Lawsuit filed over Morro Strand State Beach access

A nonprofit environmental group has filed a lawsuit against a couple with oceanfront property in Morro Bay, claiming that their plan to build a home on their land would block a longstanding pathway used by the public to reach Morro Strand State Beach.

The nonprofit organization, Save the Park, led by President Betty Winholtz, a former Morry Bay city councilwoman who has announced her candidacy for mayor, claims that construction of the home at 3420 Toro Lane would block a portion of trail that qualifies as a public easement because it has been used by beachgoers for decades.

The trail was built as a tank road for amphibious training during World War II and has been used by the public since then, according to Save the Park.

Property owner Gregory Frye, a local emergency room doctor, calls the lawsuit “frivolous” and said he and his wife, Jeanne, have tried to compromise to make their proposal work for all involved. Frye said the couple has agreed to build an alternate pathway on the property to the beach, which would still allow space to build the home.

The residential development plan has been approved by the Morro Bay Planning Commission and the Morro Bay City Council. The California Coastal Commission denied an appeal to block the construction, which now may proceed barring a court intervention.

The lawsuit seeks a court order to stop the Fryes from building a 1,600-square-foot home with a garage and patio on the nearly quarter-acre site.

“There’s no other pathway in the area with a gentle slope that’s suitable for elderly folks or those with disabilities,” said Cynthia Hawley, Save the Park’s lawyer. “The public has used it for decades. Under California’s prescriptive rights law, it’s protected as a public easement.”

But Frye said plenty of suitable access points to the beach exist nearby, including multiple pathways identified by Planning Commissioner Robert Tefft in a study of the site.

“Take a walk out there and look,” Frye said. “There is plenty of beach access all around. My take is that it’s extremely unfair and they’ve distorted the facts. There has been no compromise on their side.”

The state Coastal Commission also noted that other access points exist. According to a Coastal Commission report, those include “free public parking and beach access trails at the North Point Natural Area located immediately up-coast from the project site along Toro Lane.” A stairway at the North Point parking lot leads to the beach.

Save the Park contends that other trails are steeper, rocky or have unstable soil. Hawley said she has personally had to crouch and scoot down other pathways in the area or crawl to be safe.

The alternate path the Fryes have said they would create on their property would be difficult to build and would disturb sensitive habitat because it’s on a stream bank, Hawley said.

However, Frye said the new path, planned to be about 3 to 4 feet wide, has been looked at by a civil engineer, city officials and a local volunteer trail maintenance crew, who all believe an adequate and similar new trail can be created on the property.

“We’ve engineered a trail that will be perfectly adequate, even better than the existing trail,” Frye said. “The folks who are bringing this lawsuit have tried to stop us at every step of the planning process. This is just another hurdle.”

The Coastal Commission staff looked at the issue and found the slope on the Fryes’ planned alternate path would be very similar to the existing trail, with less incline.

“The relocated path will continue to provide access from Toro Lane to the beach, will be located on the same parcel, and will be roughly the same width and even less steep than the existing trail,” according to the report.

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Lawsuit filed over Morro Strand State Beach access."