Goat Rock State Beach in Jenner.

The state's plan to expand the number of beaches along the Sonoma Coast where visitors would be charged for parking faces its first crucial test in Santa Rosa today.

The Sonoma County Board of Zoning Adjustments is scheduled to vote on whether to give California State Parks the authority to install 15 new self-pay machines at beaches on the Sonoma Coast.

The state's application for a county coastal development permit does not spell out any fees, but parks officials previously said they plan to charge visitors $8 for parking.

The plan faces stiff opposition, including from Jason Liles, chairman of both the zoning board and the county's Planning Commission.

"I don't like anybody charging for beaches," Liles said this week.

His main concern with the plan is that people will park outside the designated areas and put themselves at risk getting to the beach. He said emergency personnel "already spend a fair amount of time helping people" who get into trouble at the coast.

County staff are recommending that the permit be denied. The decision can be appealed to county supervisors and ultimately the California Coastal Commission.

State officials say the new day-use fees are necessary to keep the beaches open and to reopen others as the park system grapples with budget cuts and a deferred maintenance backlog of more than $1 billion.

Within Sonoma Coast State Park, eight day-use areas and two environmental campgrounds are closed, along with two-thirds of Bodega Dunes Campground. Only a few day-use areas with restroom facilities remain open, in addition to 49 camping spaces at Wrights Beach and Bodega Dunes.

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Sonoma County planners to weigh parking fee proposal for state beaches