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Mercury News
November 13, 2003

Coast ranks No. 1 in poll
Protecting environment, restricting development along 1,100-mile shoreline receive strong backing

By Paul Rogers

California's image as the land of the Beach Boys, Big Sur and "Baywatch" is well-deserved. And heaven help any politician who is perceived as harming it.

That was the message Wednesday in a new non-partisan poll that found large majorities of California residents identify the coastline as central to their lives and the state's economy, and they want tougher laws to protect and enhance everything on the oceanfront from water quality to wildlife.

Californians support stricter environmental protections along their 1,100-mile shoreline, even if it means further restrictions on private development, limiting where people can fish, more expensive utility bills to reduce water pollution, and higher gasoline prices to stop new offshore oil drilling.

The survey by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), a non-profit research organization in San Francisco established by Hewlett-Packard co-founder William Hewlett, also contains some clues for Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"People want more rather than less involvement from government when it comes to protecting the coast," said Mark Baldassare, research director at PPIC. ``Schwarzenegger is going to have to establish his credentials in the environmental area. Going greener doesn't hurt him in his own party, and it helps him with independents and moderate Democrats."

Thirty-two percent of the poll's respondents say the environment should be "a top priority" for Schwarzenegger, and 57 percent say it should be "an important priority."

The telephone survey of 2,004 adults was conducted between Oct. 24 and Nov. 2. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent.

In a wider sense, by a margin of 49 to 42 percent, California residents say environmental protection should be a priority for state government even if it curbs economic growth. And despite the state's massive budget deficit, 48 percent of Californians support funding environmental programs at current levels, even if it means cutting other state programs, while only 35 percent support reducing environmental funding.

Environmentalists were buoyed by the findings, particularly the call for tougher coastal protections.

"The coast is an icon of California. The public's devotion to it has been fierce and has not wavered," said Warner Chabot, vice president of the Ocean Conservancy, in San Francisco. "It's a place to take your family and your children and your dog and the people you love. It is where you recharge your batteries, whether you are rich or poor."

Among the poll's findings:

69 percent of Californians say the well-being of marine and coastal resources is "very important" to California's quality of life, and 61 percent say the coast is "very important" to the state economy.
52 percent of Californians believe the condition of the state's marine environment has gotten worse in the past two decades, even though many scientists might dispute that, citing the comeback of gray whales from the endangered species list, tougher state water quality standards for coastal sewage plants, and annual beach cleanups that began in the 1980s. Twenty-six percent believe the condition is about the same, and only 13 percent believe it has gotten better.
People want stricter laws. Despite 12 Democratic appointments to the California Coastal Commission who have made the panel among the most slow-growth since its founding in the 1970s, nearly four in 10 Californians (38 percent) say the commission is not strict enough in regulating development. Thirty-one percent believe the commission's restrictions are about right, 11 percent view them as too restrictive, and one in five either doesn't know or hasn't heard of the coastal commission.
Californians want the shoreline open to the public. Sixty-nine percent favor further limits on development along the coast, even if it means less available housing near the coast. Majorities of Democrats (77 percent), Republicans (62 percent) and independents (71 percent) agree on that issue.
And the public is apparently willing to make difficult choices. By a margin of 50 percent to 45 percent, Californians favor a ban on new offshore oil drilling along California's coast, even if it means higher gasoline prices. Similarly, 77 percent favor protecting coastal wetlands and beach habitats even if it means less commercial activity near the coast, and 75 percent favor creating more marine reserves, even if it limits commercial and recreational fishing.

"This poll sends a strong message to the new administration," said Peter Douglas, executive director of the California Coastal Commission. "And it's a continuing message to all of us about how deeply Californians care about their coast."

Page last updated November 17, 2003 .