Would there be more regulation on private lands if a national designation is established on the Gaviota Coast?
Land purchased by the National Park Service would be subject to existing park service regulations, and any new regulations that may be included in the authorizing legislation. However, adjacent private lands would be unaffected by those regulations. The National Park Service’s authority only applies on the land they own an interest in. For land the Federal Government owns or purchases in the future there could be more or different regulation of activities than if that land were privately owned. For land owned privately within a Seashore, the regulations would be substantially as they are today with little new interference from the Federal Government. The NPS does not have the ability to force regulation on private landowners. Existing state and local laws would continue to govern private lands, as it does today.
