By John Davis

In 1998 the City Joint Powers Agreement with the County of Los Angeles to operate City beaches, parking lots, and Dockweiler State Park expired. The State Park and beach consist of a large area south of Marina del Rey, an area just north of the Marina entrance, and a few acres at the end of Windward. The border begins at the center of Ocean Front Walk in Venice.

On August 26 the California Coastal Commission, a State Agency, sent a letter to Councilperson Bill Rosendahl of CD 11 which represents Venice. The letter informed “the Bill” that the city ordinance which places a curfew on the beach at night was not only a violation of the Coastal Act but also the State Constitution.

L.A.’s novice city attorney, Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich, went ballistic over the issue.

“Nuch’s” letter to Andrew Willis at the Coastal Commission accused that body of harassment: “It has not escaped our notice that you have proceeded with your “investigation” … only after the City initiated an administrative mandate proceeding in the Superior Court to challenge the Commission’s decision regarding overnight parking districts in Venice.

“If the City had not taken the Commission to court, the Commission and its staff would not now be investigating a law concerning beach hours…

“The Commission obviously intends its investigation to harass the City into abandoning its litigation against the Commission. The ongoing investigation is totally unjustified, without any legal merit, and represents retaliation…” And so forth. The letters are on the Beachhead’s website at http://www.freevenice.org.

(Additions to the article by Jim Smith)