LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Sunbathers flocking to Southern California beaches are used to feeding the meter or paying a parking attendant. Not so along the less developed north coast where it's customary to ditch cars on the shoulder of Highway 1 to surf, swim or picnic.
That sandy line that long defined the state's disparate beach culture may soon fade.
In search of new revenue, the state parks system is eyeing parking fees for parts of the Northern California shoreline where none existed or considering hiking rates to visit popular beaches south of Los Angeles during peak periods.
The need to raise money is facing resistance from state coastal regulators worried about eroding beach access and from environmentalists, who, while sympathetic to state parks' plight, say it's akin to monetizing the coast. And with beach season just weeks away, the issue is heating up.
Out of California's 1,100 miles of beach, a third is controlled by the state Department of Parks and Recreation. Officials say they're under legislative orders to seek new sources of revenue and that a revamp of the parking payment structure is necessary to keep beaches open and to fund deferred maintenance.
During a legislative hearing in February, state parks director Anthony Jackson said Southern California beaches are operating in the black and are partly subsidizing less profitable state beaches.
The agency is taking a hard look at "adjusting fees where appropriate and necessary and in places where fees may not have been historically collected," said the ex-Marine who was hired to turn around the department after a financial mismanagement scandal.
Some local officials, state lawmakers and coastal commissioners have questioned whether the money would be used for its intended purpose.
Earlier this year, a proposal to charge more during certain holidays at several Orange County and San Diego County beaches was yanked from the California Coastal Commission's agenda as the two sides worked behind-the-scenes to hammer out a deal.
Even before state parks sought to squeeze more out of revenue-generating beaches, it looked northward where excursions to the Pacific traditionally have been free. Save for a few lots that charge, the rugged Sonoma coast north of San Francisco has long been a spot where visitors pull over on the highway to dip in the ocean.
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