Don’t Outlaw Beach Fun

Did someone sit out in the sun too long in Laguna Beach? Can officials in a city that long has prided itself on a bohemian, tolerant lifestyle be serious?

The Laguna Beach City Council this month banned digging deep holes in the sand, tossing Frisbees and setting up beach umbrellas considered too large. Talk about overkill.

City officials are trying to explain away the latest ordinance by saying it simply codifies practices that lifeguards were already carrying out. But let’s be serious.

If a lifeguard suggests filling in a hole so someone else doesn’t accidentally fall in, fine. If the lifeguard suggests not entering the water when the surf is crashing much higher than usual, fine. If lifeguards or police want people not to play ball or toss Frisbees in the middle of crowds packed in on a weekend, fine. But there’s no need for an ordinance.

There are such things as accidents. People trip on sidewalks, fall off fences, step into holes on the beach and twist their ankles. Yes, there is a need for reasonable precautions, but give people some credit for common sense.

Will lifeguards be equipped with tape measures to ensure that holes are no more than 2 feet deep? In the event of a dispute in court, will an international standards expert be required to testify to the accuracy of the tape measure?

The city’s chief of marine safety said the new rules are mostly updating codes and listing specific acts that lifeguards already were asking people to stop. But beachgoers disagreed, at least in the early days of the new rules.

One man said a lifeguard made his children fill in a hole that should not have been a problem.

Limiting visitors to umbrellas 6 feet in diameter is supposed to ensure that small groups do not take over large stretches of beach by spreading out. An ordinance was needed for this? How about asking people to bunch up a bit?

Lifeguards have a tough job, with the first priority keeping an eye on swimmers. Making them the beach police, in charge of enforcing ticky-tack rules, does no favor for the lifeguards or those seeking a day in the sun, escaping from rules.