Public Needs More Access to Beaches

Re “Man Is Sharing His Viewpoint,” March 8:

I am greatly cheered by Joseph E. Brown’s gift of land to Laguna Beach for an ocean-overlook park. I have become increasingly depressed in recent years by the intense urbanization of the Southern California coast. I spent my childhood during the 1930s in Laguna Beach, and I especially remember Laguna’s oceanfront Heisler Park. From its cliff-top vistas the public had an unobstructed view of Laguna’s magnificent coastline as well as unrestricted access to the beaches.

I don’t remember who Heisler was, but we need more people like him and Brown, who have stepped forward with generous land gifts to preserve open space on our coast. We don’t need any more of those individuals who seek to possess our coast for their own use by walling it off from public view and public access.

Ivan Colburn

Pasadena