AgdaPkt 2014-03-24 Closed and Regular

Browse Search

8.A. - Page 50 Lora p tan Published for all members of Sierra Club in Santa Clara,San Mateo and San Benito Counties APRIL 1983 Facts Behind the Stickers Pete's Harbor Giveaways By Dave Fogarty,Conservation and Restaurant in Redwood City doesn't marina operator has confused the facts Coordinator agree. He claims ownership of a portion with misleading slogans typified by the of Smith Slough, a 120-foot-wide water- widely-distributed Save Pete's Harbor Would you believe someone who way that is part of San Francisco Bay. bumper stickers. claimed to own the Golden Gate Channel, If legislation introduced on his behalf by At the heart of the issue is the validity the bed of Lake Tahoe, or the Santa Bar- Assemblyman Dominic Cortese (San of the marina owner's claim that a swamp bara Channel? Jose) passes, he could charge people to and overflowed(S&O) deed gives him ab- Of course not. . . . These are public fish from the shore of Smith Slough or to solute ownership to the tidal waters of waterways belonging•to all the people pass by in a boat. Or, he could fill the Smith SIough. S&O lands by definition of California to use for "public trust" waterway and develop it. are different from tidelands and sub- • purposes (fishing, boating, swimming, Of additional concern, this Baylands merged lands because they are above the wildlife protection) and for water-related Giveaway Bill (AB 215) could set an ad- line of highest tidal action. Because they industry, such as seaports. The public verse precedent for denying public access are not tidal, they are not subject to the trust is a common law doctrine that to thousands of acres of public water- public trust. means all tidelands and submerged lands •ways in the bay and throughout the The state constitution,numerous Cali- . such as San Francisco Bay,as well as navi- state- fornia Supreme Court decisions, and Ms gable lakes and rivers belong to all the Unfortunately, these public concerns own title insurance, however, indicate people to use for trust-related purposes. have received little press coverage. In- otherwise. Specifically, the California The owner of Pete's Harbor Marina deed, a clever publicity campaign by the Continued on page 8 Continued from page 1 -- - - - - . - — - - - - constitution prohibits the state from giving away tidelands such as Smith Slough to private owners within two miles of a city_ Moreover, the California Supreme Court,in a major decision at the turn of the century,(People v.California Fish Co.)decided S&O deeds did not con- vey ownership to tidelands and submerged lands. Even if the marina owner did not read the constitution, his own title insurance specifically exempts from coverage tide- lands and submerged lands protected by the public trust. Can you take five minutes to help stop this Baylands giveaway? Please write a note to the Assembly Natural Resources Committee which will consider AB 215 • in early April. Tell the Committee what you think about this baylands giveaway, and ask the members to oppose AB 215. Write to Assemblyman Terry Goggin and Members or the Natural Resources Committee, State Capitol, Sacramento 95814.