Excerpts From Santa Cruz Sentinel Below. Click to Read Full Article.
LIVE OAK >> Two aerial lights at the Live Oak radio station KSCO-AM 1080 stopped working in recent days because of a flood in Corcoran Lagoon, the station’s owner said.
Recent rain, large surf and high tides helped build a sand bank on the beach near East Cliff and Coastview drives. It trapped water in the lagoon from reaching the ocean and pooled water across East Cliff Drive, prompting the road to be closed for more than a week, said Santa Cruz County Public Works Director John Presleigh.
Saturday, KSCO Owner Michael Zwerling wanted to breach the lagoon to the ocean to prevent more equipment damage, but he was told by Public Works leaders that he needed a permit or emergency designation from the California Coastal Commission because of a protected fish in Corcoran Lagoon. But he did it anyway, momentarily breaching the lagoon with a shovel until sheriff’s deputies stopped him.
Thankfully for Zwerling, the lagoon breached itself late Sunday night or early Monday morning and brought down the lagoon’s water level. Yet he said Monday that questions remain if the lagoon floods again and he’s prevented from protecting his business.
“This has never happened before in the almost 25 years I’ve owned the station,” Zwerling said of the flood and damaged equipment.
“Every time we try to do something to maintain our facility, we run in to problems with the government.”
Noaki Schwartz, a spokeswoman for the Coastal Commission, said Monday that digging a trench to drain the lagoon “would constitute ‘development’ as that term is defined by the Coastal Act, and would therefore require a coastal development permit.”
Schwartz also said it is “farily likely” that the protected tidewater goby fish is in the lagoon, which would be another reason why draining the lagoon would require a permit.
Emergency permits also are available to protect lives, health, property and essential public services, Schwartz said.
The station’s studios and equipment are on the an inland edge of the lagoon at 2300 Portola Drive in Live Oak. The damaged lights warn aircraft pilots of the radio poles and are required by the Federal Aviation Administration.
After noting the damage, Zwerling on Saturday recorded and aired a radio message about the situation. About 1 p.m. that day, he and a few others from the station took shovels and dug a shallow trench from the lagoon to the ocean to let the water flow, Zwerling said.
Someone called Santa Cruz County sheriff’s deputies, and a small crowd gathered. They told Zwerling and the others to stop digging, and they did. No one was ticketed or arrested, said sheriff’s Sgt. Mitch Medina.
“Everybody in the government was a gentleman to us. They weren’t bad people, they were doing their jobs. But they’re stupid jobs,” Zwerling said.
