Naked Naturists Win Another Round in California Park Case
Officials who have for years turned a blind eye to public nudity in an isolated area of San Onofre State Beach, unless someone complained, can’t change that enforcement policy now without a public hearing, a California judge ruled yesterday.
Following complaints of lewd behavior, the California Department of Parks and Recreation announced a complete ban on nude sunbathing there after Labor Day and posted warning signs, reversing a live-and-let-live policy outlined in a 1979 memo. But naturists sued, contending that the state Administrative Procedure Act requires notice and a hearing prior to such a change in policy, and Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Fell agreed, reports the Los Angeles Times.
As discussed in a previous ABAJournal.com post, Fell made a preliminary ruling to the same effect earlier this month.
“It’s going to be a nice, happy weekend,” says attorney R. Allen Baylis, 53, of Huntington Beach, who is one of the petitioners in the suit, along with Friends of San Onofre, a nudist activist group that he heads. “We’re really pleased that the court agreed with our position. It shows that the government has to be responsive to the public that they serve.”
