A park with waterfront views of Alamitos Bay could soon get major improvements paid for by the affluent housing development next to it, which illegally blocked public access for more than three decades.
The settlement, if approved by the California Coastal Commission on Thursday, would require Bay Harbour’s Homeowners Association to pay $2.5 million to construct and maintain a public restroom and add a slew of other amenities such as trees, benches and native plants at Jack Nichol Park, just off Pacific Coast Highway and south of Loynes Drive.
It comes as a repercussion for the HOA illegally restricting public access to a roughly 1,500-foot coastal path leading to the park from the early 1980s until 2024. The Coastal Commission, which regulates public access to coastal resources, first approved a permit for the nearly 200-home housing development on 28 acres next to Alamitos Bay in 1976. It did so on the condition that the HOA “provide multiple public bay access pathways,” according to a staff memo.
The homeowners’ association built the pathways, but put up locked gates at every entrance. They even added no trespassing signs on the gates, according to the Coastal Commission.
After the city opened Jack Nichol Park in 2006, the HOA also put up “Bay Harbour” signs on both sides of a public road leading to the park, which “gave the appearance of being the entrance to a private gated community,” commission staff wrote.
Although those signs have also been taken down, the park remains tucked away and hidden from the public eye.
The settlement would require the HOA to put up signs directing people to the park and informing them of the public path that cuts through the housing development, where homes currently cost between $1.5 and $3 million.
The path and the park are “underutilized, and that’s one thing that we hope this changes,” said Lisa Haage, head of enforcement for the Coastal Commission.
Currently, the only bathroom at the park is reserved for boat owners, which limits the amount of time visitors can enjoy the park and views of the marina.
Belmont Shore resident Chelsea McGehee said she has been visiting Jack Nichol Park for the past few months after a friend recommended it as a calm place to take her four small dogs.
She didn’t know the pathway through the housing development was open to the public, but said residents have always been inviting when she talks to them in the park.
Since 2019, the Coastal Commission has been working with the HOA to reestablish public access to the paths.
Two years ago, after the commission threatened to send a cease and desist, the HOA removed the locked gates. If they hadn’t complied, the commission could have levied fines totaling $11,250 per day per violation.
“Had they not settled with us, we definitely would have pursued more monetary penalties than $2.5 million,” said Rob Moddelmog, enforcement counsel for the Coastal Commission.
However, the agreement avoids legal fees and makes sure the money is spent on amenities the public can use, rather than collecting money that goes into a state conservancy fund, which may not have been spent on park improvements, said Joshua Smith, a spokesperson for the commission.
“Since this is a consent resolution, it saves everybody a ton of money,” Haage said. “They don’t have to spend it on lawyers, they can spend it on trees and benches instead.”
The California Coastal Commission will vote to approve or reject the settlement at its meeting on Thursday, which starts at 9 a.m. You can livestream the meeting here.