2021/February
From ActCoastal
| Year | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Month | February |
| Location | Virtual |
| Description | The Coastal Commission’s February meeting took place on Wednesday, Feb.10 through Friday, Feb. 12. The meeting was busy with a number of important issues on the agenda and resulted in four vote charts. |
Issues voted on at this Meeting
Click on an issue to read full description
| Issue | Summary | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Belmont Beach Aquatic Center | On Thursday, the Coastal Commission approved an appeal of a City of Long Beach coastal development permit for construction of a swimming pool complex with indoor component, cafe and public restroom covering 5.8 acres of beach space on Belmont Beach. The project raises important environmental justice, coastal access and beach preservation issues. First, the site is directly on public beach space. Second, the site will be subject to sea level rise hazards in the coming decades. Finally, the location of the public facility would be easily accessible to high income coastal residents but less accessible to lower income residents from inland neighborhoods. Many local residents, along with the Surfrider Foundation and Citizens About Responsible Planning, raised concerns with the project. Commissioners expressed concerns about the environmental justice implications of the project location but were generally satisfied with the City’s proposed public transportation plan. Ultimately, the Commissioners approved the project with the caveat that the City complete a robust public transportation plan to be presented to the Commission - other concerns with sea level rise and beach access were largely unaddressed. The vote was 10-1 with Commissioner Shelley Luce the lone dissenting vote against the project. | 
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| Capistrano Shores Mobile Home Park - Unit 54 | On Wednesday, the Coastal Commission’s consent agenda contained an application for construction of a new mobile home at Capistrano Shores Mobile Home Park. Recent home sales records show the mobile homes are valued at the $2 - 4 million range despite already being at water’s edge. The new home would rely on an existing seawall and be subject to sea level rise hazards both present and future. While the Coastal Commission staff recommendation does include a condition that states that the new development does not have a future automatic right to a shoreline protective device; this new development will still rely on shoreline armoring, which is prohibited in the Coastal Act. The Surfrider Foundation made a request to remove the item from the consent agenda for a full hearing. Commissioners agreed and voted to remove this item from the consent agenda. It will return for a full hearing in the coming months. | 
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| Dana Point Hotel - Cannon's | On Wednesday, the Coastal Commission approved a new 100-room resort hotel with a restaurant, cafe and spa in Dana Point on Green Lantern Avenue overlooking the Dana Point Harbor. As part of the permit conditions, the hotel will include 25 low-cost rooms and a new blufftop public walkway, as required by the public access provisions of the Coastal Act. In response to comments about sustainability and access from the Surfrider Foundation, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, Commissioners and staff also added several additional conditions at the hearing. In summary, the new hotel will be required to provide carpool incentives for guests, offer enhanced public transportation fare reimbursements, provide an emergency ride home program for employees, create a marketing and communications plan for advertising the low cost rooms to low income communities, participate in a plastic pollution and microfiber reduction plan, ensure the building construction is solar ready, plant only native landscaping on the bluff side of the site. This marks one of the first comprehensive sustainability programs that the Commission has required and is an important precedent moving forward in coastal development permits for similar projects. Commissioners unanimously approved the permit. |
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| Ontario Ridge Trail Relocation | On Friday, the Coastal Commission overturned a San Luis Obispo County approved coastal development permit for the relocation of the Ontario Ridge Trail on the McCarthy property just downcoast from Avila Beach. The property owner was looking to move the trail easement in order to accommodate future residential development at the site. The Coastal Commission found that prescriptive public rights to the trail likely exist due to decades of historic use. Community opposition to relocating the trail abounded due to the highly scenic nature of the existing well-loved vistas and trail route. Commissioners agreed that the property owners did not have a right to relocate the trail and urged them to work with Coastal Commission staff to find an appropriate location for their residential development. |
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