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Closure keeps people off Sand Dune's turf
by John Tawa
When Manhattan Beach City Manager Geoff Dolan told the city council last Tuesday that Sand Dune Park was being closed for four to six weeks to allow newly planted sod and landscaping to take hold, councilmember Joyce Fahey laughed.
"Because some residents talked about closing it and that's what was happening anyway," she explained.
Last month, a group calling itself the Sand Dune Park Neighborhood Association appeared before the city's Parks and Recreation Commission suggesting changes to the park designed to stem noise and overuse. When a commissioner suggested closing the dune altogether, advocates applauded loudly.
It seems that the neighborhood committee has gotten its wish to close the park -- only under the guise of park maintenance.
Landscapers were out starting last Monday laying sod at the base of the dune and on the level area of Bell Avenue. But the city's actions to protect the sod raised questions whether park maintenance was the real reason driving the closure.
For example, even though the sod at the park was largely in place by Wednesday, the city staff did not fence off the bottom of the dune until Friday afternoon. The top of the dune wasn't fenced off until Saturday afternoon.
And, as of Tuesday morning, the flat area on Bell still wasn't fenced. Barricades and yellow police tape were the only things keeping people out.
"We wanted to provide a pathway for kids to walk to school," said Public Works Director Neil Miller. "We left it open to see what happens. That's not as intensive a use. But we will fence it if we see damage."
Last Thursday, a supervisor from Quality Turf, the company laying the sod, said that the sod would start to take root within two days. Adults could walk on it immediately, he said, but kids should be kept off of it to avoid the temptation to reach down and pull it up. He suggested that closing the newly sodded areas for two weeks would be appropriate.
Many residents and park users coming to the park didn't appreciate the irony that the park neighbors clamored to close was being closed temporarily for park maintenance. One by one, they came expecting to work out on the dune. Upon discovering the park was closed, they voiced emotions ranging from disappointment to anger.
"I've been running up and down this hill for over 20 years and I really resent what they're doing here," said George Taylor, a Manhattan Beach resident for 42 years. "They're trying to make it a private backyard for people who live around the neighborhood. It's a public park, the city pays for it and I think the public ought to be able to use it."
Taylor could not understand why the entire park had to be closed to protect the turf and landscaping at the bottom.
"The dune could very easily have been opened and the stairs could have been opened," he asserted.
Martin Price, a 10-year Manhattan Beach resident, agreed.
"I just don't understand why you have to close it off," he said. "There should have been a path made so that people can use the dunes and protect the areas that are grass. But to block the whole area doesn't make sense to me."
Price also questioned the wisdom of planting turf near the dune.
"I don't understand the design of the park," he said. "The sand will eventually cover the grass. The bulldozing that moves the sand from the bottom to the top of the dune will destroy the turf."
When asked about the sod at the bottom of the dune, Miller said he didn't know how the sand could be moved from the bottom to the top without damaging the turf.
"We're going to be as careful as we can," he said, noting that the renovations were designed with tremendous public input. "The only thing I can say is that the sod area will be heavily used."
On Feb. 28, the Parks and Recreation Commission will consider recommendations prepared by the Sand Dune Park Neighborhood Subcommittee, a group of residents, commission members and park users that was created after the January meeting. Jeff Atkinson, a personal trainer and assistant cross country and track coach at Mira Costa, is on the subcommittee. He said that the subcommittee came up with the idea to close the park.
"Residents wanted to close the park for some duration with the goal of breaking the pattern of use," he explained. "They said we want to establish some new rules that make sense and create compromise."
Atkinson, however, stopped short of calling the maintenance closure a sham.
"Yes, it was a political move for sure," he said, "but it also makes sense for landscaping and placates people. Since the park was being re-sodded, it was suggested why not close it for 30 days to kill two birds with one stone?"
Despite calls to close the park permanently, the subcommittee's recommendations should satisfy everyone, Atkinson asserted. If the recommendations are accepted, quiet time will reign over the park before 8 a.m. and after 8 p.m., enforced by a staff person from Parks & Recreation. Plus, if staff sees more than 45 people on the dune at any one time, it can set up cones separating the dune for young kids playing from adults training.
Dave Peterson, spokesperson for the Sand Dune Park Neighborhood Association, wasn't certain whether the closure would change the park's use patterns.
"I think it may, although this is our inclement weather season," he said. "That usually by itself changes the pattern of use temporarily. I think the new rules are probably going to do a lot more for the park."
Early Tuesday morning, Dwayne Ivey of Hawthorne pulled his car onto Bell for his regular walk on the dune. His shoulders sagged when he saw the fencing.
"I knew it would come to this," he said dejectedly. "I've been coming up here since 1993. Twice a week, I look forward to doing this. I don't know what I'm going to do."
He did say that when the park re-opened, he'd be back. He said there isn't any other comparable workout in the area. "The dune works you harder than stairs, but is easier on the joints," he said.
Including Ivey, only four people stopped by to use the dune between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. In a park that's been fully closed for less than two days, that's impressive. The word obviously already is out. ER