Is it too expensive to sleep by the beach in California?

June 5, 2017

Too many California residents are priced out of beach getaways, according to a bill making its way through the state Legislature.

AB 250, which was introduced by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego), calls for the State Coastal Conservancy to develop a plan to improve existing and provide new low-cost lodging within 1.5 miles of the coast. Low-cost accommodations include campgrounds, cabins, hostels, hotels, motels, and RV parks.

“A lack of affordable accommodations remains a barrier to coastal access,” the bill states. “California’s historic supply of lower cost coastal accommodations has been reduced and continues to be diminished as a result of high coastal property values and economic pressures to develop new coastal accommodations that are too expensive to be affordable to most visitors.”

Last year, a California Coastal Commission study found the state has lost nearly 25,000 economy rate rooms in coastal counties since 1989 as a result of hotel closures.

The Coastal Commission collects in-lieu fees for the purpose of developing projects aimed to serve low-cost visitors. But, the Coastal Commission has failed to spend much of the in-lieu funds, which the agency says do not comprise enough money to build cabins and campgrounds.

If adopted, AB 250 would allow the Legislature to transfer the funds from the Coastal Commission to the Coastal Conservancy or to nonprofits or other agencies that would build or acquire low-cost lodging. The new accommodations would be available for low-income and middle-income families, as well as nonprofits and public agencies that serve young or at-risk populations.

Last week, AB 250 passed the Assembly on a 67 to 7 vote. The bill is now under consideration in the state Senate.


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You can blame the county as well as realtors. Try and get a building permit all the different fees,taxes this study that soil test road impact fees and so forth adds thousands of dollars to the cost of a home.You never actually own a home because of taxes and fees.It costs more te get a permit than I paid for my home fifty seven years ago.


I was in a local store recently and the sales person immediately launched into how she, her husband and their children had suddenly uprooted, quit their jobs and moved here from Fresno but were in a hotel. They had visited the Central Coast and were having a hard time finding housing. That was not the reason I went there to shop, however, and I am not being strange–I just rarely get to shop in leisure. She continued to try and get my number, asking me if I knew anyone renting rooms–anything. I like the Beverly Hills area myself…but guess what? Sometimes we just have to understand we don’t get to move into certain areas. Actually, I would settle for Shell Beach–but I am not going to harass people where I work to push my way in there.