2023/May
From ActCoastal
| Year | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Month | May |
| Location | Sacramento |
| Description | The Coastal Commission’s May meeting took place in Sacramento on May 10-12 in Sacramento. The agenda was jam-packed with important items including an in-depth panel presentation on offshore wind, certification of a guiding principles document on the public trust, and permit action on a new community surf agreement program at the City of Pacifica, a seawall and new blufftop house in Santa Cruz, nuclear waste storage at Diablo Canyon Lands, a seawall extension in Ocean Beach, a discharge pipeline in Ventura, and a border sewage improvement project, among others. The meeting resulted in three vote charts on the Pacifica surf schools, Public Trust Guiding Principles and Action Plan and Opal Cliffs Blufftop House in Santa Cruz. Key ActCoastal items that were not charted are described below. |
Issues voted on at this Meeting
Click on an issue to read full description
| Issue | Summary | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Opal Cliffs New Blufftop House with Seawall | The Coastal Commission denied a County of Santa Cruz permit for the demolition of a home at Opal Cliffs Drive and construction of a new 8,200 square foot house reliant on a shoreline armoring structure. The LCP requires that new blufftop development demonstrate site stability and structural integrity over a 100-year period by establishing a 100-year erosion setback from the blufftop edge, without consideration of shoreline armoring. Addressing the unpermitted sea cave fill at this location was not included in the application. Approving a new home in this location would perpetuate the existing shoreline armoring which is currently contributing to an impassable section of coast on popular Opal Cliff beaches on all but the lowest of tides. | 
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| Pacifica Surf Schools | The Coastal Commission unanimously voted to approve the passage of the City of Pacifica’s Coastal Development Permit (CDP), fully authorizing a reformed surf school permitting program at Linda Mar Beach. The permit makes it easier for non profits to take people to the beach - the current permit system favors commercial entities. Administrative shifts to the permitting system in Pacifica will also be accompanied by a 'community surf agreement' amongst the local surf group to foster equity. This campaign was led by Brown Girl Surf, City Surf Project and other organizations that focus on taking groups to the beach that have historically been marginalized, and with the hope that the decision will soon spread beyond Pacifica. |
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| Public Trust Guiding Principles and Action Plan | The Coastal Commission voted unanimously to approve its Public Trust Guiding Principles and Action Plan, which includes ten principles and actions that outline how the Commission views the Coastal Act in addressing threats to public trust resources caused by sea level rise and related decision making. ActCoastal partner, Surfrider Foundation, strongly supported many aspects of this plan, in particular. 'Principle 6, which pertains to armoring and clarifies that property owners may not unilaterally occupy the public trust. Read the Action Plan here. |
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