One unspoken argument against the bathrooms would be giving the homeless a little haven, because so far Butterfly is relatively unmarred by our less fortunate citizens. An easy counter ploy to that could be to charge 25 cents for access, and enjoy the humane side effects.
The random sample of beachgoers I asked thought a bathroom would be a grand idea. I’m no sanitary technician, but it seems water pollution would only be a problem if a portapotty were used. Those things are gross, and really shouldn’t be on any proposal for the area.
The best retort against a snack stand was that the Biltmore is one fine example of a snack bar. Access to the Biltmore is a shoddy excuse for a snack shack. When was the last time you felt comfortable or even remotely welcome shambling your beach-going self up the vaunted brick walkways and into the carpeted hallways to sit down for a little snack? As a local I’ve done it, waiting for the help to call me out and boot me back to the beach.
The “community beach” argument makes me wonder if the residents of Channel Drive have been walking around wearing blinders; it’s a public beach, and one of the most accessible in the city. The influx of fratboys, raves, and police patrols to keep the booze consumption down should tell you that. Butterfly had been discovered the last time I checked.
Storms also weren’t addressed. The first El Niño is going to destroy a bathroom perched on the high tide line. As well, placing a structure on some random plot of land would be blotchy. MacElhenny would do better to work an easement trade and put the bathroom near the existing Butterfly steps, complete with a shower. If nothing else, a shower.
Perhaps it could be a little, pocket-sized park the size of the bathroom, maintained by the county? Whatever the outcome, residents, the Montecito Association Land Use Committee, and high tide logistics dictate it won’t happen any time soon. Too bad, because nature calls even at the beach: where are all the people supposed to go?
MacElhenny needs to focus his project and lose the snack stand—that’s just a little too Coney Island. A bathroom would be a nice touch at Butterfly, done right.