Higher fees at beaches and parks are taxing

DANETTE GOULET

What comes out of taxpayers wallets and goes to the state?

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promised no new taxes, but budget cuts

have forced the fees at state beaches and parks to double for the

second year in a row.

Arnold didn’t mention that when he was strolling the pier, now did

he?

Anyone who uses Huntington and Bolsa Chica state beaches may want

to go get an annual pass, at the already inflated price of $67,

before July 1, when that price goes up to $125. Although $67 sounds

steep, the daily rates will also be leaping up to $12 a day, so even

if you’re not a surfer -- just someone who likes to enjoy the beach a

handful of times in the summer -- you’ll save money by purchasing the

annual pass.

Two years ago, an annual pass was $35, and a day pass was $3 per

car. In July those numbers will have swelled to $125 and $12. That is

an astronomical increase in just two years.

I complained two years ago when the city hiked its annual pass to

$125 and fees up to $9. That $9 is starting to look good. That annual

pass also goes down every three months or so. I never thought I’d see

the day it would be cheaper to go to the city beach.

As taxpayers, we already pay for the maintenance and upkeep of our

state parks and beaches. Most of us didn’t balk at paying a nominal

fee to go to that public taxpayer-owned beach, but now it’s getting

ridiculous.

This isn’t a theme park, it’s California’s coast. We don’t go to

the beach for the amenities, we go for the sand and surf, which was

put there by Mother Nature. I don’t know about everyone else, but I

don’t need a paved parking lot, a path or even plumbing. Give me a

free natural setting any day, and I’ll surf and swim at my own risk.

While it is far too late to go for natural, if you need to raise

taxes, raise them. Don’t tell us there will be no new taxes but fees

will go sky-high. It’s dishonest. A fee paid by a California resident

and taxpayer to use state-owned, taxpayer-funded area might as well

be a tax, no matter what Arnold and his team of spinmeisters call it.

The hiked fees are outrageous. A day at the beach should not cost

$12. The beach should be for everyone.

Huntington Beach is the second most popular California state park,

with about 3.7-million visitors annually. At $12 a pop, Huntington

would be bringing in more than $44 million alone. Where exactly is

that money going?

I have no problem chipping in to keep our state beaches and parks

open and beautiful, but c’mon.

* DANETTE GOULET is the city editor. She can be reached at (714)

965-7170 or by e-mail at danette.goulet@latimes.com.