'��Locals only.'��

Is it a cutesy bit of phraseology that hints at harmless surf culture? Is it a frightening gang term that is a precursor to violence? Or is it merely the kind of parochial nonsense that assures the '��small'�� in our small town refers as much to square thought as it does to square acreage?

Whatever it means, the phrase has been cropping up a lot lately. It was printed on sweatshirts distributed through the high school last year. And it has been scrawled on signs and rocks of late, another bit of graffiti on the Coastside. '��Locals only'�� has been a motto of sorts for so-called surf gangs in Southern California. Over the years there have been reports of violence on SoCal beaches, notably in Malibu, as surfers attempt to protect their turf '�“ a patch of the Pacific Ocean that no more belongs to them than it does to you or me.

Local police agencies don'��t seem terribly concerned by the blooming of a '��locals only'�� culture. Whoever is responsible for the graffiti may or may not be part of a surf gang. And if such things exist, they aren'��t yet showing up on the law enforcement radar alongside the Bloods, the Crips and La Familia.

More likely, the term is evidence of a certain small-mindedness. Mavericks meets Mayberry. And as such it doesn'��t speak well of those who speak it.

The California Coastal Act guarantees access to the most important natural resource in our neighborhood, the ocean shore just to our west. Just as the ocean view must be protected from craven developers up and down the coast, the surf needs protection from those who arguably love it most: the surfers.

Instead of shouting '��locals only'�� to the visitors on the beach, try inviting them to help you clean up the beach. That has been a job for locals only for far too long.

'�” Clay Lambert