ORIGINAL: SoCal GliderGuide
So one has to join a private organization to use a public park.
In fact there is ample precedent for this around the country. While some public agencies do not make this a requirement, many others do. For instance to fly the slope at Torrey Pines you must belong to either the Torrey Pines Gulls or the scale club that flies there. They both are AMA clubs and therefore require AMA membership. To get an annual or day pass from the PRIVATE party that has the concession for the slope you must prove your membership in both the local club and the AMA AND pay a fee to the private party!!.
Whittier Narrows now requires proof of liability insurance and prefers AMA. They stop short of requiring it however. San Bernardino county parks dept. requires AMA to fly at Prado under their agreement with the PVMAC.
So there are plenty of examples around. Many public agencies look at AMA from the standpoint that they are a national organization and also a non-profit group. Seems to change their attitude towards requiring membership.
The subject of this thread however also shows that it is possible to get a positive result if the right approach is used. Sadly around SOCAL most Cities and County laws still prohibit flying in any park except as authorized by the Park Department or City (Fairview Park, Sepulveda Basin, Prado, El Dorado Park, and Whittier Narrows for example). Hopefully nobody will mess it up for them. Sometimes we are our own worst enemies!!
Example - there is a huge open field near my house. It has become a place for many people to gather to fly electrics and I fly thermal planes there. The security people from the land owner gives us a wink and a nod and only ask that we not make a mess and not cause any problems for them. All nice and cozy and working nicely.
Then some numb-skull who flies helicopters decided to come out and frame up and pour a concrete pad for a helipad. About 4 feet square. Security company and landowner now unhappy and thinking of fencing off the entire site. So the action of one selfish pilot may negatively impact an entire group who have been using the site without incident.