"Get off my beach" : California fights to keep coast public In Santa Cruz, California, if you want to access the small beach of Opal Cliffs, you have to have a key and pay $100 a year. "It's illegal, it excludes a whole section of the public" says Patrick Veesart, a member of the California Coastal Commission, the authority in charge of the California coast which is fighting against attempts to privatize California's beaches.