Meeting Overview
The March hearing of the Coastal Commission was heavily anticipated, as it was the first hearing since the upset in February resulting in the dismissal of Dr. Charles Lester. That action, still unanswered for, fueled a press conference that kicked off the 3-day hearing in Santa Monica. The frustration and calls for a responsible and transparent Commission ran over from the press conference to the public comment period, during which time public and a Commissioner alike spoke emotionally out of turn.
Trying to move the hearing forward, Chair Kinsey ended the morning's public comment before all the speakers had their turn and reallocated time to continue comment to the end of the day. After this, the next heated topic of discussion surrounded the appointment of an interim Executive Director and discussion regarding the impending search for a new Executive Director – one of the Commissioners who had voted to fire the Executive Director expressed surprise when she heard how much time and public dollars will have to be invested to hire a new ED.
After this, some degree of order returned and items such as the proposed resident-only public parking of a Rancho Palos Verdes neighborhood were discussed. In this case, it was a vote happily in favor of public access that resulted.
Issues voted on at this meeting:
An issue of convenience for street residents or access for all, this appeal was filed because the locally approved development of permit only parking for Channelview Court was found to be inconsistent with both the Local Coastal Program...
As well vocalized by many public speakers at the March Coastal Commission hearing, deciding upon an interim Executive Director is not a position that the public desired...
Other Discussions
March 2016 Coastal Commission Hearing: a summary
A month after the Commission disregarded the input of thousands of Californians to fire Executive Director Charles Lester, tensions from that decision continued to run high. As mentioned in an earlier post, social justice, education and environmental advocates held a press conference calling for more transparency and formal inclusion in the upcoming hiring process. Behind them, a contingent of protesters from Venice waved signs accusing Commissioners of attempting to sell off California’s coast.