Saturday, May 31, 2025
News Wave
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World
  • USA
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Technology
News Wave
  • Home
  • World
  • USA
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Technology
No Result
View All Result
News Wave
No Result
View All Result
Home World USA

Opinion: A carve out could wreck California coastal protections

26 February 2024
in USA
0 0
Opinion: A carve out could wreck California coastal protections
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


If the coast of California is a state asset worth trillions of dollars — and it is — why is the state agency that has successfully protected that asset for 50 years under assault? The answer — “unnecessary permitting delays” — is unfounded. Yet California’s exceptional history of coastal protection is in greater jeopardy today in the halls of our state Capitol than it has been for generations.

Like water flowing downhill, California’s incomparable coast has always been a magnet for development. In 1972, with this in mind, the voters of California overwhelmingly approved Proposition 20, a ballot initiative that set in motion the 1976 California Coastal Act. Unlike South Florida, the Jersey Shore or other coastal regions devoured by privatization, the California coast was by law given special protection: The coastal zone would be developed not as an enclave for the wealthy but for everyone’s use, with provisions for protecting its natural resources and its breathtaking beauty.

The California Coastal Commission was created to enforce the act with a specific charge to balance the needs of the ecosystem with the need for public access and economic development, including affordable housing. It works like this: Local jurisdictions come up with coastal plans that the commission must approve. Once a plan is in place, development permits are handled by the city, town or county, although those decisions can be appealed to and by the commission.

Over the years, the Coastal Commission has successfully defended public access to the beach in Malibu, Half Moon Bay, Carlsbad and other towns. It has helped preserve state parks, open space along the coast and the beach itself — denying permits for oil drilling, more than one luxury resort, an LNG port (in Oxnard) and a toll road (at San Onofre Beach). In 2019, it fined a developer nearly $15.6 million for replacing, without a permit, two low-cost hotels along Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica with a boutique hotel.

Predictably, this process has often been in the bull’s-eye of Coastal Act critics, and while the rationale may vary with the moment, their goal remains the same: To weaken oversight by the commission and return land-use control entirely to local governments.

Today, low affordable housing supply along the coast is the basis for attack. In legislation introduced in January, with a purpose of “resolving unnecessary permitting delays in the disproportionately low-housing Coastal Zone,” state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) has proposed an unprecedented carve out of 23.5% of the coastal zone in San Francisco. Specifically, Senate Bill 951 would delete from commission oversight residential areas on the city’s western edge, as well as a piece of Golden Gate Park. As the first significant coastal zone reduction in more than 40 years, this attack on the commission could set a dangerous precedent that would invite similar carve outs from San Diego to Santa Monica to Crescent City.

Last month, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors voted overwhelmingly to oppose SB 951, and, one day later, the Coastal Commission, by unanimous vote, did the same.

The existential threat that this legislation poses to the Coastal Act and the entire California coast is undeniable. Among numerous commission responsibilities affected, SB 951 ignores the agency’s essential role in planning for sea-level rise adaptation along San Francisco’s increasingly vulnerable coast. And it seems no mere coincidence that the excluded area includes land proposed for a controversial 50-story condominium and commercial project in the flats of the Outer Sunset neighborhood north of the San Francisco Zoo.

The claim that the Coastal Commission is responsible for housing inequity in the coastal zone, though long on rhetoric, is belied by the historical record. Indeed, when the Coastal Act became law in 1976, it required that “housing for persons of low and moderate income shall be protected, encouraged, and, where feasible, provided.” The commission actively complied, approving or protecting from demolition more than 7,100 affordable units between 1977 and 1981 and collecting an estimated $2 million in “in lieu” fees to support affordable housing.

But in 1981, the state Legislature amended the Coastal Act to remove the commission’s affordable housing authority. Contrary to the claim of “unnecessary permitting delays” on which SB 951 is based — only two coastal development permits in San Francisco have been appealed to the commission in 38 years — it is this amendment, and the fact that developers prefer to build high-end projects, that has produced today’s affordable housing deficit in the coastal zone. As then-Coastal Commission Chair Leonard Grote warned in 1981, “The passage of this bill would make sure that the ability to live near the coast is reserved for the wealthy.” And so it has.

If increasing the supply of affordable housing near California’s coast is actually the goal of SB 951, then restoring, not reducing, the commission’s authority is needed. It was a mistake in 1981 to remove the commission’s power to require that projects it approved included affordable housing, and it’s a mistake in 2024 to expect that diminishing the coastal zone will right that wrong.

The California Coastal Commission has an extraordinary record of success in protecting California’s most valuable environmental and economic resource, and its regulatory role is as essential today as it has ever been. SB 951 would weaken, not promote, equal access to that resource, and it threatens to erode, perhaps irrevocably, the most successful coastal management program in the country.

Joel Reynolds is western director and senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council in Santa Monica. Tom Soto is a former alternate member of the California Coastal Commission and a Natural Resources Defense Council board member.



Source link

Tags: CaliforniacarveCoastalOpinionprotectionswreck
Previous Post

Denmark closes investigation into Nord Stream explosions – POLITICO

Next Post

The End of The ‘White-Haired Rajah,’ a Borneo Robber Baron

Related Posts

Feds arrest New Hampshire CEO for allegedly devising conspiracy to stalk, intimidate journalists
USA

Feds arrest New Hampshire CEO for allegedly devising conspiracy to stalk, intimidate journalists

by My News Wave
31 May 2025
0

SummaryEric Spofford, the former CEO of Granite Recovery Centers in New Hampshire, was arrested for allegedly orchestrating a conspiracy to stalk journalists from New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) following an article detailing sexual misconduct allegations against him. Spofford reportedly hired associates to vandalize the homes of the journalist and a senior editor, intimidating them in retaliation for the reporting. Despite publicly denying the allegations and suing NHPR for defamation, his lawsuit was dismissed, and he...

Read more
Trump’s mass firings to remain on hold, appeals court rules
USA

Trump’s mass firings to remain on hold, appeals court rules

by My News Wave
31 May 2025
0

SummaryA San Francisco-based appeals court has upheld a ruling that pauses the mass firings of federal employees ordered by President Trump through an executive order aimed at reducing the federal workforce. The Ninth Circuit Court stated that the order exceeds the President's constitutional powers and questioned the legality of overhauling federal agencies without congressional authorization. The Trump administration plans to appeal the decision, arguing that a single judge should not have the authority to limit...

Read more
A ‘criminal enterprise’ may be emerging in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ sex trafficking trial
USA

A ‘criminal enterprise’ may be emerging in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ sex trafficking trial

by My News Wave
31 May 2025
0

Capricorn Clark, a former assistant to Sean “Diddy” Combs, testified in his sex trafficking trial that Combs sought revenge on Kid Cudi in December 2011 after discovering Cudi was dating his girlfriend, Cassie. Clark alleged that Combs, armed with a gun, ordered her to accompany him to Cudi's home, where they broke in but found him absent, leading to violent actions later connected to Combs. Combs faces multiple charges, including racketeering and sex trafficking, while...

Read more
Friends, family of New Orleans fugitives arrested for aiding jail escape
USA

Friends, family of New Orleans fugitives arrested for aiding jail escape

by My News Wave
31 May 2025
0

The escape of ten men from a New Orleans jail involved assistance from at least 15 accomplices who provided food, cash, and shelter, as detailed in court documents. Among those implicated are a former jail employee linked to escapee Lenton Vanburen and a jail plumber who allegedly aided the escape. Authorities stress the importance of public assistance in capturing the remaining fugitives and have raised rewards to $50,000 each, while multiple individuals face felony charges...

Read more
New Orleans DA pulls out of jailbreak probe amid conflict of interest allegation
USA

New Orleans DA pulls out of jailbreak probe amid conflict of interest allegation

by My News Wave
31 May 2025
0

SummaryOrleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams recused himself from an investigation into a jailbreak that saw 10 inmates escape a New Orleans jail, following allegations of a conflict of interest from Sheriff Susan Hutson. The investigation was initiated by Governor Jeff Landry, and Williams faced accusations that his involvement favored his endorsed candidate for sheriff, Michelle Woodfork. Williams attributed his withdrawal to the investigation's multi-jurisdictional nature while criticizing Hutson's management and the delayed response to...

Read more
Woody Harrelson and Bill Maher’s cannabis store hit by smash-and-grab burglary
USA

Woody Harrelson and Bill Maher’s cannabis store hit by smash-and-grab burglary

by My News Wave
31 May 2025
0

The Woods WeHo, a cannabis dispensary co-owned by Woody Harrelson, Bill Maher, and John McEnroe, was targeted in a smash-and-grab burglary on May 17, where five masked individuals stole $2,000 to $3,000 in merchandise. The following night, the same group attempted to burglarize another dispensary, ERBA Markets, but fled when confronted by an armed security guard. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is investigating both incidents, and the suspects remain at large, while the owners...

Read more
News Wave

News Summarized. Time Saved. Bite-sized news briefs for busy people. No fluff, just facts.

CATEGORIES

  • Africa
  • Asia Pacific
  • Australia
  • Business
  • Canada
  • Entertainment
  • Europe
  • India
  • Middle East
  • New Zealand
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • UK
  • USA
  • World

LATEST NEWS STORIES

  • Hot Toys Reveals its THUNDERBOLTS* Yelena Belova Action Figure
  • Billie Piper the new Doctor Who after Ncuti Gatwa exits
  • Judge Rejects Claim AI Chatbots Protected By First Amendment in Teen Suicide Lawsuit
  • About Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2025 News Wave
News Wave is not responsible for the content of external sites.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World
  • USA
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Technology

Copyright © 2025 News Wave
News Wave is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In