LOS ANGELES —Beachgoers in Orange County rejoiced after state and local officials agreed Tuesday on plans to reopen some areas of the coast days after California Gov. Gavin Newsom shuttered all beaches in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Dana Point, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, San Clemente and Seal Beach submitted plans to Sacramento that would allow the public to immediately access the coastline for active recreation only. The plans, approved this week, include a range of measures to avoid overcrowding and allow safe physical distancing, according to the California Natural Resources Agency.
Eric Sundquist, 45, came to Huntington Beach from Redondo Beach to surf Tuesday. He said he had yet to face opposition to surfing in Huntington Beach, although he was aware of surfers being ushered out of the water over the weekend.
“I just kind of travel the coastline to surf, but I love Huntington,” Sundquist said. “It’s miles of great surf. It’s Surf City USA, so I come here regardless of the situation. Luckily, they’ve been the only people that have treated it with some common sense, to be quite honest with you.”
Under Huntington Beach’s plan, people are now permitted to use the beach from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. with the stipulation that they remain active. Sunbathing is not allowed. Parking meters along Pacific Coast Highway and the beach’s bike path are available for use, but the pier and the city’s beach parking lot will remain closed.
“We’re delighted to be reopening our beaches for active recreation, which will allow our community to once again enjoy the recreational and mental health benefits from spending time in the Pacific Ocean,” Huntington Beach Mayor Lyn Semeta said in a prepared statement. “The new active recreation rules that we’re instituting will allow for continued beach access in a manner that emphasizes the need to practice safe social distancing.”
Seal Beach’s coastline will be open —beginning Monday —for limited hours Monday through Thursday with the requirement that visitors remain active while on the sand.
Officials in Dana Point said their beaches will also be open only to walking, running and recreational uses such as swimming and surfing. No gatherings will be permitted, but the public can still access the city’s tide pools.
Visitors will be permitted to use Laguna Beach’s sandy stretches for active purposes from 6 to 10 a.m. weekdays.
Under San Clemente’s plan, the city will only allow active use of the beach and keep restrooms and parking lots closed.
Huntington Beach spokesman Eric McCoy said the beaches could be further opened in the coming days and weeks, depending on Newsom’s reopening orders. The governor has said that Phase 2 of reopening the state could begin Friday, with some retail, manufacturing and logistics businesses.
“As he makes those changes, we’ll be following up as well,” McCoy said.
The only coastal city in Orange County that has not yet gained approval from the state to reopen is Newport Beach. The city, just a few miles south of Huntington Beach, also submitted a plan to Sacramento on Saturday to safely reopen its coastline, city spokesman John Pope said.
“We have been closely coordinating with Huntington Beach about strategies to enhance the management of our beaches,” Pope said. “Despite repeated attempts by city staff to connect with state officials, we have not yet received any information on an approval or modifications, or when a decision might be made.”
George Roudanez, 78, of Corona del Mar was out for a walk with his wife, Linda, in Huntington Beach on Tuesday. The couple has enjoyed some of the relaxed restrictions of the stay-at-home orders of late, playing tennis at Racquet Club Irvine this week.
He believes that people should have options to go outside and be active, as long as they remain vigilant about their social distancing.
“I think the big problem when you close too many things, there’s the law of unintended consequences,” Roudanez said. “When you close too many things, you’re making people congregate in those areas where they can congregate, and that’s not a good idea. The more things that you have open, the better it is, as long as people remain vigilant and they observe their (spacing) and they stay apart.”
