Six organizations want to help defend Oceano Dunes off-roading ban. Here’s how
Six environmental and community organizations want to help the California Coastal Commission defend its decision to ban most off-roading at Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area by 2024.
The groups — the Center for Biological Diversity, Northern Chumash Tribal Council, Oceano Beach Community Association, San Luis Obispo Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, San Luis Obispo Coastkeeper and the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club — filed a motion to intervene in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Monday.
The motion to intervene was filed in one lawsuit that challenges the validity of the Coastal Commission’s March 18, 2021, decision to prohibit off-highway vehicles (OHVs) on the majority of the dunes by 2024.
That court case was originally four separate lawsuits that were consolidated into one due to overlapping legal arguments that all seek to overturn the Coastal Commission’s vote.
Friends of Oceano Dunes allege in the consolidated lawsuit that the Coastal Commission violated state environmental laws by ordering State Parks to prohibit OHV use at the Oceano Dunes by 2024. No proper environmental analysis was conducted to examine the potential impacts the prohibition of vehicles on the dunes would have, the lawsuit alleges.
By filing the motion, the organizations seek to join the case on the side of the Coastal Commission to defend its March vote. The organizations are represented by law students and attorneys at the University of California Irvine School of Law.
“These sensitive dunes have been damaged by off-road vehicles for far too long, and now this important coastal habitat should get a chance to recover,” said Jeff Miller, a senior conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity, in a prepared statement. “The amended permit better protects endangered species and the climate, and allows everyone to enjoy this special place.”
The motion notes that without the organizations’ intervention, their “narrow and specific interests” would be “inadequately represented” in the court case.
“Applicants seek intervention to protect threatened species, restore the health of the dunes and the vitality of the surrounding communities, protect public rights to low-impact recreational access and safeguard the cultural practices of the Northern Chumash, the ancestral keepers of the dunes,” the motion says. “The Coastal Commission and State Parks are collectively unable to adequately defend applicants’ interests as demonstrated by four decades of failure to meaningfully cooperate to protect the dunes,” the motion says.
In a statement to The Tribune, Friends of Oceano Dunes President Jim Suty said his organization will oppose the motion to intervene. The other two entities arguing against the Coastal Commission’s vote in the lawsuit, EcoLogic Partners Inc. and the Specialty Equipment Market Association, will do the same, according to court documents.
The Coastal Commission has indicated it will not oppose the motion. State Parks and San Luis Obispo County, which is also named in the lawsuit, have not yet taken a position on the motion, according to court documents.
The motion to intervene will be heard by Judge Tana Coates in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on March 9 at 9 a.m.
Second lawsuit over Oceano Dunes decision still in court
The consolidated lawsuit is one of two that remain in court over the Coastal Commission’s decision to ban OHVs at the popular park.
The second suit asks a judge to grant a quiet title for the entire Oceano Dunes park, alleging that the land has an “implied-by-law dedication” to be used for OHVs, beach driving and camping, and therefore cannot be used for any other purpose.
Because the Coastal Commission’s vote to ban OHV use in most areas of the park would prevent such implied uses, the lawsuit asks the judge to nullify the vote and return all of the Oceano Dunes lands to its implied use. If granted, this would mean all of the lands within the Oceano Dunes SVRA would be open to OHV use — even land set aside for court-mandated dust mitigation efforts.
“Quiet title” lawsuits of this kind are usually brought against private landowners. They are usually used to “quiet” a dispute over who owns the land.
In this case, Friends of Oceano Dunes in its lawsuit doesn’t dispute who owns the land, just that the owners allegedly are improperly using it by banning OHVs and camping in some areas of the park.
The group says in its lawsuit that California State Parks, San Luis Obispo County and the California Department of General Services — the landowners of the park — hold the title for the land and therefore are subject to a quiet title lawsuit.
The case is set for a trial beginning on March 13, 2023, according to court documents.
This story was originally published February 17, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
