By Donne Brownsey
Re: ‘My house or my beach? How California’s housing crisis could weaken its coastal protections“’
CAL Matters’ Ben Christopher wrote recently that California lawmakers have been busy over the last decade trying to make it easier to build homes across a housing-strapped state. But there’s an 840-mile-long exception.
In an undulating band that generally runs 1,000 yards from the shoreline, the 12 members of the California Coastal Commission have the final say over what gets built, where and how.
Voters empowered the commission to protect the state’s iconic beaches in 1972, responding to a crisis of despoiled seas and the prospect of the Miami-fication of the California coast.
But five decades later, the state faces a different crisis as millions of Californians struggle to find an affordable place to call home. Now, a growing number of legislators and housing advocates are trying to wrest away some of the commission’s power, according to Christopher’s piece.
The California Coastal Commission has a consistent record of supporting multi-family, affordable and workforce housing in the coastal zone. Unfortunately, misperceptions that the commission is anti-housing has dominated the current discussions on legislation.
Balancing public access and coastal housing has been the commission’s charge for 50 years. The Coastal Act requires us to protect and maximize public coastal access to beaches, bluffs and harbors. It also requires that we ensure the health of natural resources like wetlands and estuaries when projects get built.
When we consider development proposals, state law and common sense requires us to analyze specific site vulnerability, such as eroding bluffs, flooding from sea level rise and storm surges, and hazards like earthquakes, pollution or inadequate infrastructure. Sometimes we’re asked to hear appeals of local decisions that may not have followed local coastal plans. In jurisdictions without plans, we issue the permits directly.
Affordable and multi-family housing should not be exempted from Coastal Act protections. But neither should Coastal Act policies be used inappropriately to prevent urban density. Building more housing while ensuring its safety, providing coastal access and protecting resources are not mutually exclusive.
Together they promote the well-being and resiliency of our coastal communities.
—Donne Brownsey chairs the California Coastal Commission.
