2023/March
From ActCoastal
| Year | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Month | March |
| Location | Half Moon Bay |
| Description | The Coastal Commission’s March meeting took place on March 8-10 in Half Moon Bay. The two-day agenda was on the lighter side with several of the controversial items postponed, including the Pacifica local coastal program update. The LHO Mission Bay Hotel redevelopment faced substantial community pushback and was withdrawn before the hearing. During public comment on Wednesday, several local residents spoke to the tragic mass shooting in Half Moon Bay in January and the need for improved living conditions for low income workers and their families. The Coastal Commission’s jurisdiction over affordable housing was reduced by legislative action in 1981 but remains a topic of debate. On Wednesday morning, Commission staff gave an update on progress toward the Hollister Ranch Coastal Access Program and presented the draft Sustainability Principles, which would set guidelines and next steps for reducing greenhouse gas emissions through land use policy and permitting decisions. Later in the day, the Commission found “Substantial Issue” with a Santa Cruz County permit for shoreline armoring at Twin Lakes State Beach near a contested coastal access point at Geoffrey Drive - this item resulted in a vote chart. |
Issues voted on at this Meeting
Click on an issue to read full description
| Issue | Summary | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Geoffrey Drive Seawall | The Coastal Commission found ‘substantial issue’ with a Santa Cruz County coastal development permit (CDP) for shoreline armoring and drainage infrastructure at the Black’s Point Beach portion of Twin Lakes State Beach fronting Geoffrey Drive. The development was first constructed under a County emergency permit and subsequently issued a CDP. The work includes bluff excavation, installing a concrete foundation on the lower bluff, an erosion control grid, drainage infrastructure and installing a chain link fence at the blufftop edge. The County did not approve the chain link fence in the follow-up CDP. The County’s CDP inadequately addresses the legality of the shoreline armoring and the impacts of the drainage infrastructure. The development is also located in the same bluff area that is currently under review for a prescriptive rights access easement based on historical use and there are open and active violations related to unpermitted development at this site including fending, signage, security guards remain unresolved. The Commission unanimously found ‘substantial issue’ with the County’s CDP. The issue will return for a ‘de novo’ hearing in the future. | 
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