Public access advocates have celebrated the new law as a significant move forward on an issue that had faltered in the face of powerful landowners. But ranch officials, who opposed the legislation last year, call many of the provisions an overreach of the state’s authority. AdvertisementMonte Ward, president of the Hollister Ranch Owners Assn., said the ranch had no objections to the original legislation, Assembly Bill 1680. The new law specifies that the ranch must continue to grant access to state officials as they work on the public access plan. Coastal officials heeded the public outcry and have since looked for new ways to obtain access once and for all.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 16, 2020 23:03 UTC