The Battle for Bates Beach

Santa Barbara's Nude Beach Alliance is making a public statement on restoring a clothing-optional section of Carpinteria's Bates Beach.

In spite of the complaints registered against the clothing-optional beach that contributed to the increase in enforcement of restrictions on nudity, advocacy groups insist that the positive effects of a nude section of Bates Beach will outweigh the complaints. Supporters have taken a closer look at the financial influences of clothing-optional beaches, especially focusing on tourist dollars. According to Allen Baylis, a director for the Naturist Action Committee, nude beaches can stimulate the economies of the areas that surround them, as evidenced by other communities that have opted to create clothing-optional stretches.

The Alliance proposes a Beach Ambassador progam similar to Neighborhood Watch, where volunteers monitor beach behavior for potential problems, and claims that the return of clothing-optional status will actually improve the safety of the area. The clothed rally held this past weekend is just the sort of peaceful activism that is needed to help secure naturist rights on public lands.