The California Coastal Commission (CCC) is a state agency within the California Natural Resources Agency with quasi-judicial control of land and public access along the state's of coastline. Its mission as defined in the California Coastal Act is "to protect, conserve, restore, and enhance the environment of the California coastline".
Protection of coastal resources includes shoreline public access and recreation, lower cost visitor accommodations, terrestrial and marine habitat protection, visual resources, and regulation of agricultural lands, commercial fisheries, and industrial infrastructure. By regulating land use within a defined coastal zone extending inland from up to , it has the authority to control construction of any type, including buildings, housing, roads, and fire and erosion abatement structures, and it can issue fines for unapproved construction. It has been called the single most powerful land-use authority in the United States due to its purview over vast environmental assets and extremely valuable real estate.
Critics say that the CCC has exceeded its mission, exacerbated California's housing shortage by limiting housing supply in some of the state's most affluent areas, and harmed the environment by defending parking infrastructure, blocking public transit and scuttling dense housing development; proponents say that the commission has protected open space, views, habitats, endangered species, and public coastal access.
Composition
The commission is composed of 12 voting members, 6 chosen from the general public, and 6 appointed elected officials. Being on the commission can carry responsibilities which are highly politicized. The 12 appointed commissioners control zoning, compel property alterations, impose fines, bestow construction approvals or vetoes, and require public thoroughfares on private property.
Separate from the appointed Commissioners are the commission's employed staff, numbering some 164 people during 2021–22.
Jonathan Zasloff, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, stated that "The commission is the single most powerful land use authority in the United States given the high values of its jurisdiction and its high environmental assets." and that, because its members are appointed by the governor and the State Senate and Assembly leaders (which have generally been Democrats), "The commission reflects a constituency that is important to Democrats."
Authority Development activities are broadly defined by the Coastal Act to include (among others) construction of buildings, divisions of land, and activities that change the intensity of use of land or public access to coastal waters. Development usually requires a Coastal Development Permit from either the Coastal Commission or the local government if such development would occur within the Coastal Zone. The Coastal Zone is specifically defined by law as an area that extends from the State's seaward boundary of jurisdiction, and inland for a distance from the Mean High Tide Line of between a couple of hundred feet in urban areas, to up to five miles in rural areas.California Coastal Act of 1976 Public Resources Code Division 20 California
The state authority controls construction along the state's of shoreline.Coastal commission looking very green. Mike Lee. San Diego Union Tribune. 18-01-2011. Retrieved 28-01-2011. One of the provisions passed under the 1976 California Coastal Act specifically prohibits State Route 1 from being widened beyond one lane in each direction within rural areas inside the Coastal Zone. The Coastal Commission also had the power to block a proposed southern extension of State Route 241 to Interstate 5 at San Onofre State Beach in San Diego County.
The Coastal Commission has the ability to overrule local elected representatives and has also gained the ability to fine private citizens. The agency has sought enforcement through the courts as it originally did not have the power to issue fines on its own to alleged violators. A bill in the California legislature to grant the commission a broad power to issue fines was defeated in September 2013. However legislation attached to the state budget in the summer of 2014 finally granted the authority to impose fines on violators of public-access which could apply to about a third of the backlog of over 2,000 unresolved enforcement cases.Barboza, Tony (June 30, 2014) "Blocking Californians' beach access will soon carry a hefty fine" Los Angeles TimesMoore, Duncan Joseph; Roy, Jennifer; Stromberg, Winston (August 25, 2014) "California Coastal Commission Further Solidifies Enforcement Powers" Latham and Watkins The first notable fines were issued in December 2016 against Malibu property owners Dr. Warren M. Lent and his wife, for $4.2 million, and Simon and Daniel Mani, owners of the Malibu Beach Inn, who settled amicably for $925,000. The difference in severity of the fines were attributed to the "egregious" nature of the Lent case.
Local agency administration A "local coastal program" is the official name for a zoning plan controlled by the commission but administered by a local agency. The commission can retake granular control of any project if it is appealed. An appeal will take approximately 6–8 months on average to reach a final decision and may take longer to resolve more complicated appeals.
The commission is the primary agency which issues Coastal Development Permits. However, once a local agency (a County, City, or Port) has a Local Coastal Program (LCP) which has been certified by the commission, that agency takes over the responsibility for issuing Coastal Development Permits. For areas with Certified LCP's, the Commission does not issue Coastal Development permits (except in certain areas where the Commission retains jurisdiction, i.e. public trust lands), and is instead responsible for reviewing amendments to a local agency's LCP, or reviewing Coastal Development Permits issued by local agencies which have been appealed to the commission.
A Local Coastal Program is composed of a Land Use Plan (LUP) and an Implementation Plan (IP). A Land Use Plan details the Land Uses which are permissible in each part of the local government's area, and specifies the general policies which apply to each land use. The LUP can be a part of a local government's general plan. The Implementation Plan is responsible for implementing the policies contained in the LUP. The IP is generally a part of the city's zoning code. The Role of Local Governments. Coastal.ca.gov. 2011. Retrieved 10-05-2011.
One example The Local Coastal Program (LCP) for a run-down gateway to Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard is designated for visitor-serving commercial uses and harbor-related uses that support recreational boating and fishing. The county owns and manages the harbor and wanted to amend the LCP to allow a mixed-use development with up to 400 apartments as their selected developer said the project was only feasible with the housing. In 2020, the commission refused to override the denial by the city of Oxnard of land-use changes as that is only intended to be used in rare instances when a local government is standing in the way of the development of a public works project that would meet regional public needs.
Managed retreat The Commission recommended cities implement managed retreat philosophies allowing oceans to naturally erode developments thereby nourishing beaches with reclaimed sand made of disintegrated former properties.
In 2019, after the Commission allowed a new seawall to be constructed to protect apartments built in 1972, but denied a permit for townhomes built in 1984, the owners of the 1984 townhomes sued. The Commission reasoned that the Coastal Act states that the Commission "shall" issue permits for coastal armoring designed to protect "existing structures," which the Commission interpreted as existing at the time of the passage of the Coastal Act, 1977. In 2023, the judge ruled for the plaintiffs, stating that the Commission's position was an “erroneous and unreasonable” interpretation of the law.
The Commission appealed the ruling, and observers have stated that the final result of this litigation will have far-reaching consequences on the future of California's coast. Currently, 14% of the whole of the California coastline, and 38% of Southern California beaches are protected with seawalls. One proposal to remedy this situation and allow managed retreat was a bill which would have created a state fund used to purchase threatened properties from homeowners, then rent them back to the resident to live in until it is no longer safe to do so.
History
The California Coastal Commission was established in 1972 by voter initiative via Proposition 20.Who We Are. Coastal.ca.gov. 2011. Retrieved 28-01-2011. This was partially in response to the controversy surrounding the development of Sea Ranch, a planned coastal community in Sonoma County. Sea Ranch's developer-architect, Al Boeke, envisioned a community that would preserve the area's natural beauty. But the plan for Sea Ranch eventually grew to encompass of the Sonoma County coastline that would have been reserved for private use. This and other similar coastal projects prompted opponents to form activist groups. Their efforts eventually led to putting Proposition 20 on the ballot.
Proposition 20 gave the Coastal Commission permit authority for four years. The California Coastal Act of 1976 extended the Coastal Commission's authority indefinitely. Jerry Brown, in his first term as governor, signed the California Coastal Act into law, but two years later, became frustrated with the commission and called them "bureaucratic thugs". Peter M. Douglas helped write the act in addition to Proposition 20 and was subsequently employed as the Executive Director of the Coastal Commission for 26 years. In 2011 the Commissioners chose Charles Lester as Douglas's replacement, but then fired him in 2016.
Accounting for 164 percent inflation, the commission's total funding declined 26 percent from $22.1 million in 1980 ($13.5 million in then-current dollars) to $16.3 million in 2010. The commission's full-time staff fell from 212 in 1980 to 125 in 2010. There are 16 Commission employees working in the enforcement function to investigate violations along the of coastline. The commission's total budget for fiscal year 2019-2020 was $32,086,000 The total compensation of the commission's executive director John L. Ainsworth was $254,000 in 2019, Charles F. Lester's was $177,000 in 2015, and Peter M. Douglas's was $213,000 in 2011. Including the proposed budget for fiscal year 2021–22, the cumulative expenses of the Commission since 2007 exceed $348 million.
From 1977 to 1981, the commission was also empowered under Section 30213 of the Coastal Act to develop statewide interpretive guidelines for affordable housing in the coastal zone for persons of low and moderate income, with the approval of approximately 5000 affordable units (two-thirds of which were in San Diego, Orange, and Los Angeles counties), prevention of the demolition of 1,200 existing affordable units, and collection of over $2 million in in-lieu fees. After backlash from coastal city governments, the Mello Act (SB 626), authored by Henry J. Mello, was passed, repealing the affordable housing portion of Section 30213 and mandating that "No local coastal program shall be required to include housing policies and programs."