The California Coastal Commission is a quasijudicial agency with enforcement power (cease-and-desist orders and civil monetary penalties), but it has received criticism for its opaque decision-making process, its antidevelopment motivations, and its imposition of large civil penalties. This research measures the size and scope of the commission’s enforcement powers since the enhancement thereof by statute in 2014 and 2021.

Key Findings:

• Statutory changes in 2014 and 2021 allow the commission to fine violators of the Coastal Act as much as $11,250 per violation per day.
• From January 2016 to March 2024, the commission issued 31 cease-and-desist orders and assessed penalties of almost $40 million, or $1.3 million per order on average.
• Analysis of cease-and-desist orders shows that property owners often received violations in multiple categories.
• Cease-and-desist orders often include requirements that property owners build public infrastructure on their property, such as benches, signs, public bathrooms, and other projects that sometimes do not remedy the alleged violation.

Policy Implications:

• Pacific Legal Foundation is challenging the commission in John Levy v. California Coastal Commission, arguing that a $2.4 million fine given to Carlsbad property owner John Levy by the commission was not done with due process and is also financially ruinous. If Levy wins, he and other Californians will be given an impartial trial for alleged violations and spared from the excessive fines that are currently allowed to be imposed by the commission.

Download the PDF here.