DID YOU KNOW that with sea level rise the California State Lands Commission will soon have jurisdiction of all of Redwood Shores?

1. Open  Access property –  meaning no one owns it – think the atmosphere and the ocean outside of a country’s 200 mile territorial boundary
2. State property -  meaning that it is owned by everyone in a collective social sense such as a state or national park
3. Common property –meaning that it is property that is owned by a group
4. Private property – meaning that it is owned by an individual

The lands and waters that the California State Lands Commissions has jurisdiction over are essentially type 2 state or better said socialized lands and waters.  They are for these very reasons subject to the Public Trust doctrine of shared socialized ownership.

In addition to the fact that the properties the California State Lands Commissions (CLSC) has jurisdiction over are socially owned they have ambulatory boundaries.  Ambulatory boundaries are boundaries that move.  Think of a river that is the defined border between two properties and migrates slowly or quickly either because of changing underlying plate tectonics (the reason for earthquakes,) floods and or other natural events.  Ambulatory boundaries come into play even more when defining coastal properties that are subject to tides.   CSLC property rights follow the ordinary high water mark (OHWM.)   What this essentially means is that portions of Redwood City east of 101 such as Redwood Shores will with sea level rise in the not too distant future become a part of California State Lands Commission jurisdictional social property commons.

Just last week we experienced winter seasonal King Tides.  King Tides are seasonally high high tides that happen due to the rotation of the earth around the sun and the rotation of the moon around the earth.   The December 2012 King Tide flooded Maple Street, the Women’s Correctional Facility and other areas of Redwood City.  When seasonal astronomically generated King Tides occur at the same time as winter storms the damage can be quite serious.  Now lets add at least another three feet of sea level rise (experts projections vary between two and six feet by 2100) and voila – Redwood Shores becomes a part of the socialized public trust lands jurisdiction of the California State Lands Commission.

What do you think?  Should all state waters be socially owned type 2 properties or is it time to allow for some type 3 and type 4 water properties?  Should the California State Lands Commission be allowed to take over Redwood Shores and essentially all the other property east of 101?