Photo by Gary Dobbins

“Good fences make good neighbors,” wrote poet Robert Frost, but on Santa Claus Lane a fence is creating more tension than neighborly goodwill. For years, surfers and beachgoers have used a dirt trail behind A-Frame Surf Shop to reach the beach.

However, the era of easy access to the surf behind the Santa Claus businesses ended a few months ago when Morehart Land Company, owners of the section of property where the footpath crosses, erected a fence blocking that shortcut to the beach. Now people trying to use the old footpath are stopped by a chain link fence with a locked gate and a sign that reads: “Fence Erected by order of Union Pacific.”

“This crossing has been used by the community consistently for 70 years. There is no other legitimate access in the area. There’s no formal access anywhere on Santa Claus Lane. This is a case of urban encroachment and private property owners restricting access,” said Rob Holcombe, co-owner of A-Frame Surf Shop.

Holcombe, who said that his business has been adversely affected by the fenced crossing, contends that the fence is illegal because it restricts a “grandfathered easement,” or long-term right of way that has been used for years. He said that he has aerial maps from the 1940s showing use of that strip of land for public beach access.

When the idea of fencing that area first arose several years ago, Holcombe began a petition drive to keep the footpath accessible. Although he gained the support of hundreds of people who signed his petition and at least one member of the California Coastal Commission, Holcombe said he was unable to prevent the fence’s construction.

But Madeline Miller, president of the Morehart Land Company, disputes Holcombe’s claim that the footpath is a legitimate community easement. “It’s not a public access point,” she said.

Instead, she stated that anyone who used the footpath in the past was trespassing over her company’s private property. Miller noted that erecting the fence was necessary to keep the public off the land and to keep people from getting injured on the tracks and suing the land owners.

“Union Pacific met with us on-site and warned us that we would be liable (if someone was injured on the tracks). They ordered us to close it immediately. We sought county advice and a legal opinion. We didn’t have many choices here,” said Miller.

Additionally, Miller said that the Morehart Land Company installed the $4,000 fence after two years of negotiations with neighbors, Santa Barbara County officials and Union Pacific. She said that it took a long time to figure out how to legally protect the public and Morehart Land Company, while not destroying the area’s scenic views.

“The last thing we want is to be sued. If we had a choice we never would have (put up the fence). We didn’t want to spend $4,000 to keep trespassers off our property,” said Miller.

Miller has personal reasons for being worried about the public getting hit by a train. The longtime area resident said that she has known people who have gotten hit by the train and heard stories of many others. The blind curve on the tracks, just before Santa Claus Lane businesses, makes it difficult to hear some trains approaching, she noted, especially if the wind is blowing.

“We’re a family company. We’re very concerned about people’s safety,” said Miller.

Safety is just one of the issues facing the county planners as they struggle to come up with a controlled beach crossing in the area. According to Jeremy Tittle, a representative from County Supervisor Salud Carbajal’s office, his office is trying to balance the concerns of the public, private land owners, business owners, residents, Union Pacific and the California Coastal Commission while designing a new crossing.

Though potentially a daunting task, Tittle reported that the county is very excited for this project and that the Santa Claus Beach crossing is one of Carbajal’s top priorities. After meeting with various many people to discuss the crossing in February 2006, Tittle said the county realized they needed to create “a legal, controlled, safe beach access. We need an at-grade railroad crossing.” The plan, he said, calls for building more parking and public restrooms as well.

Although there may be a future solution to the problem of private land rights and public beach access on Santa Claus Lane and the beach, currently there is still a conflict of interests. According to Tittle, all the property adjoining Santa Claus Beach (including the 100 feet around the railroad tracks which is owned by Union Pacific) is private property. When asked what how the public should safely cross to the beach now, without trespassing, Tittle had no clear answer.

As well, he said that Morehart Land Company committed no crimes by erecting the fence behind Santa Claus Lane, according to his understanding of county law.

“They didn’t need a county permit,” said Tittle.

Some people, including Ed Schram, owner of the Beach Grill at Padaro, and Union Pacific representative Mark Davis are glad that the fence was installed. Both cited public safety as the reason they are happy a barrier now exists between the Morehart property and the railroad tracks that run along the beach.

“None of our people said they had to (erect the fence). At the same time, if they did, we’d be in favor of it,” said Davis.

The instance of the fence installation, and the resulting conflicts, are all a case study in the difficulties surrounding local beach access and private property rights. And it’s a problem that is not going away. About 500 feet from the old, fenced-off path, a new dirt trail now winds through an overgrown field, leading the public from the road to the water.