It's positive for our state and helps our tourism. The debate over gated communities also includes whether or not public monies should be used to protect beaches where public access is limited or prohibited. Beaches provide benefits beyond access that would need to be taken into account when making that decision. While there may be no simple answers for coastal managers in the discussion of gated communities, Douglas thinks it's important that the questions be posed. More and more of our landscape is being locked up for the exclusive use of less and less of our citizenry.
People lock themselves in and lock others out.
This trend is a manifestation of our evolving American character. It is a depressing statement about our society's future well being. The extent to which this exclusivity becomes our legacy to future generations depends on the vision of elected officials and other environmental stewards of the land, and whether they actually care about the character of human communities along the coast. Appreciating and understanding the ramifications tangled up in the web of environmental and social issues associated with gated communities is important. While coastal gated communities raise several somewhat unique issues under California's coastal protection law that warrant their denial in many circumstances, they are a microcosm of the greater American landscape.