Beach fences, checkpoints questioned on Fourth of July in Santa Cruz County

CAPITOLA -- After an Independence Day marked by fewer than normal law enforcement problems, some Santa Cruz County residents are questioning whether law enforcement should ease up on chain-link fences and checkpoints at beaches that have restricted beachgoers.

Hemmed in by rules and barriers on a day intended to celebrate freedom, Capitola City Councilman Dennis Norton said he believes more beach access could stem some problems with illegal fireworks that have moved to neighborhoods in Capitola, Live Oak and Rio del Mar.

He's also trying to rally support for a public fireworks show on the beach.

"Everyone is in favor of controlling fireworks and drunkenness in our county," Norton said. "But to close our beaches and offer the public nothing on Independence Day seems to be a contradiction."

He also questioned the price of chain-link fences on the holiday, which cost State Parks $4,900 in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties for the day, according to a State Parks spokeswoman in Sacramento.

Orange plastic fences set up by Santa Cruz County Public Works also cost $1,400, and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office paid the equivalent of about 17 deputies a day's worth of overtime.

However, a schedule shift instituted years ago again saved the Sheriff's Office hundreds of hours of overtime pay, said Jeff Marsh, deputy chief of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office. Marsh said the checkpoints and fences have come as a response not

ANNUAL CRUSH

Fireworks have been shot at deputies, and they have dealt with crowds of drunken revelers and gang members on the North Coast, he said.

"People say, 'Why do we need the fences? Look, there's no problems,'" Marsh said. "But do we want to go back 10 or 15 years with riots and explosives thrown on patrol cars?" he asked.

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Beach fences, checkpoints questioned on Fourth of July in Santa Cruz County