By Shawn Raymundo
San Clemente’s beaches are allowed to reopen for active-use yet again as the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services gave the city the go-ahead to lift the contentious beach closure on Monday, May 4.
Citing the city’s active-use plan that had been recently implemented at the local beaches, Emergency Services Director Mark Ghilarducci wrote to the city on Monday that its beaches “are permitted to reopen under this beach management plan.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom last week directed all of Orange County’s beaches to close after news photos showed an influx of beachgoers defying social distancing guidelines and crowding coastal cities, namely Huntington Beach and Newport Beach.
The directive came less than a week of the city reopening its beaches under the active-use restrictions, which allowed residents to run, swim and surf among other exercise-related activities.
During a special city council meeting on Friday, May 1, when the governor’s countywide beach closure went into effect, interim City Manager Robert Dunek explained that the city was working on submitting its active-use plan to the state in the hopes of being allowed to quickly reopen.
In the letter from the Emergency Services office, Ghilarducci stated that the city’s plan is consistent with Newsom’s stay-at-home order, which was issued on March 19.
“Vigilance will be necessary to support successful implementation and prevent unsafe conditions,” the letter went on to state.
As of this posting, officials from the city could not be reached for comment.
This is a developing story.
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