Nope, it doesn't. There's no Frisbee ban. You've likely read the news report that LA passed a law slapping a $1,000 fine on playing Frisbee at the beach. Then other news outlets picked up on it, announcing throwing a Frisbee "will cost you a cool $1,000 thanks to a new ordinance passed by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday." The only thing is it isn't true. A little digging revealed that the fine has been greatly exaggerated, and that it's not a new ordinance at all!
As it happens, Frisbees weren't just outlawed now, but had already been illegal by ordinance since 1969-1970: the citation of the law (see 17.12.430) plainly reads "(Ord. 10025 § 9, 1970: Ord. 9767 Art. 3 § 33.5, 1969.)". The ordinance passed now merely redefined what kind of balls were illegal, changing it from anything other than "inflated rubber balls not less than 10 inches in diameter" to "beach ball or volleyball." (Read the ordinance amendments; see page 28 for the amendments to 17.12.430).
But this isn't quite true either. Yes, the law states "It is unlawful for any person to cast, toss, throw, kick or roll any ball, tube or any light object..." but no lifeguard or beach cop is going to cite anyone for playing around unless they're becoming a public nuisance and bystanders are repeatedly being hit, according to the County Board of Supervisors office. (Read more first-hand journalism here.) Anyone behaving in a way that would endanger other people will be issued a warning by a lifeguard first, and if the behavior continues, a designated enforcement officer will be called to deal with the situation and possibly issue a fine.
Reading another paragraph down in the revisions reveals that while before there were no exceptions for when you could play ball, five exceptions have in fact been added to the code defining when and how those restrictions do not apply. These exceptions include playing in a designated area, asking a lifeguard if it's ok, and when it's not summer. What the County has done with the ordinance revisions is to make the law now more lenient! A representative of the Board of Supervisors told us that they know how important the beaches are to LA, and the goal of the revisions is to make it easier to enjoy the beach, better balancing the desires of those who want to relax and those who want to play. I also can find no evidence cited that enforcement will now be stepped up, which has been an oft-cited concern.
The $1,000 fine part is even more misleading. The fine was indeed raised for a few things like nudity, shooting weapons, and swimming or surfing in prohibited areas from "up to $500" to "not exceeding $1000" (see page 15 on the link to the revisions). The revisions add that violations of everything else, which would include Frisbees, are governed by California Government Code Section 25132. By the language used, it appears as though the law was bound by that before anyway, and it is now spelled out explicitly in the revisions. That language states:
(b) Every violation determined to be an infraction is punishable by (1) a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100) for a first violation; (2) a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200) for a second violation of the same ordinance within one year; (3) a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500) for each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a violation of local building and safety codes determined to be an infraction is punishable by (1) a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100) for a first violation; (2) a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500) for a second violation of the same ordinance within one year; (3) a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year of the first violation.
The Department of Beaches and Harbors told us that these kinds of infractions fall under paragraph (b). Essentially, if you're disturbing people, the lifeguard can give you a warning. If you continue, you can be fined $100. If you don't learn your lesson and continue to be a problem all summer, you can be fined $500. Big news, right? Furthermore, those fines in the California Code apply to all infractions of county ordinance state-wide, covering all kinds of actions far beyond Frisbees, and those fines have not changed since 1983, according to County Counsel.
The upshot is that the law hasn't changed, just the language, and if anything the law has been made less restrictive. We won't comment on whether we think the law is silly. And the thing about not digging holes, though, is new. (Kidding aside, that's apparently there to keep rescue vehicles from getting stuck.) Here at RFB, our goal is to help you have a great time in LA without breaking the bank. How's that for investigative journalism!
Update! The Department of Beaches and Harbors just released a statement clarifying everything you already knew if you read this article. Boy was CBS wrong on this one. The LA Times got it right from the get-go, and the County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky posted a note also expressing confusion over the story. Reuters published an article on the mishap, and CBS posted a partial correction on their article, then completely took down the original article and replaced it with a hastily written (and still slightly inaccurate) write-up of the actual fines. The Board of Supervisors held press conference Thursday night at 6:00pm to clarify everything. As of Friday morning, some news outlets posted good stories on the hubbub, but some still couldn't get it right. We'll post a recap of the whole news event in the next few days. Stay tuned!
More udpates! After all that, the County Board of Supervisors met on Tuesday (Feb. 14) to vote to eliminate the ban altogether. All's well that ends well.
