Articles

Marin County and the California Coastal Commission overreaching with Local Coastal Program amendments

September 30, 2016 | By JEREMY TALCOTT

The voluntary preservation of agricultural lands is a noble goal. Forcing landowners into government-run conservation efforts against their will, however, is something else entirely. And a desire to conserve pastoral farmland doesn’t excuse government from following the laws and constitutions of California and the United States. For several y ...

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Coastal Commission ignores local concerns (again)

May 22, 2014 | By JONATHAN WILLIAMS

Last week, I attended the California Coastal Commission meeting at the Inverness Yacht Club near the Point Reyes Seashore. As usual, the Commission scrutinized a wide variety of issues, some mundane, some unusual. These included: whether wireless antennas on the side of telephone poles destroy view sheds; the racial composition of new hires on the ...

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January Coastal Commission Wrap Up

January 15, 2014 | By JONATHAN WILLIAMS

PLF keeps tabs on all of the happenings with the California Coastal Commission by attending their monthly meetings. We live tweet those meetings @TheCoastWatch, and provide recaps here at the blog. Here’s a rundown on what happened at the meeting I attended in San Diego last month: • Governor Jerry Brown proposed a $14 million … ...

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Coastal Commission leaves city out to dry

December 13, 2013 | By PAUL BEARD

We’ve all heard about how the California Coastal Commission loves to micromanage and bully coastal cities and counties.   Whether it’s second-guessing the most insignificant local project, or requiring municipalities to include in their local laws severe restrictions against property owners, the Commission is rightly seen by many loca ...

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City spurns Coastal Commission's lobbying efforts for more funding

June 13, 2013 | By PAUL BEARD

On Tuesday, the city council of Newport Beach (California) voted against a resolution supporting additional state funding for the California Coastal Commission.  The Commission—which regulates coastal property owners’ use of their lands with an iron fist—has for years been complaining about its lack of resources and staffing l ...

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Local government autonomy wins the day in Coastal Commission case

May 15, 2012 | By JENNIFER THOMPSON

Last week in City of Malibu v. California Coastal Commission, the California Second District Court of Appeal struck down an expansive interpretation of the Coastal Act that would have undermined local governments’ ability to make local land use decisions.  This case arose over a dispute between the City of Malibu, the Commission and another ...

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Local coastal regulation assured for now

April 19, 2012 | By DAMIEN SCHIFF

A bill from the California Department of Finance that would have eliminated local coastal programs appears to be dead.  Under California’s Coastal Act, every local jurisdiction within the coastal zone must produce a local coastal program—essentially a zoning plan for coastal areas.  Once the statewide Coastal Commission certifies the ...

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Court of appeal sides with Coastal Commission in power-grab case

October 10, 2011 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: Paul J. Beard II Last week, the California Court of Appeal issued an adverse decision in a case concerning the limits of the California Coastal Commission's authority to second-guess locally approved projects. We represent Franco and Sonia DeCicco, who have a permit from San Luis Obispo County to subdivide their Cayucos parcel, and buil ...

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Santa Barbara County bravely defies Coastal Commission

February 03, 2011 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: Paul J. Beard II In California, coastal cities and counties are encouraged to draft their own land-use codes in compliance with the requirements of the Coastal Act, a state statute that sets broad rules for coastal development.  These codes (made a part of the locality's "Local Coastal Program") must be certi ...