Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Imperial Beach homeowners assert claim to boulders

"I will sit on them anytime I damn well please," says beachgoer of private property

The homeowners' association planned to put up the signs since before March.
The homeowners' association planned to put up the signs since before March.

Imperial Beach residents are displeased with the new "Private Property/No Trespassing/No Climbing/No Sitting on Rocks" signs that have appeared on the beach between the ocean and the Boca Rio condominiums that run from 1590 to 1690 Seacoast Drive.

The four metal signs bolted onto the boulders by the Boca Rio Homeowners Association within the past few weeks warn that violators will be prosecuted.

Jeff Wallis

"I will sit on them anytime I damn well please," said Imperial Beach resident Jeff Wallis. "What's next," he wrote on Facebook, "Is the Boca Rio HOA going to try and limit beach access to the ocean in front of their cushy lil beach cottages?"

Sponsored
Sponsored

The Boca Rio homeowners' association has been installing the signs since May 19th, according to the agenda notes of their board meetings available online. On March 17th is the note "signs were purchased and will be installed to advise people to not trespass, not climb on the rocks," and "Mike Clegg and Cindy Killman will donate their time to install on the rocks. These signs will not be visible from the homeowners [sic] view."

Homeowners' association vice president Cindy Killman said she had not heard of any controversy about the signs but that the HOA does not talk to the media. "That's our stand," she said.

President Robin Clegg said no one in the association was authorized to talk to the press. "We would have no comment for the media," she said.

The seawall boulders on the beach are not public property, according to Imperial Beach city manager Andy Hall.

"The revetment [rocks] is on private property," he said via email. "The City was not notified that the signs would be installed. It is legal for property owners to place signs that indicate private ownership and no trespassing."

Meanwhile, local beachgoers are up in arms about both the look and the intent of the signs, with many under the impression that the seawall is public property.

"HOA just vandalized the rocks!" said Steve Gibbons on the recent social media forum.

"I'm thinking 50 or so of us should go sit on those rocks Saturday," wrote Patrick Thomas.

Some revetment was initially placed in front of what were then apartment buildings “around 1966-'67,” according to California Coastal Commission documents. The area has been the subject of easement issues in the past. 


“It’s private property till you get to the base of the rocks,” said Imperial Beach City Council member Brian Pat Bilbray via social media, “after that the port owns it.”

John C.R. Jones contributed to this article.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Now what can they do with Encinitas unstable cliffs?

Make the cliffs fall, put up more warnings, fine beachgoers?
Next Article

Raging Cider & Mead celebrates nine years

Company wants to bring America back to its apple-tree roots
The homeowners' association planned to put up the signs since before March.
The homeowners' association planned to put up the signs since before March.

Imperial Beach residents are displeased with the new "Private Property/No Trespassing/No Climbing/No Sitting on Rocks" signs that have appeared on the beach between the ocean and the Boca Rio condominiums that run from 1590 to 1690 Seacoast Drive.

The four metal signs bolted onto the boulders by the Boca Rio Homeowners Association within the past few weeks warn that violators will be prosecuted.

Jeff Wallis

"I will sit on them anytime I damn well please," said Imperial Beach resident Jeff Wallis. "What's next," he wrote on Facebook, "Is the Boca Rio HOA going to try and limit beach access to the ocean in front of their cushy lil beach cottages?"

Sponsored
Sponsored

The Boca Rio homeowners' association has been installing the signs since May 19th, according to the agenda notes of their board meetings available online. On March 17th is the note "signs were purchased and will be installed to advise people to not trespass, not climb on the rocks," and "Mike Clegg and Cindy Killman will donate their time to install on the rocks. These signs will not be visible from the homeowners [sic] view."

Homeowners' association vice president Cindy Killman said she had not heard of any controversy about the signs but that the HOA does not talk to the media. "That's our stand," she said.

President Robin Clegg said no one in the association was authorized to talk to the press. "We would have no comment for the media," she said.

The seawall boulders on the beach are not public property, according to Imperial Beach city manager Andy Hall.

"The revetment [rocks] is on private property," he said via email. "The City was not notified that the signs would be installed. It is legal for property owners to place signs that indicate private ownership and no trespassing."

Meanwhile, local beachgoers are up in arms about both the look and the intent of the signs, with many under the impression that the seawall is public property.

"HOA just vandalized the rocks!" said Steve Gibbons on the recent social media forum.

"I'm thinking 50 or so of us should go sit on those rocks Saturday," wrote Patrick Thomas.

Some revetment was initially placed in front of what were then apartment buildings “around 1966-'67,” according to California Coastal Commission documents. The area has been the subject of easement issues in the past. 


“It’s private property till you get to the base of the rocks,” said Imperial Beach City Council member Brian Pat Bilbray via social media, “after that the port owns it.”

John C.R. Jones contributed to this article.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Ramona musicians seek solution for outdoor playing at wineries

Ambient artists aren’t trying to put AC/DC in anyone’s backyard
Next Article

Poway’s schools, faced with money squeeze, fined for voter mailing

$105 million bond required payback of nearly 10 times that amount
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader