2023/June
From ActCoastal
| Year | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Month | June |
| Location | Virtual |
| Description | The Coastal Commission’s June meeting took place virtually over two days on June 7 and 8. The shorter agenda packed several significant votes. The Commission voted to oppose SB 423, an affordable housing bill that would exempt certain coastal development from the Commission’s review, unless it is amended. The Commission also supported AB 80 which creates a working group for monitoring and research impacts to the ocean ecosystem related to offshore wind development. They also approved a correspondence letter from the Commission to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) elevating the need to address the toxic water quality crisis at the U.S.- Mexico border. Additionally, the meeting resulted in an enforcement item approval, penalizing Malibu homeowners for blocking beach access to Escondido Beach. The homeowners are now required to create a new access pathway and public parking along the Pacific Coast Highway. The meeting resulted in two vote charts. |
Issues voted on at this Meeting
Click on an issue to read full description
| Issue | Summary | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Malibu Beach Access - Escondido Beach | After a 40-year battle, improved public access to Escondido Beach in Malibu has been secured. The Commission and State Coastal Conservancy collaborated to resolve a long standing dispute with Malibu homeowners, who had obstructed beach access through evading their responsibility to provide a public accessway. The violators agreed to fully fund and construct a beach accessway, as intended by the Commission's 1978 permit allowing development of the area, to mitigate the loss of public access. The estimated value of the resolution, including the Trust's construction costs and Mancuso's penalties, is over $4 million, providing faster construction and a more navigable path to the beach than would otherwise be realized if the violators had not collaborated. This resolution will result in several free beach access parking spaces being provided along the Pacific Coast Highway and a new beach access trail. | 
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| SB 423 - streamlined housing approvals | As of the June meeting, SB 423 would repeal the provision in existing law that precludes the streamlined approval process from applying in the coastal zone for multi-family housing projects. It would allow development in wetlands or critical habitat for listed species if development has been authorized by federal or other state law and would undermine Coastal Commission authority. Surfrider and a coalition of other NGOs are also opposing the bill unless this aspect of the bill is amended. |
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