Santa Cruz County beaches, parks closing for a week
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION) https://livestream.com/accounts/25723746/events/8522569/videos/204247853 Santa Cruz County announced Tuesday that it will be closing all beaches and parks for a week.
The order, issued by Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel, said the closure will begin at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday and go through 11:59 p.m. on April 15.
The county said the order is an effort to prevent crowding during the coronavirus Shelter in Place. Those who violate the order could face a citation or arrest, and fines can go up to $1,000.
“While the vast majority of Santa Cruz County residents are staying home and following the direction of the County Health Officer, unfortunately some visitors and community members are treating this extraordinary crisis as a holiday,” Sheriff Jim Hart said. “We are at a critical moment in our efforts to reduce the impacts of COVID-19, and we need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to halt the spread of this disease.”
Surfing will not be allowed in Santa Cruz County until April 16. Playgrounds were already closed, but the new order would require dog parks, skate parks, disc golf courses and other recreational courts to close.
Sheriff Hart said Wednesday, that locals have been the biggest offenders of the shelter-in-place order. For example, on Saturday 23 of the 24 citations issued by deputies were to locals.
The sheriff's department has handed out roughly 80 tickets over the last week.
“The idea is to really focus on the high traffic area, where we have a lot of problems. So for us, that’s Live Oak all the way to Aptos,” Hart said.
Historically, Easter weekend is extremely busy along the Santa Cruz coast, according to Hart. The county will re-evaluate the strict measures early next week to determine if the order will be extended.
For more information, Santa Cruz County residents can call 831-454-4242 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. seven days a week.
Earlier, the County put up road blocks at parking lots to limit beach crowding in every other parking space at The Hook near Cliff Beach in Pleasure Point.
