Calls to reform the California Coastal Commission are widespread. Who will deliver them?

Sara Rubin here, with power on my mind. More specifically I am thinking about the California Coastal Commission, the result of a voter-approved 1972 ballot initiative. Then-State Sen. Jim Mills led a bicycle tour down the coast, from San Francisco to San Diego, to rally support. It worked; Prop. 20 passed and 50 years later, land use on California’s Coastal Zone is regulated not just by local government agencies but also by the Coastal Commission. 

“The Commission is committed to protecting and enhancing California’s coast and ocean for present and future generations,” its mission states. “It does so through careful planning and regulation of environmentally-sustainable development, rigorous use of science, strong public participation, education, and effective intergovernmental coordination.”

All excellent ideas. But exactly how those ideas are executed matters, quite significantly. 

The Commission has historically been viewed as a buffer against sprawling development, helping preserve the ability of regular people—whether or not they can afford a piece of coastal real estate for private access—to enjoy the coast. 

There’s a growing chorus of voices for reform, including those of Gov. Gavin Newsom. (His recent budget proposal revision would streamline Coastal Commission permits, to “increase accountability and regulatory certainty for urgently needed housing in coastal communities.”) Pending Senate Bill 484, authored by State Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, would create an exemption for affordable housing development projects in infill areas in certain coastal communities.

The general tenor underlying some of these specific proposals is: Has the pendulum in environmental protections swung too far, prohibiting needed progress, specifically housing development? Or has it worked brilliantly, protecting a singular coastline as largely unobstructed by private gates and mansions, available for all of us to enjoy?

Some of the way this question gets processed is in policy reforms, and some of it is in the form of individual commissioners. Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas announced today his appointment to a Central Coast seat on the commission, with this framing: “It is a significant moment for California’s Coastal Commission.”

His appointee is Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez, replacing incumbent commissioner Justin Cummings, who received widespread support, including from environmental groups. (You can read more about the appointment in a news story posted earlier today.) 

I asked Cummings if the perception that the Coastal Commission is an obstructionist body is accurate. His answer: “It’s not true.” 

He points out that most jurisdictions in the Coastal Zone have a local coastal program approved by the Coastal Commission, giving those local jurisdictions control over land use decisions.

Cummings is also skeptical of the ability of one appointment to make significant change: “It's not as easy as people think,” he says.

I also asked if Lopez, as one commissioner, has the ability to influence the direction of the commission. “That is to be seen. It will start with understanding the dynamics, and understanding how I can become a bridge.” 

Whether that bridge takes the commission in a more development-friendly direction or not remains to be seen.