avoid overcrowding and enable physical distancing, the state Natural Resources Agency said.
Active recreation including walking, bicycle riding and surfing are allowed in Huntington Beach but sunbathing isn’t. The city’s popular pier and beach playground remain closed.
“The new active recreation rules that we’re instituting will allow for continued beach access in a manner that emphasizes the need to practice safe social distancing,” Mayor Lyn Semeta said in a statement.
The action follows approval Monday of beach access plans submitted by two other cites, Laguna Beach and San Clemente, to allow active recreation.
Orange County will draft a similar plan after supervisors voted Tuesday to submit one to the state. Supervisor Lisa Bartlett said the move would let residents get fresh air and exercise without running the risk of spreading the coronavirus, which could further slow the resumption of economic activity.
“With the active recreation, it provides a high level of public health and safety,” she said. “If we have too many people in a given area and there’s mass gathering, and they don’t have face coverings, then potentially we’re going to spread the risk of coronavirus and we’re not going to be able to open up as quickly as possible.”
The move was opposed by two supervisors who argued that Newsom shouldn’t have singled out the county for beach closures and that active plans don’t let families with young children, or people with injuries, enjoy the beach.
“No other county is required to do what this governor, in his arbitrary and capricious exercise of power, has asked us to submit to,” Supervisor Don Wagner said during the meeting. “I am disappointed that local governments in coastal cities felt the need to bow and scrape and throw together a plan.”
The governor announced on April 30 that he was ordering all Orange County beaches to shut down after spring heat spell prompted thousands of people to head to the coast, primarily at Huntington Beach and adjacent Newport Beach.
Huntington Beach filed a lawsuit trying to get its beach reopened, but a judge refused to immediately block the order. Newport Beach supported that suit.
Newport Beach has also submitted a proposal to the state reopen its beaches and hopes to hear soon, John Pope, a city spokesman, said in a statement.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death. The vast majority of people recover.
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Antczak reported from Los Angeles.
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