All right, folks.
As promised, it's 9.15.
We're going to start the hearing.
We're still having some Wi-Fi issues.
So if you can't get Wi-Fi, neither can we.
So we're in the same boat.
In any event, welcome to the Coastal Commission meeting
of June, 2026, here in beautiful San Diego.
We're going to start the hearing with some announcements.
Is this the hybrid meeting procedures?
Please.
All right.
OK.
Good morning.
This Coastal Commission meeting is occurring both in-person and through Zoom.
This meeting is also being webcast and can be viewed online at cal-span.org.
If you have internet access and wish to watch or listen to the meeting only and not speak
on an item, we recommend you use the CalSPAN website.
Those who wish to address the Commission today can do so in person, through the Zoom platform
or by phone.
The speaker request forms may be found on the Commission's webpage.
paper forms, and a scannable QR code for paperless submittal are available on the Commission's
staff table just outside the meeting room. For those on Zoom, we have posted virtual
hearing procedures on the Commission's agenda webpage, which is a guide on providing comments
via Zoom or by phone. Members of the public speaking during general public comment may
be given up to two minutes to speak at the discretion of the Chair. Requests to speak
during the general public comment period will not be accepted after 9 a.m. on each day of
the meeting. In order to provide the opportunity for the broadest range of
public participation you may speak on a specific topic one time only each month.
Those speaking on an agenda item that is not general public comment are typically
allowed two to three minutes to speak at the discretion of the chair. We will
accept a request to speak on a regular agenda item up until the chair opens the
hearing on that particular item. If you have internet access please go to the
Commission's webpage and click on the link to fill out a speaker request. If you
do not have internet access or prefer to testify by phone, please call the
Commission staff at 562-477-9089. Again, that number is 562-477-9089.
Staff will provide you with a telephone call-in number and instructions for how
to participate and provide testimony by phone. We will manage speakers coming in
in and out of the meeting through a meeting organizer.
When it is your time to address the commission,
the organizer will invite you to turn on your video
and microphone or provide instructions
on how to unmute the phone.
Madam Vice Chair, that concludes the virtual hearing
procedures.
Thank you so much, Chris.
All right, we're now going to have the roll call.
I'm not sure who's.
Yes, I'm doing that.
Give me a second.
All right, Commissioner O'Malley.
Present.
Commissioner Hart.
Present.
Commissioner Jackson here
Commissioner Kelly here
Commissioner Lee here
Commissioner Lopez here
Commissioner Kalmick here
Commissioner not off here
Commissioner Moreno present
Commissioner Wilson here
Commissioner Ketchum
We have a quorum
Thanks so much Chris. All right. We'll now turn to item three on the agenda agenda changes
Mr. Schwing.
Thank you, Vice Chair Hart.
Good morning to the commission and to everybody in attendance today.
We do have a number of agenda changes in addition to the ones that were posted on Monday.
Starting with item 11A, that's move to consent.
This is a CDP application by San Diego County for the extension
of the Tijuana River culverts at Saturn Boulevard.
This morning, adding item 14A, this is CDP amendment 5190971A1.
This is the Dana Point Harbor partners marina project that is moved to consent.
Item 16A, this is the city of San Diego's university community plan update, LCP amendment
time extension.
It's just the time extension.
That is moved to consent.
Item 17A, this is the Delmar Beach Club application from Solana Beach.
That is postponed.
Item 17B, this is Caltrans San Diego Coronado Bay Bridge suicide deterrent barriers.
That is moved to consent.
And item 17c, it's application 626.202.
This is the city of San Diego's public parking lots, CDP application that is moved to consent.
And that concludes our agenda changes this morning.
Thanks so much, Mr. Schwing.
All right.
We're now going to move to general public comment.
I'll just remind the public to only speak on items that are specifically relevant to
Coastal Act issues.
And go ahead, Chris, with the opening.
All right.
For members of the public, I'll be announcing the names of the upcoming speakers and invite
you to speak when it is your turn.
Each speaker will be allowed two minutes during general public comment at the discretion of
the chair.
In order to allow for live video testimony on Zoom, we will be bringing you in as panelists.
As we bring you in, your Zoom will reload and this may take a moment.
To speed up this process, we will bring several people in at a time, but please remain muted
and keep your video off until we ask you to speak.
your time is up, you'll be moved back to attendee mode.
For members of the public present in the room,
I will call your names in the order
that they appear on our signup list.
When you hear your name, please line up behind the podium
and introduce yourself when you approach the speak.
There is a raise your hand function
that will help us find you in the attendee list.
If you're using a phone for audio,
you can raise your hand by dialing star nine.
If you are participating by Zoom,
you should see a button on your Zoom screen
to raise your hand.
If you assign it to speak for this item
and are able to do so, please raise your hand now.
When it is your time to speak,
we will invite you to unmute and turn on your camera.
You can unmute yourself on a phone by dialing star six.
So for general public comment today,
it looks like we have 38 people signed up.
We'll start with people in the room.
We have Joy Boyd, followed by Shirley Weiss,
and then Ula Camila Rang.
So Joy Boyd.
Oh, I see the button.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Yeah, if they can't hear me.
So I am Joy Boyd, and I'm the Aaron Brockovich
for 462 mooring tenants in San Diego Bay.
I'm a retired caregiver.
When I saw my neighbors being bulldozed
by the mooring company, sweet seniors, and disabled,
for two years, I went to the San Diego port,
and they didn't even know what was happening.
But the port only cares about making money, not people.
No one seems to care or will help.
Two rogue, heartless, corrupt employees
are stealing our moorings and vessels,
raising rents after being denied an increase
by calling it another name.
They are just supposed to maintain moorings, not
massive greed, who think they are above the law.
I will read you the guilty judgment
they have forced by intimidation first
with expensive yachts to sign.
Now they're going after the remaining tenants.
So they make a sign, this affidavit,
that they can take our boats.
They can put them in storage.
They take them to their marina
and charge us whatever they want,
that they're gonna go for public auction
and they're gonna put a small claims affidavit against us.
Thank you for your time.
Welcome to San Diego.
Thank you.
Shirley Weiss, Ula Camila Rang,
and then Steve Benegus.
Shirley Weiss.
Thank you.
Good morning, honorable commissioners.
My name is Shirley Weiss.
I'm a resident of Del Mar.
I have practiced law in California for over 40 years.
I'm a member of the Coalition for Safer Trains
and Friends of Del Mar Bluffs.
For more than two decades,
through five construction phases,
Sandeck has massively hardened Del Mar bluffs
with tons of concrete steel and almost two miles of seawalls.
all to temporarily continue rail on fragile bluffs.
Thankfully, in June 2022, the commission conditioned
its approval of phase five, the most massive project,
on a solid mitigation agreement.
SANDAG agreed to design and build new public access
over, under, or across the tracks and down to the beach
and extend an existing bluff top trail.
The deadlines are February, 2027, to finish planning,
design permitting and public outreach in February,
2029 to complete construction.
But aside from conceptual designs in
the Coastal Commission Connection Study,
the public has seen no actual designs,
no permit applications.
Instead, in 2024,
Sandag diverted funds that were to go
to mitigation construction to other projects.
In its March 2026 update to the Del Mar City Council,
Sandag showed little progress and
declined to affirm its mitigation obligations.
And in its latest report,
SANDAG described itself as quote,
in negotiations unquote about the mitigation project,
presumably with the commission,
which we found very troublesome.
As the commission has said,
the Delmar beaches serve the entire region,
including underserved inland communities.
SANDAG spent over $100 million
altering our bluffs to serve the rail industry.
It must not be allowed to water down
the mitigation obligations, profit from their own delays,
or redirect mitigation funds to discretionary projects favored
by more powerful cities.
Del Mar has paid the price for rail reinforcement
for over 20 years.
Please, commissioners, please read our letter
and strictly hold sandbags to the mitigation commitments.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Next, UluKameelah Rang, Steve Benegas, and then Janet Rogers.
UluKameelah Rang, go ahead.
And then we're bringing up your presentation.
Good morning, commissioners.
I'm Kameelah Rang from Del Mar.
In June 2022, SANDAG and the Coastal Commission
made a deal.
SANDAG won a phase five permit to further armor
the Del Mar bluff with massive sea walls.
The Coastal Commission granted the permit
on express condition that SANDAG would construct
eight mitigation measures, one of them more important than any other for California public,
safe beach access across or under the rails of the bluff.
The cost of commissioning both strict deadlines to have completed designs and environmental
reviews by April 2027 and start construction on this alternative access.
We are now 10 months from that date and nothing has been done besides Sandak trying to get
out of the deal.
Now that the bluff armoring and cementing and uglifying of the bluff is close to be finished
and sanding no longer has anything to lose, they're now trying to negate on the safe crossing
mitigations complaining that it's too expensive and too complicated.
That's something they should have thought of before they signed the deal and applied
for funds for the mitigations.
Next slide, please.
All we are asking is a minimal type access.
Now the sanding will increase train traffic from 40 trains per day to over 100.
The safest will be to construct an underpass.
We are not asking for any type of fancy underpass.
We just want to safely get to the other side of the race, and there are hundreds of examples
of simplistic pedestrian tunnels.
Next slide, please.
San Clemente, just north of us, have several underpasses along the railroad to the beach.
Why is it that just Del Mar is so complicated that Sandak can't even come up with one when
Okta in Orange County has built several?
Perhaps you can recommend Sandak to go on a field trip to a neighboring county.
Please hold Sandak to their side of the deal.
They took 50,000 square feet of beach from us and the public.
So please do not let them off the hook
on the most important mitigation promise.
Safe beach access across or under the rails on the bluff.
And this is a very important precedent,
especially in regards to the relocate
and not saying off of the bluff.
It sounded allowed to come and say later that,
oh, sorry, we are out of money
to pay for your eminent domain house.
No, hold them to their promises.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next, Steve Minigas, Janet Rogers, Becky Westervelt.
Steve Vinagas. Good morning there commissioners and welcome to the Kumeyaay
territory. I'm here to introduce myself. My name is Steve Vinagas. I represent
the 11 Kumeyaay bands in San Diego County and we would love and wish to work
with anybody that's about protecting and making sure that our sacred land and
sacred areas are no longer harmed.
So we will, we wait for this opportunity to have our say
and to how to protect all these things that are near and dear
to the Kumeyaay people.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Janet Rogers, Becky Vesterfeld, and then Bill Rogers.
And then we have your presentation.
Waiting for my slide show.
Commissioners, I'm Janet Rogers, co-chair of the Embarcadero Coalition.
Please take our walk on the Embarcadero since you are right here.
I have pointed out problems with the Port Master Plan Amendment, the PMPA, for nearly two years.
I'll be in the lobby after the meeting today and tomorrow.
We can arrange another time if needed.
Next slide.
Why can't the port do the most basic requirement?
Maximize public access.
This is public land, not private property.
The last two years, the port cleared $95 and $71 million.
They don't need to monetize every inch of the port.
Next slide.
The port is deliberately destroying
the promised public amenities and green space
in the Embarcadero.
Why?
This Embarcadero map is from the current master plan
updated 25 years ago.
Commitments are already broken or changed in the PMPA.
Start in the upper left corner.
The Crescent Pier Park was never built.
It's removed in the PMPA.
The 100-foot-wide Esplanade, which still doesn't exist,
had a 65-foot-wide green parkway.
It's replaced with concrete.
The second major park, the 10-acre Broadway Landing Park,
included Broadway Pier, eliminated.
Rockel Park, planned to be eliminated
by a 300-foot-tall commercial building.
Central Park and Seaport Village, already eliminated.
The convention center park planned into oblivion
with the expansion plant.
Not one of these green areas are mitigated or replaced.
Almost no green space is left in the Embarko
if the port gets its way.
Next slide.
I am Becky Dustrelton, member of the Embarka-Darrell Coalition.
I'm concerned about the destruction of the master plan
process, especially after Commissioner Moore declared
progress over process and said we don't have time
do a new master plan for Chula Vista. This process maximizes revenue, not public access.
Developers often without a RFP develop a project, then submit their project as an amendment
to becoming the new plan, a self-serving process. The current master plan has 41 amendments
and now another 10 plus projects plan that will be amendments to the PMPA. Since it does
to not provide guidelines for seaport,
Pigea, Topgolf, or others.
Coastal requirements and mitigations are ignored.
The port approves items that are not coastal related.
Next slide, please.
This leads to unbalanced development.
Coronado isn't getting any new development,
but the Embarcadero will be totally walled off,
especially down streets.
No parks or open spaces are included
to see or arrive at the bay.
25 years ago, we were promised a 1,100-foot-wide esplanade
next to the water.
It hasn't happened, but the 500-foot-wide area
between Harvard Drive and Pacific Highway
has been developed and planned for a solid wall of hotels
and commercial buildings.
So one sixth of the North Embarrow Canal Gideroto
is for the public, and five sixth
is for the developers and commercial use.
Is that balance development to you?
The south Embarcadero is a solid wall of commerce.
The central Embarcadero is supposed to avoid that fate,
but the Seaport project is seven hotels
plus commercial building eliminating
3.5 acre green space for a Coco Park.
Julevista's huge project demolishes a 24 acre park.
The PMPA does not tell the truth by keeping the old plant.
Next slide.
Good morning, I'm Bill Rogers,
a member of the Embarcadero Coalition.
This slide shows the misrepresentations in the PMPA
for the view quarters and scenic views.
View quarters should be the width of the quarter,
not a thin slit.
In blue, we show all the obstructions
that ruin the view quarters the port says exist.
A scenic view should be 120 degrees
and available from water's edge,
not at the end of the pier.
These views are all being destroyed
with massive new boat docks,
causing the loss of all remaining open blue water views
the Embarcadero. The views from the Crescent, the County Administration
Building, Seaport Village, and the Hilton Bayfront will all be gone. More money
from birthing, no public scenic views. Next slide. There are many more problems.
To name a few, the State Lands Commission is ignoring all the changes to
definitions in the PMPA. Green space is being converted to concrete walkways by
eliminating the separate designations. Removing floor acre ratio lets them
maximize density and block public access. Parking should be underground to save
public space. You know only three to four percent of visitors to downtown are
Californians, so the port isn't using our land for our benefit. Please take our
walk and see for yourselves. Janet will be in the lobby after the meetings today
and tomorrow to conduct walks or we can arrange another time. Thanks so much for listening.
Thank you. Next is Charlie Bowen, followed by Diane Wolke and then Lisa Sherman. Charlie Bowen.
Good morning commissioners. My name is Charlie Bowen, communications director for Save Oceanside
Sand. Today on behalf of Save Oceanside Sand and the Oceanside community, I would like to thank the
Coastal Commission staff for their role in discussions with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
regarding the San Diego County shoreline Oceanside mitigation study.
As highlighted during Congressman Levin's June 1st press conference, the announcement
of the Army Corps' tentatively selected plan was an important milestone for Oceanside.
The plan proposes large-volume sand nourishment every 10 years over a 50-year period.
We especially appreciate the efforts of the Commission's coastal engineer, Jeremy Smith,
who reviewed the Army Corps' model and identified the need to incorporate the latest scientific
understanding of sand transport rates based on recent studies.
I would also like to thank Commission staff for their continued participation in the interactive
design process for the City of Oceanside's ReBeach pilot project.
Carl Schwing and the San Diego Coast District staff have been engaged from the beginning,
collaboratively with the project team to address issues as they arise. We
particularly appreciate the Commission's coastal engineer traveling to Oregon
State University's OH Hensdale Wave Research Laboratory to observe the
physical testing of the ReBeach reef design firsthand. ReBeach is a critical
component of Oceanside's beach restoration and coastal resiliency
strategy. While the Army Corps project will deliver significant amounts of sand
to the system, REBeach adds something equally important, a retention mechanism
designed to help keep that sand on our beaches. That is essential given the
shoreline dynamics of Oceanside, a straight highly exposed coastline
subject to powerful swells from multiple directions. But the journey to coastal
resilience on the Oceanside coast and beyond is far from over. REBeach has the
potential to become a Pathfinder coastal resiliency project not only for
Oceanside but for coastal communities throughout California and beyond. For
that reason we believe it is important for the project to move forward so that
these science-based design concepts can be tested in the real world. Thank you
for your time this morning. Thank you. Next Diane Wolkie, Lisa Sherman, and then
Judy Burlfein. I have I have slides. Yes give us a moment to bring it up.
There you go. Good morning commissioners. Diane Wolkie, board member safe healthy
of Plainfields Beyond Plastics affiliate.
Last month I told you that 600 quadrillion microplastics
are released from land-based plastics every year.
Experts estimate that you inhale
68,000 microplastic particles every day before lunch.
Microplastics are found in every human organ
and bodily fluid.
Babies are born pre-polluted with microplastics
and their chemical leachate.
Playgrounds and synthetic turf are major sources
of microplastics.
In San Diego County, we currently have 15 schools
and 17 plastic turf fields due to be replaced.
In addition, we have three parks in the CDP and LCP zones
contaminating our air, water, soil, beaches, and the ocean.
We have nearly 15 million square feet of plastic turf
in schools and parks alone, 345 acres.
For every one inch of rain, well over 9.3 million gallons
of toxic runoff from these plastic fields
rush through our storm drains and to the ocean.
Slide.
And 563,000 pounds of microplastic blades
are added to our air, water, and soil every year.
Microplastics impair hormonal and cardiometabolic function
for those of us living near the coast.
They create climate change, impair biodiversity,
and add to plastic pollution.
Aquatic organisms are irreparably harmed,
and marine animals are dying of starvation
because their prey have moved off to cooler waters.
We are asking you to hold all in the CDP
and LCP zones accountable.
Make polluters and permit dodgers pay.
Slide. We implore your consultants
to stop recommending PVC tiles for playgrounds.
PVC microplastics are found in human testes, semen, blood,
blood clots, chorionic villi causing miscarriages,
human placentas and umbilical cords.
Stop spreading mistruth and deceiving applicants
by claiming PVC is non-toxic,
won't get excessively hot in coastal breezes,
and won't break down into microplastics.
Please be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Lisa Sherman, Judy Burl Fine, Ian Hembrey.
Hoka, Lisa Sherman.
Nippey, A.P.I Nation of San Isabel.
Nippey, H-A-M-A-A-W.
Nippey, M-A-A-Q-A-M-A-S-H-A.
Hello, my name is Lisa Sherman.
I am from the Epi Nation of Santa Isabel, also one of the Kumeyaay Nations.
I am honored to be here and come in a good way.
I am here as a founder of Tribal Sacred Waters Inc. and on behalf of Native Like Water and
the Princess Access, the Princess Coastal Access Project.
I want to share the journey that led me here, which began with a strong focus on advocacy.
Through my efforts, I encounter various barriers to access the ocean.
My company, along with native-like water and Princess Coastal Access projects, has been
dedicated to helping our community reconnect with our heritage and the waters that are
vital to us.
We have experienced significant success in this mission, yet we still face challenges
such as insufficient parking and limited access to our equipment, our boats, our work emissized
on tribal stewardship, healing, and culture education, honoring the deep-rooted connection
our people have with these waters.
We long to return to our ancestral lands and reclaim our rightful place by the waters.
I would like to highlight that through our tribal services
work, we have made significant strides,
including the ownership of two boats.
We are proud to be the one of the only Native American-led
non-profits, tribal sacred waters,
with our own fishing vessels.
And our boats carry meaningful names.
Mine is called the Ipai Mermaid, and the second one
is the Salish Sun.
Both names honor our ancestors, which
have passed down through traditions to us,
and they hold deep significant values to us.
Our commitment to tribal stewardship is paramount,
especially as we recognize
that our ocean waters are suffering.
We appreciate the efforts, I'm sorry,
and we approach you and ask that you give us access,
and that's what I'm here for, to request access,
and, Haie, thank you again.
Thank you, next is Judy Burl Fine, Ian Hembrey,
and then Quincy Bump.
And we have your presentation, it's coming up.
Okay.
Hello, I'm Judy Burl Fine, Chair of Encinitas Bike Walk,
a small bike and walk advocacy all volunteer group
in Encinitas located up the road about 25 miles.
I'm here today to tell you about a project
that promotes public access to the coast
and protects our coastal ecosystems in Encinitas.
I'm here to express my concern
because this project situated on Santa Fe Drive
in Encinitas, completed in early 2025,
is now being proposed to be dismantled
by our current city council.
Parking on the coast is difficult
because Encinitas speeches are popular,
making it safe to access the coast by bike or on foot
would improve access for all.
So if you can start clicking, here's
a map of Santa Fe Drive.
It extends from the eastern part of the city to the coastline.
In its current state, it's challenging
to travel by bike from the eastern end to the coast.
Click, click again.
OK, but the city's been working for two decades
to improve that situation.
In 2003, click.
They installed a roundabout and sidewalks
on the western edge.
In 2013, a pedestrian cycling underpass
was built under the railroad tracks.
Perfect.
In 2020, Caltrans built separated bike pedestrian paths
under the five freeway.
And most recently, the city built separated bike lanes
in front of the high school, just east of the underpass.
Click again, and this is what it looks like now.
You can see the separated bike path.
And this is what it click.
This is what it looked like previously.
The current click, the current council
wants to remove the separated bike path on the south side
and remove it, return it to the previous condition.
Click this little girl and I don't
think that's a great idea.
Thank you for your public service.
Ian Henry.
And then we have a picture and a video with your presentation.
let us know which one you would like first video first but not yet i'll let you know uh good
morning my name is Ian Henry and i am an advocacy and community manager for the San Diego county
bicycle coalition we've been advocating on behalf of bicyclists in the region since 1987
numerous studies have demonstrated that separating bike lanes from motor vehicle lanes decrease
collisions and injuries based on these studies the three main agencies responsible for providing
road safety best practices all recommend separating cyclists from automobiles on high
volume or high-speed streets. These agencies include NACTO, AASHTO, and the
FHWA through their published MUTCD. That's a lot of acronyms, but they're
very reputable agencies. In addition, many studies, including a recent one out
of the University of New Mexico, demonstrate a link between increased
bicycle ridership and protected bike lanes. People are more likely to ride a
bike if they have the option of using a protected bike lane compared with a
standard bike lane. You can play the video now. So here's a video of kids
of a kid riding in an unprotected bike lane on Highway 101.
Oh yes, let us load in the bike lane, Floy.
These kinds of conditions discourage all but the most courageous from riding a bike.
A similar configuration is being proposed for the south side of Santa Fe Drive
with the bike lane sandwiched between the moving cars and parked cars.
Approximately 50% of the population includes people who have an interest in traveling by bicycle
but feel intimidated by insufficient infrastructure.
This is where we can bring up the picture that I sent in earlier.
Inadequate designs such as the one proposed for Santa Fe Drive exclude these people.
By removing the separated bike lane and reverting the road back to the earlier condition with
a painted bike lane only, we are limiting beach access for this large segment of the
population who do not feel safe riding from the eastern part of the city to the coast
on a street that only has Class II painted bike lanes.
As infrastructure has improved and electric bikes have made the hilly topography of Encinitas
more manageable bike ridership in the city has increased. However many people still remain
fearful of riding. Removing protected infrastructure will only discourage future riders. Thank you.
Thank you. Quincy Bump and then Pamela Hetherington and Jane Relden. Quincy Bump.
Okay you can go ahead and bring up the presentation now. It's a moment it takes a while to bring
another one down. Good morning everyone my name is Quincy and I also work for the San Diego County
Bicycle Coalition and I'm here to round out our comments about Santa Fe Drive in
Encinitas. I'm here today to talk about stormwater retention on Santa Fe Drive
which was another important part of the project when it was proposed so I have a
few different images showing the stormwater retention basins and how they
were implemented along with the protected bicycle infrastructure to
improve the corridor and protect the coast and protect stormwater runoff from
going into our storm drains and waterways. You can just go ahead and flick
through those pretty slowly. So here's a few examples of the infrastructure. As it
was built, this new redesign proposed would remove on the south side of Santa
Bay Drive almost entirely these basins that were already built and constructed.
And so decreasing this area of stormwater infiltration basins as proposed
will harm the coastal ecosystem by sending untreated water into the storm
drains.
And then, yeah, that's the last one.
Thank you.
And in summary, removing the bicycle infrastructure
and stormwater retention raises a substantial issue
as to whether the city, the city of Encinitas's action,
is consistent with the Coastal Act
and in conformity with the local coastal program.
Depending on the city's action, either amending their CDP
or applying for an exemption, we will be following up
with the Coastal Commission on this.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next, Pamela Hetherington, Jane Roldan, and then Alice McNally.
Pamela Hetherington.
Good morning, Vice Chair Hart and esteemed commissioners.
I am Pam Hetherington, and I direct
the Environmental Center of San Diego.
Some of you may recall my periodic updates
on the Princess Street Coastal Access Trail
located in La Lolla.
For those of you not familiar with Princess Street,
back in 2017, the Coastal Commission
approached the Environmental Center
about accepting the offer to dedicate easement, now
known as the Princess Street Coastal Access Trail. The public use of the trail,
since the 1930s, was well-documented. The offer of the easement came after years,
almost well over 30 years, of Coastal Act violations by various landowners,
unpermitted development, and the blocking of coastal access that had been
available previously to the public. The community took their efforts to open
the close access to the Superior Court in San Diego and prevailed.
The current owner was remanded to dedicate the easement that the environmental center
holds today.
We then secured the acceptance of both the Coastal Commission and the State Conservancy
– Coastal Conservancy to accept the easement.
Since 2017, we have worked diligently to secure all the required CEQA studies that the city
would require and are finally at the permitting stage.
The Coastal Conservancy granted us Phase 1 and Phase 2 funding to date and we have conservatively
managed these funds knowing that they are not a limitless resource.
However, the landowner has continuously tried to stop us from completing the trail.
He has overwhelmed the City of San Diego staff and delayed our timeline by relentlessly sending
letters from his lawyers attempting to discredit work done by our consultants which have gone
through multiple review cycles with the city.
Our dedication to completing the trail is unwavering,
but it has gotten to the point that we need your help
to get past these hurdles.
We have been exploring options for enhanced partnerships
and recently met with Kumeyaay tribal members
who are keenly interested in both stewardship
and co-management of the trail.
They are coastal Indians without a coast.
There are many wonderful aspects of reopening the trail,
fulfilling the commission's core mission
of public access, education, embracing cultural history
of our coastal areas, making sure marginalized
and disadvantaged communities are part of our efforts.
Thank you for your attention and support for our efforts
for an equitable playing field.
I'm happy to talk to you at any point
and answer any questions, thank you.
Thank you.
Jane Rolden, Alice McNally, and then Brenda Fink.
Jane Rolden.
And we have your video, we'll bring it up.
please run the video?
Good morning.
I'm Dr. Jane Reldon,
president of the Seal Conservancy at Children's Pool Beach.
You are watching the first of three videos
of seal pup births at Children's Pool Beach,
followed by a video of a newborn seal pup nursing,
and finally a photo of the viewing guideline robe.
Seal puping happens annually only at Children's Pool Beach
for five months, December 15 to May 15,
thanks to the unanimous approval
of the seasonal closure of the beach
during the harbor seal popping season
by the California Coastal Commission.
The seasonal closure has allowed the seals
to give birth undisturbed and the public
to view the seals at a safe distance from the mid-landing,
the sidewalk, and the seawall.
There are two coastal development permits
which work together to protect the La Jolla seals
at Children's Pool Beach.
One is for the popping season closure
and the other permit is for the viewing guideline rope
which allows access by the public to the beach
for seven months from May 15th to December 15th annually.
Both of these permits expire in 2029.
These CDPs have reduced seal harassment to zero
while dramatically reducing police calls
with no citations issued since their unanimous approval
by the CCC in 2014 and in 2018-19.
The pumping season closure for five months at the year,
combined with the guideline rope during the other seven months
of the year, have proven to be an effective compromise
in terms of balancing public access to the beach
with animal habitat protection.
I'm bringing this issue before you today
to ensure that the permits authorizing the seal
protections at Children's Pool Beach will be extended by you without interruption before
their expiration in 2029. Thank you for your attention.
Thank you. Alice McNally, Brenda Fake, and then Eric Fletcher.
Good morning. How will the Coastal Commission protect California's coast and ensure coastal
access at San Onofre when the radiation protection rules are non-existent? The president has
done just that to executive order 14300, which directs the NRC and the Department of
Energy to loosen radiation protection standards.
This greatly endangers the workmen, the public, the environment, and increases the chances
of a catastrophic event.
Songs was out of commission when you approved permit 09190194 in 2019.
This evidence was verified by NRC Inspector Lee Brookhart.
In his final safety analysis report, he states that if canisters are scratched, they no longer
meet the requirements of the certificate of compliance and technical specifications.
This report was ignored by the NRC and the Coastal Commission.
The Coastal Commission has allowed Edison to continue operation and to load scratched
containers under code 7248, which they, Edison,
claims allows them to continue today.
The Coastal Commission has authority
to revoke Song's license if a substantial issue exists,
and there are many.
As the administration is dismantling our deep ocean
observation system that was put in place
to monitor coastal environments and there
is no longer confidence in the DOE to locate a permanent home for the waste.
Many agree a new agency is needed.
However, an agency controlled by private industry without governmental oversight would be a
big mistake, as the bottom line is always profit over safety.
As radiation protection rules are practically non-existent, we need a Coastal Commission
To stand strong, make colluded clay, not rubber stamp everything as you have in the past.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Brenda Fake.
Eric Fletcher.
Tom Cook.
Good morning.
Thank you for the opportunity for me to introduce the La Jolla Coastal Conservancy.
La Jolla's coastline and San Diego's coastline is one of California's most visited and iconic
coastal landscapes.
Many of its public access points, trails, stairways, viewpoints, and shoreline amenities
are aging, deteriorating, or facing increasing pressure from pedestrian traffic, erosion,
climate impacts, and decades of deferred maintenance.
The La Jolla Coastal Conservancy is a community-based coastal stewardship organization created to
help bridge the gap between community priorities, public agency resources, and the complex realities
of coastal stewardship.
We work in collaboration with the city of San Diego, community organizations, donors,
regulatory agencies, the Sierra Club, and technical experts to identify projects, secure
funding, navigate permitting, and deliver improvements that might otherwise remain on
a wait list for repair.
Our mission is guided by many of the same principles championed here by this California
coastal conservancy, repair, restore, enhance, and coastal, enhance coastal assets, improving
public access, respecting cultural and indigenous heritage, and ensuring future generations
can safely enjoy California's coastline while advancing climate resilience.
Over the past year, we have chipped away at a growing portfolio of repair projects ranging
from restoration, public safety improvements, and shoreline infrastructure repairs to larger
planning efforts.
This is built on 16 years of working along the coastline at Coast Walk Trail.
Our vision is to create a replicable model of public-private coastal stewardship to help
empower local coastal communities to preserve extraordinary coastal resources while leveraging
philanthropic investment to complement public funding.
In short, we are not simply repairing infrastructure.
We are building a model of partnerships, capacity, stewardship, and framework needed to protect
Check one of California's most
Treasured coastline. Thank you. My name is Brenda fake chair of La Jolla Coastal Conservancy. Have a good day
Thank you. Eric Fletcher Tom Cook William Robbins Eric Fletcher. Go ahead. Good morning commissioners. My name is Eric Fletcher
I'm a longtime San Diego community member ocean swimmer and conservationist
I'm here today to voice my strong opposition to the La Jolla Bluffs odor abatement project and urge the commission to assert its full
regulatory jurisdiction over the city's project. While some feel frustration with the odor, not everyone shares their opinion and
bypassing environmental reviews and laws to spray chemical and biological
cocktail directly over a marine protected area is a dangerous and short-sighted mistake. These products are labeled
biodegradable, but the process takes days or weeks, not second, and it does not instantly sterilize guano. A
concentrated slurry of chemical surfactants and pathogens such as fecal colora form bacteria and
and E. coli will run straight into the protected waters of the cove.
This spraying would violate California Coastal Act, Chapter 3, Section 30230, that mandates
marine resources be maintained and protected.
Coastal mist, morning dew and heavy rains mean runoff into the marine reserve is certain.
Second, this creates severe human health hazards.
The surfactants strip away the protected lipid and mucus barriers on human skin and eyes.
Anyone passing through the discharge will face severe eye and membrane irritation as
as well as risk of sickness due to the pathogens.
The cove is home to historic world-renowned swim events
and the release of liability covers only
standard open water risk.
It mentions nothing of spraying.
Anyone who gets sick from the spraying
would be able to sue the swim club, the Kiwanis Club,
and the city and corporate sponsors.
The city is facing a massive 118 million dollar
budget deficit which is forcing painful cuts.
Spending taxpayer dollars on the spray program
which will inevitably trigger litigation
fines is fiscally reckless. Yesterday I received an email from the city insinuating that spraying
had continued since it was halted in 2017. As such, I have made a public records request,
and if this is true, the city has actively bypassed the commission and violated the law.
There are safer legal alternatives for businesses such as installing commercial exterior misting
fans. Proponents claim the odor is destroying local tourism, but the data proves otherwise.
The cove is ranked number one beach in the US and people come for the wildlife which are already under significant threat due to fishing entanglement, injuries and starvation.
Thank you very much for your time. My name is Eric Fletcher.
Thank you. And through the chair, I'll just note that we have five speakers remaining in person. We have 15 on Zoom.
I now have your Wi-Fi access code, so might I suggest a break after our in-person speakers so we can get everyone access?
Sounds like a great plan, so that's what we'll do. Thank you.
So we'll finish our five in the room,
and then we'll take a short break
and then return for our Zoom speakers.
We'll continue with Tom Cook, William Robbins,
and J.L. Jackson.
Tom Cook.
Hello, commissioners.
Welcome back to San Diego.
My name is Tom Cook.
I'm a volunteer with the San Diego County Chapter
Surf Rider Foundation.
And I've been working with Pam Heatherington
and the Environmental Center of San Diego.
team on the Princess Street Coastal Access Trail since the beginning, and it's truly
been a highlight of my many years of activism.
This section of coast is incredibly unique from its geological features like the ridge
backs that are in the tide pools to the beautiful view of La Jolla Cove and the sea caves in
between.
Once reopened, the Princess Street Trail will be the only public coastal access between
the Marine Room to the north and the Cove to the south. This project achieves the goals
laid out by the La Jolla community plan, increasing coastal access in a truly beautiful setting.
The trail is also a powerful example of a sustained fight to keep California's coast
accessible to everyone, resisting the unending push of misguided interests trying to privatize
coastal access. The California Coastal Commission has played a pivotal role in
this fight, protecting and preserving the public trail after decades of court
battles by securing this easement and this project to restore enhanced coastal
access. We appreciate your time and thank you for your support. Thank you. William
Robbins, JL Jackson. Okay sir, well we're gonna just complete public comment. We're
going to take a short break then we'll get into the agenda thank you so much
thank you William Robbins JL Jackson Nina Fabiars and then Daryl Gale
William Robbins yeah go ahead sir do you have general are you're speaking on
agenda item okay I will move you to the appropriate item thanks or at the break
if you want to speak with Chris and just clarify what item you want to speak on
And so everybody's on the same page, that'd be great.
Okay, next.
JL Jackson, Nina Babiars and then Darryl Gale.
Boozhoo, thank you staff.
Thank you commissioners for hearing these words today.
And I'd like to thank Father Skye and Mother Earth
to bringing us all here today.
I'm with Native Like Water
and the founder of that program is not here.
I'm the executive director.
So I'm just going to read some stuff that was written.
And so here we go.
Native Lake Water works to reconnect indigenous people
to water through traditional acknowledgment,
cultural practice, environmental, stewardship,
education, and access.
Our mission is a rooted, simple belief.
Indigenous people maintain relationships
with these waters since time, immortal.
And those relationships should not be barriers
to participate access.
California Coastal belongs to everyone.
The public trust doctrine and the Coastal Act
recognizes that our shoreline and Thailand
should be managed for the benefit of all California.
Yet many waterfront access remains ineffective
and accessible large segments of public
and including indigenous communities.
So we have some questions.
How much public trust land is currently occupied
by private or membership based organizations?
What public benefits are being provided
to exchange exclusive use
of these public owned waterfronts?
are shorelines accessible opportunities truly available and welcoming to all Californians.
We encourage the Commission to continue exploring ways to expand meaningful cultural access.
Thank you for your time. Thank you. Nina Babiars, Darryl Gale, and then we'll take a short break
while we get internet going. Good morning. My name is Nina Babiars. I'm a founding number
board member of public watchdogs and non-profit advocating for the public safety at San Onofre
for the past 11 years.
I'm also a member of Congress from Mike Levin's San Onofre task force from day one.
I'm here today to bring to your attention the San Diego county's number one biggest
problem.
Southern California Edison has left our community stuck with 3.6 million pounds of highly radio
act of nuclear waste buried in 73 cans that are all scratched and gouged due to two downloading
accidents in 2018 that Edison tried to conceal from the public.
Now Edison is using an inaccurate calculation method to measure the depth of the damage
of those cans.
After Edison's radiation leak, the prematurely shuttered San Onofre, ratepayers ponied up
$2.52 billion to clean up Edison's mess.
At least we forget the rate-paying public is paying for everything.
Now for the relevant Coastal Commission details about the mess in our community.
The California Coastal Commission has issued Edison two CDPs,
one for the decommissioning of San Onofre plant and the second for the demolition.
Both of those required, two reports required by the Coastal Commission
to have an independent third party reviewer specifically recommended Edison
to stop using an incorrect and inaccurate calculation method
and only use a calculation method that is accurate.
It's crystal clear.
Edison's inspection maintenance program includes critical canister inspection data collection
that determines the depth of the damage.
The reason that this is so important, this data collection,
is those damaged canisters, so critically important,
it either validates the structural integrity
of those scratched and gouged cans, but here's the deal.
Edison is saying that the Coastal Commission approves
of this inaccurate calculation,
so which is the Coastal Commission?
Ma'am, thank you so much.
Are you proving it or not?
That's the only answer that matters
because the public is paying for everything and the public has a right to know. Thank you.
Thank you. Daryl Gail. So two years ago I stood before you and asked you to do something about
the Edison radioactive waste dump that you let them put on our beach. I was at the three big
meetings, two in Chula Vista, one in Long Beach where citizens, hundreds of them ask for thick
casks like they use in Europe, a hot cell to move the waste when we had a place to move it to,
and listen to Steve Padilla and Dana Boschko say on tape that they'd work on it way back in 2019.
Why do you have the authority to tell Edison to dump waste on our beach and then just ignore it?
Did you tell the governor, a lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state about the
eternal mess that you or your predecessors created.
What about the California Senators' Assembly, the Office of Emergency Management?
Do they know about what you've done?
What about the local mayors, the small beach communities that make all their money out
of tourism and surfing and beach restaurants?
The local city council members, do they know?
I've gone up to Sacramento at least seven times and I have lobbied with young people
who were environmentalists.
You can ask Dr. Hucklebridge.
She saw me up there numerous times.
I've talked to legislative aides.
I've talked to Newsom's cabinet people.
Nobody knows about this.
You've done a really good job of hiding this big mess that's going to kick us all in the
butt eventually.
So for the last 20 seconds for those of you on the phone, I'm just going to sit, stand
here and glare at when are you going to do something, put something on your website,
say something.
We need to know, we need to be prepared about this giant mess that your predecessors have
created.
Thank you.
Is that the last in person speaker then, Chris?
Yes.
so we're going to take a break right now until 10 30 we're going to get everyone
online and we'll see you back at 10 30 for the zoom public speakers hello okay
everyone hmm it's 10 30 and we're going to restart the meeting looks like we
essentially have a quorum yeah we have a quorum so we're going to move forward
with the zoom speakers the zoom public comment speakers thanks so much folks
for bearing with us as we dealt with this Wi-Fi issue this morning, but I think everyone's
online now. And if folks want to sit down, we're going to resume the meeting. Thank you.
Thank you. And thank you for your patience. We're moving on to our Zoom speakers. We have
15 speakers signed up on Zoom. We'll start with Bonnie Ernst, Chaylee Hilkama, and George
Hilkama. So Bonnie Ernst, when you're able to, please move in as a panelist. And when
you're able to go ahead. I believe we have your presentation as well.
Good morning commissioners and staff. I'm Bonnie Ernst and I'm from Oceano
California. There is much for you to be aware of and as you understand the CDP
for the airport will be before you soon. The slide what you're looking at is part
of the Oceano Airport and approximately five acres of this area is in the
the runway protection zone.
It's being used as a storage lot for mostly out-of-town RV
campers.
And I have no idea how many of them
actually have propane tanks.
What's coming up after this is the airport's parking lot.
Next slide.
And resurfacing this lot is a top item
on the airport's list of proposed maintenance projects.
The estimated cost was more than half a million dollars,
but likely it will be much more due to inflation.
County representatives extolled the community virtues
of their Girls in Aviation Day, Display Day,
and their Aviation Career Partnership.
And I would estimate the total time
on their community events might be around 10 hours
of controlled access a year.
But what you see here is the reality of Oceano Airport.
It's coastal land, 24 7, 365 days a year, little activity,
empty asphalt, fencing, RV storage.
After years of neglect, the Sloan County priority
is a fixed wing runway. Not the community, not the environment, not public access.
And we argue for an evolution to multiple uses for this land such as the heliport,
for emergency services, wetlands, trails, and to the beach. Thank you for your time.
Thank you. Next, Chaylee Hilkama, George Hilkama, and then Glenn Rogers. Chaylee Hilkama.
Good morning commissioners. I'm Chaylee Hilkama, a Newport Harbor mooring permit holder and a Newport Beach resident with a home a block away from the harbor. In my neighborhood, private docks are separated from upland homes by public right of way.
Boaters use docks or moorings to store their boats when they're not in use.
Most paid private parties to obtain permits, and we pay fees to the city for our private use of the public guidelines.
the city's management of us has been unfair and classes. Moring permit holders are overcharged,
highly regulated and treated like second-class voters while those with residential peer permits
enjoy the comfort of permit stability and the luxury of financial favoritism. The rate and
regulatory disparity is irrefutable. Only our user group is being threatened with a 3 to 500% fee
increase and an end to our permit transferability. It appears that the city wants our mooring so it
can charge much higher fees for its short-term mooring licensed product. If the city's plan is
resuscitated it will be a costly operation for voters of moderate means who are at risk of having
their harbor access cut off. City staff and policy makers made false claims that we're selling the
tight lands and making huge profits when we transfer our permits but the facts are that we
we don't sell the tide lands.
And most of us only recoup some of what we've paid.
Plus we pay higher transfer fees.
It is also a fact with private docks
and single point yacht club moorings
are more convenient than are difficult to access moorings.
Yet we're continually gas lighted on this issue.
We don't wanna be the scapegoat of the city
is compelled to raise rates of other user groups.
So to clarify, we don't think residential peer rates
are too low, but by comparison, mooring fees are too high.
We're asking this commission to advocate on behalf
of all recreational tide land permit holders
and request that the city adopt use of the state lands
category one benchmark for rate for recreational.
And mooring fees in Newport Harbor
to protect equity and public access.
Thank you.
Thank you. Go ahead, George.
My name is George Ilkoman,
And I'm hoping this commission will inspire or require
the city of Newport Beach to muster their requisite integrity
needed to manage our public guidelines fairly
so that New York permit holders can enjoy their boats
rather than be financially burdened by them.
The city of Newport Beach wants to raise our fees
and end permit transferability again.
I've been a board member
of the Newport Moring Association for 35 years,
And I've spent countless hours on these same issues during my 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.
And frankly, now that I'm 90, I'd rather be sailing.
I've worked on committees with Duffy and Brad Avery, both past Harbor commissioners, council
members and mayors, to resolve mooring related concerns, including a scrutinized focus on
transferability.
Now the current policymakers think that the past policymakers got it wrong.
This lack of continuity and fair consideration has caused concern for those of us who made
substantial financial investments to make our dreams of a vote ownership a reality.
Recreational voting is protected by the Public Trust Doctrine and our Coastal Act and the
Newport Beach Local Coastal Program.
Blame's moorings will be provided as an important source of low-cost public access, however
by its actions, it appears that the City intends to further commodify and gentrify Newport Harbor.
The State Lands Commission suggests that the transferability of mooring permits
may, quote-unquote, violate state law, which implies that it also may not violate state law.
Still, the City declares that the practice violates this California Constitution.
City regulated the morning permit transfer process and even participated in it. The state lands commission has had
Oversight authority over this management duties all along. So we're wondering what's really going on. Thank you. Thank you
Thank you. Next Glenn Rogers Jonathan Spalding and then Anna Christiansen Glenn Rogers go ahead
Thank you. Glenn Rogers, I see you're in as a panelist. You should be able to unmute.
Yes, thank you for having me today. I want to congratulate the Coastal Commission on the
creation of a California native plant border around Lake Merced. We asked Brotherhood Way
and Sunset Boulevard to be added to the Lake Merced watershed. Next slide. I don't see.
We ask rain gardens to be part of this solution.
Water from the first rain of the season with urban drool
should go to the existing sewer system.
When water is cleaned, the rain gardens
can have water deposited in those systems.
To receive clean water, plastic mats
can be removed from the rain garden inlets.
Now these mats can be provided over the sewer intakes so that this water is no longer needed
to be processed by the sewer system. Thank you for allowing me to mention this in this report.
I'm done. Thank you. Thank you, Glenn. Next, Jonathan Spalding, Anna Christiansen, and then
and control. Jonathan Spalding, give us a moment. You need to be moved in as a panelist.
There you go. And when you're able to, please unmute and begin.
There you go. We see you. It looks like you're unmuted. Go ahead.
Hello. Sorry for the delay. My name is Jonathan Spalding. I'm speaking to you today about the
proposed development at 501 Sandpoint Road in Carpentaria at the mouth of the Carpentaria Salt
Marsh Reserve. This proposed project is located at the most critical point of a rare and important
coastal estuary. The Carpentaria Salt Marsh is one of California's most valuable assets,
exactly the kind of place the Coastal Commission was created to protect. Over 90% of our original
salt marsh habitats in California had been destroyed by development. Police did not allow
further degradation of this critical coastal environment. The carpentry of salt marsh is
one of the largest and most ecologically significant coastal estuaries in the state.
Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey suggest that the combination of sea level rise
and increased urban runoff could severely impact these areas in the future to allow new construction
at the mouth of this critical and endangered habitat would reduce our coastal resiliency
in the face of climate change. The Carbon Daria salt marsh is a beloved part of our coastal
landscape. Generations of Californians have worked to preserve it. It's a beautiful survivor
of a landscape that allows us to glimpse California's original vitality. Please work to
protect the natural systems that sustain our life and allow future generations of Californians
to experience what makes our state an inspiration to the world. I urge you to require a full
EIR for this project and one that will take into consideration the extreme impacts
that the proposed projects will have on one of our state's most important and endangered habitats.
Thank you. Thank you. Next Anna Christiansen, Anne Cantrell and Nancy Okada. I see that you're
with the group of about seven people from the Sierra Club. Yes, can you hear me? Yes, we can
hear you. All right, we would like to begin, excuse me, we would like to begin our presentation
with George Two Horses, indigenous person. Can you hear me? Yes, we can hear you.
All right. We would like to begin our Sierra Club presentation with George Two Horses followed by
Ann Cantrell who will start the slideshow. I will follow up. Thank you. Thank you. Go ahead.
Please. It would be George Two Horses. You have to let him speak.
George is moving in. With this group, we also have, I believe, Katie Wagner,
Leslie Purcell, Nancy Okada, and Kontrol. And you will, I'll move everyone in and you can speak.
Okay, then he will go first. Hi, we can hear you. Go ahead.
Great. This 4th of July, your skies will burst with fire and your crowds will cheer for a freedom
that was built on the burial of my ancestors. You gather to celebrate the birth of a nation,
but for indigenous people of this land, this day marks the beginning of an ongoing apocalypse.
How can we celebrate a freedom that required our cages? Look at how this nation celebrates
along our fragile coastline, millions of fireworks launched over marine sanctuaries,
choking the air with heavy metals, poisoning the water and terrifying marine wildlife.
For a few seconds of flashing lights, we litter our beaches with sulfuric acid and plastic debris.
This fallout directly worsens the global crisis of microplastics breaking out down into our
marine food webs. It is the American story in a nutshell, destroying the ecosystem
for temporary entertainment. You treat the ocean as a resource to exploit rather than
a life support system to protect. By ignoring this connection, we have created a global
environmental emergency forcing future generations to live on the brink of an engineered disaster.
The California Coastal Commission has a clear duty to protect these shores from degradation.
True freedom cannot be found in a flag and it cannot be found in the ashes raining down
on a poisoned Pacific. We urge this commission to protect our shared environment by strictly
regulating these destructive holiday displays before this crisis consumes us all. That's all.
Thank you. And controls continuing, I believe? Do you need the presentation
under Christensen up? Yes, please. Okay. Good morning, Anne Cantrell Sierra Club. Fireworks,
patriotic celebration, or assault on people and nature. This July 4th, there will be 23
fireworks shows along the California coast. 19 are within the Coastal Commission's jurisdiction,
four in ports. All will negatively impact coastal waters, marine life, wildlife,
and coastal communities. Next slide, please. Next slide. Thank you. On July 4th,
23 fireworks shows on the California coast. I'm sorry, this is the wrong slide. Is this two?
slide two
all right 23 firework shows on the California coast from Crooks Crescent City to San Francisco
to Long Beach Catalina and San Diego next next slide okay all these fireworks shows impact coastal
waters known to contain asia, endangered, threatened, and special status species. Yet
Coastal Commission staff has concluded these temporary events have no significant adverse
impacts on coastal resources. Next.
Shows at Newport Back Bay, Laguna Beach, and Avalon Harbor, and Isthmus Cove are within
state marine protected areas. The coastal waters will be bombarded that will be bombarded contain
sea lions, seals, pelicans, black skimmers, herons, egrets, sharks, and numerous other fish,
eelgrass, and invertebrates. They will be unable to escape when the explosions begin
and continue for at least 20 minutes. These are coastal resources which the Coastal Commission
is charged to protect. Anna Christensen will continue the next slide.
All fireworks shows as you saw on the slide will have
armed-esha endangered threatened endemic and special status species. The impacts of
fireworks on marine ecosystems include chemical and heavy metal pollution, bioaccumulation, stress,
disorientation, panic, behavioral disruption, debris, and plastic pollution, ingestion,
leading to starvation, entanglement, and habitat damage. Next. Next. Long Beach will have three
fireworks barges within the breakwater where poor water circulation and trash lead to harmful
Agleblooms, sorry, toxic to swimmers and marine life. Two barges were given exemptions from CDPs.
One will pollute a beach known for kite boarding and parasailing, that's the one on the right,
and the other will pollute a beach most frequented by inner-city residents and visitors.
We respectfully ask that four or more commissioners today object to this exemption
by the executive director and either prohibit these two additional fireworks or require a CDP.
Next. The Coastal Act grants the right and responsibility to condition or prohibit temporary
events, including fireworks shows that significantly harm coastal resources. In 2008, the commission
declared the Gualla fireworks show was a form of development that did not qualify to be exempt
from permit requirements because of its potential for adverse effects to coastal resources and the
the state Supreme Court agreed.
A fireworks show display that produces both solid
and gaseous waste is development
under the plain language of the act.
We asked that the 19 shows under commission jurisdiction
not take place without further coastal commission review.
Some of them, South District didn't even know
about the Catalina shows.
So they can't be, they cannot possibly be legal.
Please do something about this.
Thank you. Next, Nancy Okada, Leslie Purcell and Katie Wagner. Nancy Okada, I see you're on a
phone. You should be able to unmute now. Nancy Okada. Okay, thank you. Morning commissioners.
Nancy Okada, Sierra Club California Coastal Committee. I want to thank you again for your
April decision of holding no fireworks in Long Beach. That was a very important decision and
really appreciate your doing that. What Long Beach is doing now is a whole other
thing, three barges, and it's rather upsetting. But I'd like to talk about our
coast is facing an incredible number of challenges. From the resumption of oil
drilling to increased underwater military practice around federal army
and naval bases, to noise bombardments by increased space launch activity planned
at Vandenberg. Fireworks will just add to these many stresses. So our CR Club
letter which was handed out to you earlier today has an attachment of the
many local, many coastal locations planning fireworks up and down the
coast. Please take a moment and consider all these locations and the diversity
of their habitats which we enjoy. I'm asking you to consider that fireworks
are discharging toxics onto our land and water.
For years, many of us thought that they were harmless,
but we've since learned that really they are not.
They're increasing stressors for all of our marine
and as well as human habitats on the coast.
So the Census Coastal Act grants you as a commission
to act, have the right and responsibility
conditions to prohibit temporary events, including fireworks shows, we asked that you consider in
the upcoming year to really place all these fireworks shows under your jurisdiction to
not let them take place without a Coastal Commission review, not grant them exemptions
from CDP permits and also the possibly you ask that you look revisit your 1993 guidelines
for an exclusion of temporary access and encourage clone shares. Thank you.
Thank you, Nancy. Next, Leslie Purcell followed by Katie Wagner. Leslie Purcell.
Hi, I'm Leslie Purcell also with the Sierra Club. I'd like to speak a little bit about
Marina del Rey in specifics as I had lived and worked for many years on trying to save the
Biona wetlands which is such a special place historically and provides a lot of habitat
and tidal waters are very important there. So I believe that they would be shooting off fireworks
off of the main channel in Marina Del Rey, and this would be very detrimental to this area that
so many of us work so hard to preserve, and I would just ask the commission to require
CDPs for these kinds of firework displays and then to actually have them be phased out, because
as you've heard the pollution both in the air and the water is very significant and the effect on
bird life herons egrets we have them nesting and and roosting in these areas um that will be
impacted by fireworks displays up and down the coast i think that harbor seals and sea lions as
well you've heard. There's also the impact to the marine environment itself
with debris falling in and pollution and it's been documented that the seabirds
are suffering and have been dying along the coast and fish populations have been
declining partly probably because of warming waters but these kinds of
activities would only increase that these adverse effects. So I would like
you to require CDPs for such events and to phase out the fireworks in the next
year that you are considering these issues. Thank you. Thank you. Katie Wagner
and then I'll start calling names that we weren't able to find in Zoom but
that were signed up to speak on our attendees lists.
Katie Wagner, go ahead.
Good morning.
My name is Katie Wagner.
I am the water campaign manager for Sierra Club, California.
I understand that asking to curb fireworks
on the 4th of July,
especially on the Nathan, the nation's 250th birthday
makes us seem kind of like the Grinch of the holiday.
I get it.
Fireworks are beautiful in their tradition.
We're not asking for ban on fireworks everywhere.
Like using hand sanitizer
before you hold a newborn or wearing a mask
to visit family in the ICU,
we're asking for protections for the most vulnerable,
the sensitive marine habitats with endangered species.
Fireworks discharge gaseous and solid waste onto land
and into water directly and indirectly impacting
marine and biological resources,
public access opportunities,
and the health of coastal residents including pets.
I myself have asthma and I had to rush home on New Year's Eve
put on my N95 and air filters before my neighborhood fireworks and downy began.
The air quality index reached 275 this year following the fireworks. I also had to give
my pets gabapentin. I'm grateful that I have those comforts, but wildlife do not.
The Pacific green sea turtles that swim around Long Beach and spend much of the year in the
San Gabriel River, they don't have that luxury, nor the stellar sea lion or Chinook salmon of
Crescent City or the Point Arena Mountain Beaver or the Barron's Silver Spot Butterfly
Point Arena where there will be a fireworks show this Fourth of July. They're all endangered
species. Fireworks attract tourists for a night, but wildlife keep tourism alive year-round.
We're asking you to take a small step to prevent some heavy pollutants from impacting the local
marine life you are meant to protect. We ask that the 19 fireworks shows under your jurisdiction
not take place without the Commission's review, not be granted exemptions from CDP permitting,
and that they be granted waivers or CDPs only on the conditions that surface and subsurface
impacts to coastal ecosystems be documented, and that future fireworks shows not be held on or
adjacent to coastal waters. I also want to echo the earlier comments about the Princess Street
Trail bioswale. Thank you. Thank you. And now we had four other speakers that were
We're signed up to speak for general public comment that we weren't able to find in our attendees list
The names if you hear your name, please raise your hand
Sydney M pitcher Eileen Boken
Lucia Casalee Nuevo and
Mike McCormick
Again, if you hear your name, please raise your hand
Sydney M pitcher Eileen Boken Lucia Casalee Nuevo and Mike McCormick
All right. I'm saying no hands raised
Madam myself, okay. Thank you so much and I wanted to express
Appreciation of the Commission for all the folks that are here today as well as all the everyone participating on zoom
I'd like to bring it back to the Commission for any questions regarding public comment
All right. We'll start with Commissioner O'Malley and then thank you chair
Two quick things first. I'm not looking for this might be better directed to staff
I'm not obviously looking for any answers today, but I want to kind of recognize the comments from native like water and
Tribal Sacred Waters here today.
And I want to kind of work with you all to figure out
if the commission, either through permit conditions
or through dialogue with the port and maybe port tenants,
if we can help provide launch access and storage
for some of their programs.
And it comes to mind, like, plenty of yacht clubs
are private here in San Diego.
And they're the perfect place, would
be the perfect place for launch and storage.
And I wonder if there's a way we can help facilitate
that for further their programs and then I'll just leave it at that hopefully we
continue to talk the other thing I want to appreciate the comments and I think
our votes Long Beach and SeaWorld the last couple months have been a good
start but the folks talking about over-the-water fireworks and I just say
I'm gonna put myself in the camp that I absolutely agree that each one should
have a CDP and that we should be looking to phase out over the water fireworks in
the future so thank you appreciate it thanks Commissioner Commissioner Kelly
Thank you chair. I had a question regarding the Santa Fe Drive comments
regarding Encinitas and I'm curious I saw the improvements for the LID storm
water retention basins and I know you know we've been promoting the increased
use of those types of storm water basins and it sounds as though they're
going to be being removed as well as some protections for cyclists and so I'm
I'm just curious, where does this fall
within potential jurisdiction of the commission
and or anything that may be coming before us
or any information you may have on that item?
Yeah, commission's definitely supportive, obviously,
of the stormwater improvements and multimodal
and active transportation opportunities.
This case we're looking into more carefully
and Mr. Schwing has some additional details.
Thank you. So the Santa Fe project that is located in the city of Encinitas LCP jurisdiction.
So it is an action that the city will need to take. At this point we understand they're
still working through the exact process they're going to use in terms of whether it's going
to be a CDP amendment or some kind of exemption.
But in either case, this is a public works project and it would qualify as a major public
works project.
So it would be the action, whatever the city takes, would be appealable to the commission.
And since this is I think the first time we're hearing about concerns and some of the I would
say moving in the wrong direction in terms of public access improvements for multimodal,
obviously I'm sure they're not doing it for no reason. Do you have any sense of
what the timing is on that project or where it's, and I know this is coming
out of the blue so I apologize, but if we were to learn more about it and maybe
get a future update or if staff can follow up just so we have a sense of
what's going on? Yes we're definitely keeping an eye on it. I don't think we
We have a time frame at this point, but it's certainly something that the city's been focused
on so I'm expecting some kind of action soon.
Okay, great.
Thank you so much.
Commissioner Nodoff.
Yeah, thank you.
I associate myself with comments of previous commissioners who spoke here, but there was
a couple other things.
We heard about a couple items that I think are enforcement issues, enforcement of existing
CDP
conditions
One was with the rail and in Del Rey and
requiring
Access to the beach there and then also at San Onofre. It sounds like we have existing
permit conditions that
Are not being fully complied with so we just had a question there on
Enforcement and what staffs doing looking at those?
Thank You commissioner not off. I'll start with Del Mar and
Have some comments just wanted to thank for the members of the public for showing up today and for providing
The letter that we received as well and have reviewed
and kind of sharing their concerns with the Del Mar bluffs projects and
Sharing their support for the public access improvements. There is just a brief background for those commissioners
That may not have been on the commission at the time the we reviewed that project
When the Commission approved the Del Mar Bluffs 5 project in back in 2022
It required sand egg to offset the loss of beach area and an access in three main ways
One was enhancement of this lateral north-south trail at the top of the bluffs
There's an existing trail there and so the Commission required it to be enhanced and extended
the second was
establishment of a vertical access way
From the top of the bluffs down to the beach there are existing
You know kind of informal trails and that Commission's desire was to have something more formalized and accessible
For the public and then the third component was a safe crossing for the rail line
either an overcrossing or an under crossing so
To prepare to implement these projects and eggs been carrying out a variety of studies and public outreach efforts for the past several years
These are complicated projects. It's a constrained area and there's a lot of strong feelings about what's done
where as one can imagine and so they've been taking this very kind of deliberate and
Approach to soliciting public feedback and proceeding cautiously the intent of the work they've been doing is to help locate where
The access improvements would be located and then trying to find consensus among the city
North County Transit District and the commission and the other regulatory agencies and then obviously considering costs
resource impacts
maintenance challenges and then community preferences
so back in March of 23 sand I completed this coastal connection study that identified some design options and
And all terms analysis that all terms analysis a draft of it was completed last May
And we've been working really closely with Sandag and providing input all along the way as they've been developing those studies
These are complex projects and there still are some challenges that need to be resolved. We have
An extended meeting with a variety of agency staff schedule for later this month to really kind of dive into some of those details
And the goal of that is really to try to make sure that we're on that timeline that the Commission established
Which which is it's I think start work. We heard it from the comment this morning start work in 27 complete work in 29
And to make sure that we're on track for that
We expect that once there is a consensus reached around the the how to implement these projects
Amongst the key agency stakeholders then the designs and alternatives analysis report will be completed and provided for the public and
public review and output
Outreach and then the environmental review will start as well
so
Depending on what actual designs get identified
It may also come back to this Commission when the Commission approved the project in 2022. It kind of identified some options
But it also left the door open for some changes and if there's changes are significant
It would need to come back before you all
So that could be as early as later this year
The last point I just raised quickly on this is because it was flagged
in the comments this morning, San Diego has not requested an extension of those deadlines.
The requirement did allow for that possibility, but San Diego is not seeking that.
If they were to seek an extension, they would need to include with that request detailed rationale
and a breakdown of what can be accomplished within those timeframes and the specific steps
that need to be taken to overcome whatever
remaining challenges there are.
So there's a lot to be accomplished,
but given the close coordination we've had
with Sandeck to date,
we're confident that these really necessary
and important access improvements will be accomplished
and hopefully within that timeline
that Commission established.
Okay, thanks so much Commissioner Wilson.
Yeah, I just want to associate myself
and echo the concerns around Santa Fe Drive
and Sanitas and those proposed changes.
But I also want to just mention that
and thank the city of San Diego for having us.
I want to just because usually I've had these comments
at the end of the meeting,
but I just want to say got in late last night,
was able to go out and I just,
coming from the other end of the state,
I want to say that this is a great hometown city.
And I want to mention that it was vibrant, diverse,
interesting, the food was great,
and I look forward to being here for the rest of the week.
I just want to say that every time I come to San Diego,
amazing, so thank you San Diego for having us.
I'm sure we all agree.
Do we have any other, Commissioner Kelly?
Thank you, I wanted to just echo those comments.
And when I got in late last night looking across the street
and then this morning seeing where we are
right on the waterfront and as a Northern California
commissioner, we have a very different experience
with the waterfront and it's such a diverse state,
but when you look at what's right outside our window
with so many different educational opportunities
for kids, families, celebrating the history of this area
and having so much public access to the waterfront,
it really underscores what we're here to do
and the work of enforcing the Coastal Act
and ensuring that that public access remains.
It's so great to see what San Diego is currently doing
and shout outs to all of the local elected officials
in San Diego and in the region who are continuing
to make the city so vibrant and attractive
for people to get to live here and visit here.
So thank you for having us.
Great. Are there any other comments? I have a couple with regard to the sand egg issue.
My concern is that it sounds to me like most of the construction has been completed
based on what the public comment was. Is that accurate, Cassidy?
It's well along that Delmar Bluffs 5 project was a pretty massive project and there are
still components that are being actively worked on today, but it's nearing completion as I
I understand it. I'm happy to get more details about where we are on that timeline for you.
What I was thinking is, I think it would be really, and I don't know if Sandaga is already
doing this, but on their website, it's so often the case that public access gets sort
of pushed behind, and it's very concerning to the public, because obviously that's one
of their top priorities for all the folks living there, that their beach access has
been cut off, and you have to basically go into town, I guess, and go around to get to
the beach now I'm not positive about that but in any event maybe you could
ask Sandig or potentially we could have more information available either on
their website or ours and the timing of when people can expect to get their
public access to the beach returned as a result of that construction. Yeah great
suggestion we unfortunately we're talking to them later this month so
we'll definitely raise that and do we can to make that happen. Okay that'd be
great and on the Santa Fe Drive I'm not even clear on what's going on there or
why such an extensive public works project would be reversed it's confusing
and I it sounds like a lot of commissioners are concerned about it so
it would be great to follow up with some kind of update I guess at our next
meeting I assume we're gonna have continued public comment on it mr.
swing I don't I don't know but it's a it seems very like an odd project so what
What you're saying is it would have to be appealed to the commission, appeal from the
LCP amendment, which they're going to be required to do, to do the project?
Yeah, the city will need to take an action since this is a certified jurisdiction.
And as I said before, it could be CDP amendment, it could be an exemption, we're not sure what
route they're planning to take yet.
Or an LCP amendment?
Did you know?
No, not an LCP amendment.
A CDP amendment.
Yeah, yeah.
And that action would be appealable to us.
Huh okay. Well, I think there's a lot of concern about it
it's a seems like a very odd decision to just take out all of that extensive bike lanes and
All of the other infrastructure so I'm looking forward to following up and then with regard to the fireworks
I I just want to align myself with the comments made by Commissioner O'Malley and
With the members of the public and you know, we did take a strong action
in Long Beach to say there hasn't been a lot of
pushed back against the Commission would be a complete understatement. It's been really dramatic, so
continued public support on this issue and you know trying to
lay out why
fireworks can be so damaging in in these areas particularly protected areas
I think it's really important for people to continue not just to say we don't like fireworks, but what the underlying
Biologically impacts are to these ecosystems in these areas. So I wanted to express my appreciation on that. All right
Sure, mr. Marine. Good morning, Vivian Moreno here city of San Diego councilmember
Welcome, I'd like to welcome everybody to the city of San Diego
And also a SAND AG board member so happy to follow up with the Commission on some of the issues that were brought up in
the neighboring cities
But welcome and if you guys want any recommendations, I'm happy to give them. So, thank you guys
It's just such a beautiful place. I have to say I went to Torrey Pines and Balboa Park because I got here early yesterday
And it that this is just incredible and wanted to thank Commissioner O'Malley who was my tour guide
In any event, we're going to move forward now
with the executive directors report item 6a our executive director is
Taking a very well-earned break and we will be hearing from I guess interim director
Thank You vice-chair Hart and good morning commissioners
So yes, I will be providing
Director Hucklebridge's executive directors report for June as always the published report can be found on the Commission's website
But I'll spend a few minutes going over several of the items
We do have one additional item that isn't in the printed report
But it will be a next month's report and I'll start with that
We wanted to report that on May 28th director Hucklebridge signed a memorandum of understanding with the city of Santa Monica
That formalizes a process for the Commission and the city to complete the city's LCP by the end of 2027
The mo you establishes a set of shared principles intended to guide efficient collaboration between Commission and city staff as well as specific
Timelines for developing and reviewing the LCP policy language. Mr. Drake will provide some additional detail during
the legislative report. We appreciate the city's partnership in reaching this agreement and we look
forward to continued close collaboration with them in the months to come. So moving on the
California multi-agency monarch and pollinator collaborative which is a staff working group
composed of 13 state and federal agencies including the commission has published a report
on conservation priorities for the western monarch butterfly in California. The report marks a
significant effort to address threats to the western monarch butterfly whose
population has declined catastrophically in recent years. The Commission's
representative, staff ecologist Dr. Rachel Pouch, helped to highlight the use
of coastal act Esha protections and local coastal programs to preserve
monarch overwintering habitat. This habitat is often considered iconic along
our coast characterized by groves of trees where the butterflies cluster
within canopies and spend their winter. In some locations the coastal act and
and LCPs are the sole protection
for this overwintering habitat,
and staff look forward to continued collaboration
with agencies and local governments
to further monarch conservation efforts across the state.
On May 4th through the 6th,
more than 190 Coastal Commission staff members
convened for a three-day in-person training
at a Sylmar conference grounds in Pacific Grove.
Staff participated in a range of sessions,
including sessions focused on strengthening
workplace communication and effective implementation
of the Coastal Act.
Because our staff are located in six district offices
across the state and many new staff
have recently joined the agency,
the conference provided an important opportunity
for in-person collaboration to build relationships
and enhance effective communication.
It also allowed our long tenured staff
to share essential knowledge about the commission
and the Coastal Act with our new employees.
On May 11th and 12th,
the California Shore and Beach Preservation Association
hosted a Coastal Condition Symposium in Santa Cruz.
Coastal Commission staff member Joe Street
co-organized the conference,
and two Commission staff members gave presentations.
The Commission's mapping program manager,
Esther Asoudri, presented on the Coastal Commission's
public coastal data sets and mapping products.
And environmental scientist Carrie Batha
presented on the Commission's ongoing work
on sea level rise adaptation planning.
On May 20th, Director Hucklebridge,
ecology team manager Dr. Lauren Garski Garcia and I
joined the first cutting green tape restoration roundtable hosted by the San Mateo Resource
Conservation District and led by California's Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot.
Along with partners from a handful of state agencies, the NGOs, and NGOs, we spent an
afternoon overlooking the Butano Creek watershed where several major restoration efforts have
benefited from expedited permitting authorizations, including the Commission's first Forest Health
and Fire Resilience Public Works Plan and the Commission's programmatic federal consistency
determination for restoration projects implemented through the NOAA Restoration Center.
Next up I have a few announcements from our public education program.
First staff from the public education unit and the commission San Diego office will be
tabling by the eco hut at the San Diego County Fair on June 25th and 26th to share with visitors
about how they can enjoy and protect the California coast.
So if you're going to be at the county fair, please stop by and say hello.
In May and into early June, Kids' Ocean Day coordinators held field trips across the California
coast.
These programs, funded by Wail Tail Grants, teach elementary school students about how
to care for our coast and ocean, and then bring these students to the beach to put that
education into action.
The field trips culminate with the formation of giant works of aerial art, like the one
that you can see in the ED report.
That's from Orange County.
The theme for this year's artwork was Coast for All in honor of the 50th anniversary of
the Coastal Act, and students at Kids Ocean Day
sent the message that preservation of our rights
to access and enjoy the coast is a shared responsibility
across communities, generations, and cultures.
So thank you to all of the students
that participated in that.
And finally, I'll conclude by highlighting a few items
related to the 50th anniversary of the Coastal Act.
A reminder to everyone that we are asking
that the public share some of their personal experiences
with the coast as a way to celebrate 50 years
of public access and illustrate
the many connections we all have to our coast.
They can be brief or more involved,
and pictures or even short videos
will help paint a more vivid picture.
Memories can be submitted anonymously,
so please visit our 50th anniversary webpage
to upload your story and help us understand
how the Coastal Act has impacted you.
Today, I'd like to share a memory from Ellie Howell,
who writes, growing up in San Diego,
coastal access and childhood went hand in hand.
I will never forget the days spent
on the beautiful beaches down there,
looking at tide pools and collecting shells.
Now as an adult, tide pooling and beach combing
are still a well-enjoyed hobby
on the central coast of California.
Thanks to my childhood days spent on the beaches,
I've dedicated my adulthood and career
to cleaning and protecting our coasts.
Thank you, Ellie, for sharing that with us.
Finally, for this month's Act to Action,
we have a few highlights to share with you.
This month, the statewide planning unit
will be highlighting the commission's work
to protect coastal habitats through permanent land
conservation.
And I'm going to turn it over to Sydney Schmitter
to give the presentation.
Thanks.
I'll just wait for the slides to pop up.
Great.
Thanks, Chris.
Good morning, commissioners.
As part of our ongoing celebration
of the 50th anniversary of the Coastal Act,
I'm excited to be here today to highlight examples
of the commission's work protecting open space,
agricultural lands, and sensitive coastal habitats
over the past 50 years and to share a little bit more
about the Commission's role in putting coastal lands
into permanent protection.
Next slide, please.
Many of the Coastal Act's core policies
specifically recognize the importance
of protecting environmentally sensitive habitat areas,
agricultural lands, scenic viewsheds, wetlands,
and open space resources.
50 years later, these policies continued
to guide coastal planning
and remain just as relevant today.
Next slide, please.
One of the key ways the Commission implements these policies is by placing lands into permanent
protection.
This is particularly important along California's coast, where development pressure remains
high and many natural and agricultural landscapes have already been fragmented or lost.
The lands protected through the Commission's programs often contain environmentally sensitive
habitat areas, wetlands, wildlife corridors, agricultural resources, and scenic open space
that contributes to the health and resilience of larger coastal ecosystems.
Protecting these areas helps maintain habitat connectivity, supports biodiversity, preserves
coastal landscapes, and strengthens ecological resilience over time.
Permanent protection also provides certainty.
Once a conservation easement is recorded or land is dedicated for conservation purposes,
those protections remain in place regardless of future ownership changes.
Over time, these individual protections accumulate into an interconnected network of conserved
lands that help safeguard California's coastal resources for future generations.
Next slide, please.
The Commission's permanent protection efforts help conserve a wide range of coastal resources.
This includes environmentally sensitive habitat areas, wetlands, dunes, coastal bluffs, watersheds,
and wildlife corridors that support biodiversity and climate resilience along the coast.
Building open space and watersheds also helps reduce erosion, maintain natural landforms,
and preserve California's iconic coastal scenery.
Agricultural land protection is another important component of the Coastal Act.
Coastal agriculture supports local food production, preserves rural landscapes and cultural heritage,
and prevents urban sprawl.
The Commission also works to preserve scenic viewsheds and undeveloped coastal landscapes
that are central to California's coastal identity.
Next slide, please.
To implement Coastal Act policies, the Commission relies on a variety of permanent protection
tools.
These include open space and conservation easements, as well as fee title acquisitions
through our offered to dedicate program and deed restrictions required in CDPs.
Other tools include enforcement resolutions and long-term planning efforts carried out
through local coastal programs.
Permanent protection of coastal lands can occur through many different pathways, but all of
these tools serve the same purpose, ensuring the long-term stewardship of important coastal
resources.
Next slide, please.
This work does not happen in isolation.
Permanent protection of the coast depends heavily on partnerships between the commission,
local governments, nonprofits, land trusts, tribal governments, state and federal agencies,
and other conservation organizations.
These partnerships are critical not only for securing protected lands, but also for managing,
monitoring, and stewarding them over the long term.
slide please. Over the Commission's history, more than 72 government agencies
and nonprofit organizations have partnered with us to protect coastal
lands throughout California. Together, these efforts have resulted in more than
1,700 deed restrictions, acceptance of over 830 open space offers to dedicate,
and the permanent protection of more than 11,900 acres of coastal
resources statewide through the Commission's offer to dedicate program.
Keep in mind that these are only protections secured through commission
issued CDPs. Local governments also preserve significant areas of our coast
through their own permitting and 90% of the coastal zone. Collectively, these
individual protections have created a much larger network of conserved lands
that help preserve California's coast. Next slide please. So far I've talked
about the Commission's role in achieving permanent protection but the real
impact of this work is best understood on the ground. The protections we help
secure, take many different forms, and occur in very different landscapes, from
north coast estuaries and redwood forests to southern California coastal
bluffs and lagoons. This map highlights just a few examples from across
California that demonstrate the variety of conservation outcomes achieved over
the past 50 years. Each site tells a different story. Some were protected
through enforcement actions, others through permit requirements, local coastal
program planning or collaborative conservation efforts.
As we travel from the North Coast to Southern California, you'll see how the Commission
has used a variety of tools to protect sensitive habitats, preserve open space, and secure
permanent conservation outcomes.
Next slide, please.
Let's begin our road trip in California's North Coast at Reservation Ranch near the
Smith River estuary, one of the most ecologically important coastal watersheds in the state.
Over several decades, extensive, unpermitted development occurred on the property, including
grading, road construction, wetland filling, and seasonal damming of waterways. These activities
damaged wetlands and riparian habitat, degraded water quality, and eliminated critical habitat
for salmon, birds, invertebrates, and other wildlife. The reservation ranch also sits within
an area central to the Toa'wala Dini Nation and Elk Valley Rancheria since time immemorial,
and these impacts directly affected culturally important species, waterways, and gathering areas.
Through an enforcement resolution, the Commission worked to address these violations while also
securing a long-term conservation outcome. As part of the Commission's consent order,
the property owner agreed to, among many other environmentally beneficial actions,
permanently protect 31 acres of ecologically and culturally significant land
through both land dedications and recordation of conservation easements.
The protected lands include riverfront forest, wetlands, native redwood and spruce habitat,
creek mouths that function as wildlife corridors, and coastal bluff top habitat overlooking the
Pacific Ocean. These areas are now protected through land dedications and conservation
easements that prohibit future development and ensure the habitat remains protected in perpetuity.
Preservation Ranch illustrates how the Commission's enforcement program can do more than just correct
past violations. It can also create lasting conservation benefits that also protect coastal
resources. Next slide please. Continuing our trip down the coast, let's stop at Hurst Ranch on the
Central Coast. This example highlights both the scale of some conservation
outcomes and the role commission decisions play in shaping them.
At roughly 82,000 acres, First Ranch is one of the largest privately owned
coastal properties in California. The ranch includes 18 miles of coastline,
extensive sensitive habitat, scenic landscapes, and working agricultural lands
that have remained in production for generations. For decades, this property
the focus of major development proposals, including large resorts, golf courses, an airport, and even
a yacht harbor. In 1998, more than a thousand people attended a Coastal Commission hearing to
oppose the Hearst Ranch Resort proposal, which the Commission ultimately denied. While that denial
itself did not permanently protect the ranch, it helped create the conditions for a different
outcome. After years of negotiations, the state reached a landmark conservation agreement in 2005.
As part of the deal, 1,500 acres on the coastal side of Highway 1 were transferred to state parks
and Caltrans. At the same time, the State Coastal Conservancy and the Wildlife Conservation Board
funded an 80,000-acre conservation easement that protects habitat, preserves sweeping coastal views,
limits future development, and keeps the land in agricultural production. Today, the easement
permanently protects one of California's most significant working landscapes and remains one
of the largest conservation achievements on the California coast. Next slide, please.
First Ranch demonstrates how commission actions can contribute to conservation on an enormous scale,
but much of the commission's day-to-day permanent protection work looks very different.
Many of the places protected through the commission's regulatory program are not thousands
of acres in size. Instead, they are small partials that contain a critical habitat feature,
wildlife corridor, wetland, or other sensitive coastal resource. This example from Los Osos
illustrates that point. As part of a CDP for a single family home, the commission required
the dedication of a 0.21 acre conservation easement through its offer to dedicate program.
Although small in size, the protected area contains environmentally sensitive maritime
chaparral habitat occupied by the Moro shoulder band snail, a rare species found only within a
small portion of San Luis Obispo County. Because the species has such a limited
range, even small habitat losses can have significant consequences for its long
term survival. This example reminds us that conservation value is not measured
solely in acres. In this case, protecting less than a quarter acre helped secure
habitat for a species found nowhere else in the world. Next slide please. Now let's
look at a different type of conservation success. One that highlights how local
coastal program provisions and long-term planning can guide development and
conserve land across an entire landscape. The Santa Monica mountains provide a good
example. Long before the Coastal Act, large portions of the mountains had been
subdivided into thousands of small lots with little regard for steep terrain,
sensitive habitats, natural drainage patterns, or wildfire risk. Many of these
lots could technically be developed but doing so would require extensive grading,
vegetation removal and infrastructure. As development pressure increased, it
became clear that creating additional subdivisions made little sense when so
many existing lots were already constrained. Through permit conditions,
the Commission developed what became the Transfer of Development Credit or TDC
program. Under this approach, property owners seeking to subdivide or intensify
development were required to retire existing subdivision lots, also known as
donor lots through the commission's offer to dedicate program, placing them into permanent
protection. This shifted development towards more suitable locations while also reducing
pressure on steep, fire-prone, and ecologically sensitive lands. The commission also adopted
grading and slope area development limits that tied allowable development intensity to site
conditions, further encouraging growth in appropriate locations while protecting habitat
and open space. These policies were eventually formalized in the Malibu and Santa Monica
come out in local coastal programs,
transforming them from permit conditions
into long-term planning frameworks.
This example shows how thoughtful planning provisions
can guide development, protect habitat,
and conserve open space at a landscape scale.
To date, the TDC program today
has protected over 500 lots.
Next slide, please.
We've finally reached the end of our road trip in San Diego.
I wanted to conclude with an example
that highlights how the commission
often protects important landscapes
one piece at a time.
At Bataquito's Lagoon in Carlsbad,
six different permits issued across several decades
included conditions requiring offers
to dedicate open space and habitat areas.
Next slide, please.
These protected areas ranged from just one acre
to nearly 60 acres.
Individually, many of these dedications
may not seem especially significant,
but when you look at them together,
however, they tell a different story.
Those six permits have protected
more than 113 acres of the lagoon,
creating a connected network of conserved habitat
that supports the health of the lagoon ecosystem
and protects valuable Southern maritime Chaparral habitat.
In many ways, this example reflects the majority
of the commission's day-to-day permanent protection work.
Conservation is not always achieved
through a single large acquisition or landmark project.
More often, it happens incrementally
through hundreds of individual permit decisions
that each protect a small
but important piece of California's coast.
Over time, those pieces add up to something much larger
than any one project alone.
Next slide.
Over the past 50 years,
California has made remarkable progress
in protecting its coastline.
Through permanent protection tools,
long-term planning, and strong partnerships,
the commission and its many collaborators
have helped conserve thousands of acres of open space,
agricultural lands, wetlands,
and sensitive coastal habitats throughout the state.
The stories we looked at today
range from a fraction of an acre of habitat
protect a rare snail to one of the largest conservation easements on the California coast.
Together, they illustrate an important lesson. Lasting conservation is built through thousands
of decisions, large and small, that collectively shapes a more resilient future for the California
coast. Thank you. Thank you so much, Sydney. And now we have our public access spotlight.
This month we are highlighting the public access way at Whispering Sands Beach in the La Jolla
area of the City of San Diego and I'm going to turn it over to Linda and Rosie
for the spotlight. Thank you. Greetings commissioners and the general public
we're here again with our spotlight on public access series which highlights
access improvements required by the Coastal Commission. This includes
everything from ADA accessible paths to beach staircases, picnic tables, restrooms,
programs, viewing platforms, and more.
For those in the audience who are not aware, we are sharing videos of these access ways
and associate amenities at the Commission's monthly hearings.
If you want to view these videos again, you can find them on social media, such as Instagram
and YouTube, or on the Commission's website under the 50th anniversary banner.
Now I'll turn it over to Public Access Program Manager, Linda Loughlin.
Hello again.
So as Rosie just said, and thank you, Rosie, for that introduction, this month's spotlight
is on an access path to Whispering Sands Beach in the San Diego neighborhood of La Jolla.
This access way is about 20 minutes north of here and about a mile south of La Jolla
Cove, which you'll hear more about later this morning.
And please don't worry, Whispering Sands is not a hotspot for sea lions.
Thanks to the Coastal Commission, there was a paved ADA accessway pathway that runs along
a condominium complex at 100 Coast Boulevard.
This path leads to a viewpoint and a stairway down to a sandy shoreline.
The Commission approved this condominium complex with public access conditions in 1974, quite
a long time ago.
This was just the third permit issued by the agency that required a vertical public access
way to the shoreline.
The Commission sometimes requires a permit applicant to record what's known as an offer
to dedicate, we call it an OTD, for public access to and along the coast.
An OTD is a legal document preserving an access easement for future public use.
To date, permit holders have recorded 196 OTDs for vertical easements to the shoreline.
However, just because a permittee records an OTD doesn't mean an access will be built
immediately.
Rarely does the commission require a property owner to actually construct the access way
as it did in this 31-unit condominium development.
Most often a government agency or nonprofit takes on the responsibility of building and
operating the access way.
So far of these 196 OTDs, about 120 public access ways have been opened.
Commissioned staff continue to explore options for turning the remaining OTDs in actual access
ways.
However, many of these easements, these face difficulties, including being located on very
steep cliffs or in an area that does not yet connect to public land.
Another obstacle to opening and maintaining a public access easement is private encroachments.
Land counters occasionally install fences or tamper with signage that block or discourage
access.
Our enforcement unit works to address these cases.
For example, this whispering sands access way was subject to an enforcement action several
years back when staff discovered that the public access signage had been removed.
As you'll see in the upcoming video, these signs have been reinstalled and they direct
the public to the walkway and beach.
So next up, Chris, please roll the videos.
Did you know about this hidden beach entrance?
Just north of Marine Street Beach, this little-known pathway leads to Whispering Sands Beach.
Located at 100 Coast Boulevard, look for the public access way signs at the entrance
of the walkway.
Follow the path in between the apartment buildings and at the end, you will find a staircase leading you directly to the sand.
There is free street parking along Coast Boulevard or in the surrounding neighborhoods.
This wide sandy beach is perfect for sunbathing or surfing.
On a busy day, this alternate entrance can help you get down to the beach in no time.
Thanks to the California Coastal Act, spots like this stay public.
Save this for your next beach day.
I would like to thank you for your support in the work of the COSBU DEVAR and our visit to CERKANOS.
This is a great place to be in perfect place for your soul and your future.
In our concur, this is a very important and valuable place to be in the place of rapid advancement.
Thank you to the Calicornia LUGARs for their support of the access to NICO.
I would like to thank the LUGARs for their support in the place of the place.
Director's Report, and I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.
Great.
Thanks so much.
I just want to make a quick comment.
I love Sydney's presentation, but I think that Commissioner Kelly and I would say they're
amazing projects in Sonoma County too, probably in all of our counties.
All right.
I'm going to return then to the commissioners, start with Commissioner Nada, followed by
Commissioner Wilson.
I just wanted to thank staff for that great presentation about, and just kind of raise
up the notion that it's a lot of these, you know, individual efforts that our staff engages
with landowners, with local governments that cumulatively add up to the amazing coast that
we have today. I had the, I guess, I don't know, pleasure or the experience of being
there for that huge hearing on the Hearst Ranch. And when those huge mondo things happen,
You know, we all remember those very well, but what really is the heart and soul of what
the Coastal Act and what the Coastal Commission staff deliver is the day-by-day, project-by-project
analysis and collaboration that produces better development in such a special area.
So I just wanted to thank you for that and really acknowledge that the ongoing individual
efforts.
Commissioner Wilson.
Yeah.
A great presentation.
And I especially love the tour.
And just as a reminder, we've also worked so much on public transportation access and
routes through our local governments and I want to emphasize that as well as the
California coastal trail and there are many folks who visit all of those
places using other forms of transportation and and I and I want to
thank our staff on that on those efforts. Well they weren't highlighted in
this moment but I want to say there's tons of efforts in the in the in that
realm as well so thank you so much. Thanks. All right not seeing any other
Commissioner comments that will conclude the ED report we'll move on to
the ledge report Sean Drake is here to present that good morning
commissioners this is the legislative report for June we're past the halfway
point in this year's legislative session since last month's report two
significant deadlines passed that each resulted in a winnowing of the number of
bills that are still moving through the legislative process first on May 14th
The assembly and Senate appropriations committees each held their final hearings on bills introduced in that house
Bills that passed moved on to the house floor while bills that were held in committee are no longer moving
Six of the bills the Commission has been tracking were held by the appropriations committees and they are the following
AB 1593 which would have required all state agencies to regularly regularly report on their permit fees
AB 1938, which would have required the Ocean Protection Council to establish a state surfing reserve system.
AB 2099, by Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez, that's the billboard bill, which would have made structural fortification of any billboard exempt from state and local review.
AB 2366, which would have made changes to how state agencies develop major regulations.
AB 2373 by Assemblymember Diane Dixon, which would have added language to the
Coastal Act authorizing local governments to use a neighborhood scale
adaptation approach on developing sea-level rise policies for their local
coastal programs. And last is SB 1318 by Senator Ben Allen. This is the bill that
would have required the Commission to approve any CDP or LCP amendment
restricting unhosted short-term rentals. All of these held bills are no longer
moving and we've marked them and staff's written report as held under submission.
Following the appropriations hearings, May 29th was the deadline for bills to pass out of their
House of Origin. All of the Commission's priority bills made that deadline and are now starting to
move in their second house. Just running down the list of bills the Commission has taken positions
on starting with AB 2734 which the Commission has a support position on. That's the bill that would
It would allocate a greater proportion of Whaletail license plate revenues to the Commission's
Whaletail grant program and the Coastal Conservancy's Explore the Coast grant program.
Last month, the bill passed off the Assembly floor with bipartisan support and moved over
to the Senate, where it will be heard next in the Natural Resources and Water Committee.
SB 963, which the Commission also supports, passed out of its first house with bipartisan
support and is now in the Assembly.
the bill that would establish timelines for the Commission to process de novo appeals
of local CDPs. The bill passed unanimously out of its first Assembly Committee, the Natural
Resources Committee, on Monday and is now in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
A pair of the Commission's priority bills from last year that are still alive were recently
gotten amended to deal with other issues not related to the Coastal Act. First is SB 675
by Senator Steve Padilla.
You may recall that's the bill
that would have limited the commission's review
and process for the proposed Seaport San Diego Project.
Though the author ultimately parked the bill last July
after the commission and the developer
of the Seaport San Diego Project entered into an MOU
that commits both parties to certain timelines
for submitting, reviewing,
and acting on project-related documents.
Last week, Senator Padilla amended the bill
to remove the previous language entirely
And instead, the bill now makes statutory changes
related to the Imperial County Air Pollution Control
District.
Similarly, SB 741 by Senator Blake-Spear from last year,
which would have made amendments to the Coastal Act
related to the Loson Rail corridor,
was amended on Monday to instead address the state's
low-carbon transit program.
Since these two bills no longer affect the commission,
we'll be removing them from the written Ledge Report.
Last, there are several updates related to AB 1740
by Assemblymember Rick Ziber.
This is the bill that would create
coastal act exemptions in the city of Santa Monica
for a broad universe of projects,
including multifamily and mixed use development,
building expansions, bicycle, pedestrian and transit projects,
changes or elimination of public parking,
special events and other things.
In May, the commission voted to oppose the bill
unless it was amended to remove
all of the proposed coastal act exemptions.
At that time, you'll recall the commission observed
that the best way for the City of Santa Monica,
one of the sponsors of the bill,
to gain more agency over development decisions
in its coastal zone is to complete
its local coastal program.
On May 22nd, the bill was amended
to require the city to complete its LCP,
but also maintained a number
of the proposed Coastal Act exemptions
that were in the bill.
Specifically, this current version of AB 1740
would do the following.
First, it would require the City to submit a complete proposed LCP to the Commission by January 2029.
The Commission would then be required to act on the LCP within six months, so by July 2029 at the latest.
In the meantime, until the LCP is certified, the bill as currently in print would create coastal act exemptions in Santa Monica's coastal zone for the following projects.
building renovations or expansions by up to 10%, changes in building use, ADA improvements,
and installation of electric vehicle charging stations. If for any reason the Commission
doesn't act on Santa Monica's proposed LCP by July 2029, then on top of those exemptions I just
mentioned, multifamily and mixed-use housing projects in the coastal zone portion of the
of the city's downtown would also become exempt
from the Coastal Act for a period of two years,
and so until 2031.
Lastly, the current language of the bill
would require the commission's executive director
to waive the CDP requirement for any project statewide
that would convert part or all of a roadway
into a bike, transit, or pedestrian right-of-way,
but only if the executive director finds
that the project would maintain or enhance coastal access.
Importantly, the current language of the bill would prohibit the Executive Director from
requiring projects that eliminate public parking to replace that parking so long as there is
other public parking within a half mile of the project site.
As I mentioned, this is the version of the bill that is currently in print and which
passed out of the assembly at the end of May.
On one hand, staff was pleased to see the partial shift in focus toward getting the
Santa Monica LCP finished and on streamlining rather than exempting bike, pedestrian, and
transit projects. That said, the May 22 amendments didn't resolve the Commission's concerns because
the bill still includes Coastal Act exemptions for Santa Monica. In fact, the current framework
would actually create a perverse incentive for stakeholders to try to delay or to scuttle the
the LCP's completion, as some of the exemptions would only apply until the LCP is certified,
and then the multifamily housing exemption would kick in only if the LCP isn't certified
on time.
So in this way, the Coastal Act exemptions are concerning in themselves, but they also
stand to undermine the Commission's and the City's goal of completing the City's LCP.
I should note that, separate from but relevant to this bill, as Deputy Executive Director
Cavalieri mentioned during the ED report on May 28th, so about a week after these amendments
were made, the Commission and the City of Santa Monica entered into a written MOU that
commits the City and the Commission to completing the City's LCP over the next 18 months.
The MOU lays out a list of shared principles for efficient collaboration, as well as timelines
for meetings, submitting draft LCP language, and providing feedback.
By entering into this MOU, the Commission and the City have charted a focused path for
getting the City's LCP to the finish line in the near term in a manner that is consistent
with the Coastal Act and that will build on past work by the City and by the Commission.
In the days since this MOU was completed, staff have continued to meet with Assembly
members of Burr's office to discuss AB 1740 with a particular focus on how the exemptions
currently in the bill would affect the City's and the Commission's effort to
complete the LCP. Based on these recent discussions, on Monday the author agreed
to additional amendment language that would make three changes to the bill.
First, the proposed amendments would remove all Coastal Act exemptions from
the bill. Second, the amendments would add a suite of incentives to help ensure
that the Santa Monica LCP is complete by July 2029. These incentives are three
things. First, giving the city priority status for state active transportation
grant funding if it submits its proposed LCP to the Commission on time. Second,
establishing requirements for how the Commission and the city will resolve any
outstanding issues in the six-month period between when the city submits a
complete LCP and then when the commission brings it to hearing.
And this includes that if the commission hasn't acted on the city's LCP after
that six month period,
it will reimburse the city for costs associated with coordinating on tying up
those loose ends during the six months.
And then the third incentive in this package,
so to speak would be to require that if the LCP is not done by the July 20 29
deadline,
The Commission will provide quarterly written updates to the legislature on the status of
the LCP and the estimated timeline for completion.
The final thing in the agreed upon amendments from earlier this week is to revise the statewide
transportation piece of the bill to remove the language that would prohibit the Executive
Director from requiring projects that eliminate public parking to replace that parking.
The bill would instead state that removal of public parking may be allowed as part of
bike, pedestrian, or transit projects if the executive director finds that on balance the
project would maintain or enhance public coastal access.
This preserves flexibility for the executive director to streamline these multimodal transportation
projects and allow for certain removal of parking in places where there is adequate
access or where it would be relocated elsewhere.
Now, it is our understanding that these amendments that the author has agreed to are in process
and they should be in print sometime next week.
When they do come into print, this would resolve the Commission's concerns and would move
it to a neutral position on the bill.
Given that the bill at that point would be focused on completing Santa Monica's LCP and
streamlining multimodal transportation projects without resorting to exemptions, staff will
evaluate the language when it goes into print, prepare an updated analysis for next month
for the Commission to consider supporting the bill potentially.
As of this moment though, AB 1740 is in the Rules Committee waiting to be referred to
Senate Policy Committees.
Once it is referred, it will be heard in its Policy Committees later this month before
going to Senate Appropriations, which won't act on most bills until August.
So just to wrap up, looking ahead,
July 2nd is the last day for policy committees
to hold hearings on bills.
At that point, the legislature will go on its summer recess
for one month.
When it reconvenes, there will be one month left
to pass bills before the session ends on August 31.
And with that, Vice Chair Hart, that
concludes the legislative report,
and I'm happy to answer any questions.
Great.
Thank you so much, Sean.
And thank you for all the incredible work
that you've done with Ms. Christie and Director Hucklebridge
to get the amazing progress on AB 1740.
So I'll turn.
First of all, is there any public comment
at all in the legislature?
There's no commenters.
OK, I'll bring it back to the commission for any comments.
Start.
Sorry, we have one comment.
Oh, we do have a comment.
It was for the last one, yeah.
OK.
We have Ms. Silverstein in person.
And it's usually you.
No, just kidding.
Good morning, Vice Chair Hart and Commissioners, Mid Silverstein, California's Senior Policy
Coordinator for Surf Rider Foundation, welcome to San Diego.
Surf Rider, the California Coastal Protection Network and many other coastal advocates continue
to oppose AB 1740 unless amended with all Coastal Act exemptions removed, period.
They've also mobilized locally before the Santa Monica City Council, urging them to
withdraw their support of this bill, especially now that they've signed an MOU with the Commission
to certify their LCP by December 2027.
Certified LCP by December 2027 can deliver what this bill proposes and sooner with coastal
protections intact.
As a testament to our efforts, the Santa Monica City Council received almost 150 email requests
to withdraw city support for the bill in advance of last night's City Council meeting, and
speakers conveyed the same message, including Surfrider LA chapter leaders. I
want to thank both commissioners and commission staff for how they responded
to this bill in its myriad forms and how they responded to the city of Santa Monica
Council and staff as well. This has been a full court press by both the agency
and the public to protect the coastal protections that we rely on and fought
for. We are very encouraged by the potential amendments that Mr. Drake
detailed in his ledger port and hope an amended bill emerges that streamlines
and finds LCP certification and does not weaken
our coastal and public access protections.
However, without seeing the amended bill in print,
we continue to oppose the bill in its current form
and continue to urge the city of Santa Monica
to withdraw their support.
Also, a total bummer that the surfing reservist bill
suffered a wipeout,
but stoked to see the whale tail funding bill
migrating over to the Senate side.
So, thank you very much.
That was very good, that was very good.
I almost skipped on the second time.
I'm sorry?
We're good.
No more speakers.
OK, thanks.
I just want to say that the participation of Surf Rider,
as well as all of the other members of the public
and groups that engage on these legislation,
ends up making for better legislation.
And I think that everyone involved, including
it, sounds like the author, is really
appreciative of everything that everyone is doing.
So thank you so much for that.
like to turn to the commission.
I saw Commissioner Nodoff and then Commissioner Wilson.
And then Commissioner Jackson.
Yeah, thank you.
I just, it's great to hear, it's encouraging to hear
that Assemblyman Zabur's work is listening definitely with,
and last time, we heard such effective testimony
from folks in Santa Monica, in the district that
is directly affected, as well as a testimony about how the policies in this bill jeopardize
coastal protection and access statewide. So really want to do a shout out to the public
and to constituents. It's a real testament to the effectiveness of speaking up. And I'm
Encouraged to hear that staffs had such productive discussions with
assemblyman zebra and
Got my fingers crossed that
We're gonna get there on this one. Thank you
Thanks, Commissioner Wilson
First I just have a question that and I apologize for not getting to you sooner Shawn this SB
681 what's the status of that did you and did you mention that which is the housing bill?
Yes, thank you for the question commissioner Wilson. So as you know, it's a two-year bill was introduced last year
It was ultimately parked the author did not advance it, but it's still alive so to speak
This year we have not seen any signs of movement in the form of new referrals to the bill or amendments
I'm mindful that there were provisions in SB 681 that were
taken up out of that bill and put into separate legislation last year, AB 130 and SB 131.
And so that's to say if this bill were to move this year,
I think one initial sign of that possibility would be
clean up amendments to at least remove the provisions that were already codified last year through those separate measures.
And I guess I would hope that we have some conversations with the author
again when there's proposals to remove
the appeal process to us for some of these projects,
I want to just emphasize that when local governments
are left to be the end point for Coastal Act analysis
and there's no appeal, oftentimes then what happens
is that then the local jurisdiction is then,
I would say liable for the analysis
and it's not as robust as what can come through
commission and actually can leave their projects or they're more vulnerable to litigation.
And so for the cost of nothing in terms of our time to them, they get that analysis and
that protection.
And I just want to emphasize that our, especially for multifamily housing, those projects are
moving through very quickly and they get the coverage of our analysis, which they would
not have if it was exempt.
And I want to say that if I had a project and I would want that analysis and that protection
of the state AG's office versus the local interpretation of the Coastal Act, that's
just my, I'm hoping we can express that to the author at some point.
And secondly, thanks to everybody who helped push back, or AB 2099, which would have extended
the lifespan of the visual blight of billboards across our landscapes, and especially in the
coastal zone and in sensitive areas.
They will be back.
There's the third run at that in the last year.
And so everyone should stay vigilant, and maybe we should be thinking about legislation
that actually moves us away from that.
Again, in the 1960s and 70s, there was a real push to remove that blight from our landscapes
across the United States.
The California legislature took a position on that with the Outdoor Advertising Act.
There's been big push lately, and you will notice if you drive up any of your highways
Now there are ad hoc large signs that are basically billboards that are popping up all
over the place because of the lack of funding for in terms of enforcement at the state level.
And there's there's this push to expand those where are where we're really supposed to be
not just halting them but actually pushing back on them.
So I just wanted to emphasize thank you to our staff on sort of tracking that and thank
Thank you to the local governments both represented here and across the state that have pushed
back on that.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Commissioner Jackson.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you, Sean, for the update.
Appreciate all the efforts.
I think one of the things that this agreement with Santa Monica highlights is one of the
things our executive director always talks about is the communication, collaboration,
and a willingness to work together.
And in my view, the MOU demonstrates that solutions can be achieved through partnership
and dialogue without the need for additional legislation.
We've got parties here that are committed to finding common ground, agreements are possible,
local concerns can be addressed, and the goals of the Coastal Act can be advanced without
creating new laws, and really, importantly, unnecessary conflicts.
So big thanks to our legislative staff, the many community advocates, activists, volunteers
who work tirelessly behind the scenes to educate, engage, and to defend California's coast.
And as we often talked about, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Coastal Act and
the protection of our iconic coastline, it's worth remembering that these protections don't
happen by themselves.
happen because people like many of you get involved, spoke up, and fought for them.
So there will continue to be efforts, there will always be efforts for those who wish
to weaken the very policies that have preserved public access, protect sensitive resources,
and safeguard our coastal communities.
So thank you to everyone who continues to show up, speak out, and fight the good fight.
The coast belongs to all of us, and thank you to all of you who are willing to stand
up stay engaged and fight for it. Thank you.
Okay thank you so much not seeing anyone else I just want to reiterate the
Commission's appreciation with regard to AB 1740 took to assemblyman Zebur and
his staff as well as of course our staff on getting to this point as well as all
the work on all the other bills that I you know it's easy to focus on one but
it's a huge amount of work so thank you so much for all that and thank you to
everyone else that's involved. Okay what I think we'll do is we'll take the
informational update on the sea lions and then break for lunch.
Good afternoon commissioners. Item 6d is an informational update on the sea lions
at La Jolla Cove in the city of San Diego. The city has worked with the Sierra
Club Seal Society to prepare a presentation with updates on the
management strategies that have been implemented at the Cove to minimize
human interactions with sea lions.
Sea lion puping season started on May 15th and runs through September 15th.
Point La Jolla, located immediately northwest of La Jolla Cove, remains closed year round
to protect the sea lions that haul out there, per the Commission's 2023 approval.
We will now turn it over to the City of San Diego to start us off.
Thank you very much and good afternoon.
I'm Andy Field.
I'm the Parks and Recreation Director
for the City of San Diego.
It's a pleasure to see you all.
Again, we came before you about six months ago.
Wanted to share an update with you today.
Today's presentation is a collaboration
between the City of San Diego
and the Sierra Club Seal Society,
and we wanna share some of the progress that we've made
through partnership, education,
and active management at the Cove.
Next slide.
Today we'll be discussing how we are working together
to balance three important objectives.
Marine Wildlife Protection, Public Safety,
and Preservation of Coastal Access.
We'll begin with an overview of La Jolla Cove itself,
then discuss visitor information and education,
park ranger operations, signage,
pup protection measures, tourism outreach,
and finally the collaborative work underway
with the Sierra Club Seal Society.
Next slide.
Although City Council President Joe LaCava could not join us this morning, or this afternoon,
he did want to share with you that keeping the Cove safe and open to the public has been
a collaborative effort and he is grateful for the Commission's guidance in this process.
The improved signage and more effective management tools that will ensure the safety and enjoyment
of both those seeking coastal access and to see the pinnipeds.
slide. One of the most important points we wanted to emphasize is that the La Jolla Cove
remains open to the public year-round. While Point La Jolla next door remains closed, the
Cove continues to provide coastal access and supports a wide range of recreational activities
including diving, snorkeling, swimming, and wildlife viewing. With our Shoreline Park
Ranger program now fully staffed we're seeing a greater opportunity for
education enforcement and proactive visitor engagement. Our goal is simple
keep the cove safe accessible and enjoyable for both visitors and marine
wildlife. Next slide. To understand the importance of effective management is
helpful to appreciate the scale of activity that's occurring at La Jolla Cove.
The cove attracts more than 3 million visitors annually and is recognized
around the world as one of Southern California's premier coastal
destinations. At the same time, it sits within a marine protected area known for
its biodiversity and abundant marine wildlife. Therefore, the success of
management efforts at La Jolla Cove has implications not only for local visitors
but for the millions of people who come from around the region, the state, the
country, and the world to experience this unique resource. Next slide. A key
component of our management approach is public education. NOAA's Share the Shore
program provides simple but effective framework for responsible wildlife
viewing. The message is very straightforward. Keep your distance,
Recognize signs of animal distress, keep pets away from wildlife,
leave pups alone, and never feed or harass marine wildlife. Many of the
city's outreach efforts are built around these same principles. Next slide. We have
seen that education is most effective when there is a consistent presence on
site. Today the Shoreline program is fully staffed with eight Rangers and
supported by 12 volunteers. Coverage is provided throughout the week with
increased staffing during the weekends and holidays when visitation is at its
highest. This allows park rangers to maintain a visible presence at both
La Jolla Cove and Point La Jolla and to engage visitors before issues arise. Next
slide. Park rangers do provide a number of key roles. Every day they serve as
educators, ambassadors, resource stewards and public safety professionals.
Their interactions with visitors focus on helping people to enjoy the area safely while
understanding the importance of respecting marine wildlife and the surrounding environment.
These interactions often prove to be most cost-effective tool available to us.
Next slide.
Another important aspect of management involves the use of signs and cones during puping season,
we just saw begin last month. It's important to note these tools are
intended primarily as educational and visual cues rather than creating
barriers there there to establish recommended viewing areas and provide a
buffer between visitors and vulnerable pups. The city's preference is always to
lead with education and voluntary compliance where possible. Next slide.
Park rangers are responsible for the placement of these cones on the beaches
you see from this photo here. Factors such as pup location, visitor activity,
crowd size, the position of the tide, and changing environmental conditions all
influence these decisions. The approach is flexible and adaptive allowing
rangers to respond to circumstances while maintaining a consistent focus on
public safety and wildlife protection. Next slide. Now this slide here shows the
signs that we've posted at the Cove. We promised that to you at our last
engagement. These are four feet by six feet in size and they're present on
existing walls and fencing. One of our goals has been to provide clear
consistent information before visitors enter sensitive wildlife areas. By
By setting these expectations early, visitors are better informed and are more likely to
make responsible decisions throughout their visit.
As ranger staffing has increased, so has visitor engagement.
Since the beginning of the year, rangers have conducted substantially more interactions
with members of the public.
These conversations focus on safety, responsible wildlife viewing, and maintaining appropriate
separation between visitors and marine wildlife. In March you'll notice that
the attendance numbers spiked a little bit with the arrival of spring break so
we see an increase in that engagement number during that time frame. We expect
a lot more as we enter the busy summer months. And as a result of this effort
we're seeing positive results which is really exciting. Next slide. Beyond the
individual visitors, park rangers also work proactively with commercial tour
bus operators. Given the number of visitors that arrive in masks by bus and organized tours,
these partnerships are important so that we can address traffic circulation, drop-off locations,
crowding concerns, and still provide needed wildlife education. The goal is to ensure
visitors arrive informed and prepared before entering the COVID self. Next slide. This new
This signage gives rangers and tour operators a consistent platform for communicating important
information.
In addition to safety measures, the signs provide wildlife viewing guidance and resource
protection information in multiple languages.
This ensures visitors from around the world receive the same clear and consistent information.
Next slide.
Before organized groups enter the cove, rangers are often there to meet directly with drivers,
guides and visitors. These conversations help the visitors to understand where to view the
wildlife safely and responsibly while not crowding out the beach and the marine wildlife that are
there. This type of proactive approach has become an important part of managing one of the region's
most busy coastal destinations. And all this is possible through an exceptional partnership that
we've cultivated with the Sierra Club Seal Society here in San Diego. I'd like to turn over the
the presentation now to Robyn Davidoff. He'd like to share updates on how the
Cove has improved from her perspective. Robyn? Thank you Andy I'm Robyn Davidoff
CR Club Seal Society chair and we are an all-volunteer run educational group with
30 dedicated docents providing 40 hours a week of patrolling the area and
educating the public at the La Jolla Cove in Pointe La Jolla. We have entered
the birthing season for sea lions. We currently have 24 new pups. One was just
born 15 minutes ago. I get like automatic messages from our group that
are down there and it's very very exciting. Unfortunately, five are in the
cove right now which makes the situation a little bit more difficult to manage
with the tourists. We really like high tide because that's when the beach is
completely covered with water and nobody can get down there and the pups kind of
hide in the caves. Hopefully you'll have a chance to see them when you're here.
Next slide, please. La Jolla Cove is just 47 yards across and was recognized as the
number one beach in the United States in TripAdvisor's 2026 Traveler's Choice Awards. We did a quick
AI count and we found that over half of the boats mentioned sea lions as being the highlight
of their trip. La Jolla Cove and its surrounding bluffs is a major tourist destination with
the marine protected area, marine biodiversity, and including sea grasses, and an abundant
food source that attracts seals, sea lions, and birds, including breeding, brant, cormorants,
and gulls, and a resting spot for brown pelicans and, recently, elegant terns as they migrate.
In May, the Point La Jolla Sea Lion Rookery, which is a point on the Google Maps and just
20 yards from the La Jolla Cove, received 6,743 business profile views with most asking
for directions. Tourism of this size requires numerous crowd management tools and in a NOAA
presentation they quoted a statement from 2010 which read, the problem is not how we
shall manage the animals, but one of human management. The city has implemented a plan
with several management tools to help manage these crowds.
And it is an iterative process that provides room for changes
as the city learns to manage hundreds of visitors each day
and sea lions that share the shore on the small pocket beach.
Next slide, please.
The Seal Society has collaborated with Park and Recreation Department as well
as other docent groups up and down the coast where they have seal rookeries
and elephant seal rookeries to learn about management processes,
management practices where visitors in pinnipeds share the shore.
It's important to note that the La Jolla hosts the only sea lion breeding area on the west
coast of California and is in a very urban area, making it more challenging than other
areas to manage.
The goal is to provide public access year-round while implementing crowd management techniques.
We learned from these other groups that placing cones and signage on the beach around newborn
Pups and injured animals are regularly used on city, county, and state beaches in California.
That staffing rangers at critical human-wildlife interaction points such as the La Jolla Cove
and making announcements can be effective.
Signage with visual graphics provide a quick read of safe viewing guidelines and is accessible
to visitors that don't speak English.
Park rangers and volunteer docents work together to provide education and public safety.
These are all things that Andy Field just mentioned.
Next slide, please.
We're going to show a short video that shows how visitor behavior can be changed with clear
direction from rangers.
We're going to show a before and after.
Please play the video.
Here you can see a typical day at the beach.
People are very close to the sea lions taking selfies and so on.
Here I'm particularly disturbed because this family is placing their two little kids right
next to a large sea lion bull to get their photos, not realizing that that's
extremely dangerous where it could be. Luckily the sea lions are fairly used to
people. And here people are stepping away after the Rangers provided guidance to
move away from the sea lions.
Here most of the people have gotten up on the stairs away from the sea lions.
There is one woman who's put herself in a very difficult situation.
Luckily the sea lion just walked right past her.
Here the Rangers have placed some cones around a newborn pub.
And you can see public access is still available, just a guideline to stand behind.
We thank the Rangers for their work.
Next slide, please.
So you've just seen the tools the city is implementing to manage the crowds at La Jolla Cove.
It is challenging, as you just saw, and will take some time and experience to execute,
but we have made great strides.
In the same NOAA presentation I mentioned earlier, it concluded wildlife management is 10% managing the wildlife
and 90% managing the people.
Next slide, please.
That one's good. Thank you.
So another very exciting collaboration includes drone monitoring and data collection.
Sierra Club Seal Society consulted with California Fish and Wildlife and worked with the City of San Diego to obtain a permit to fly a special low-noise wildlife safe drone over the ocean looking back at the cliffs to get an accurate count of seals and sea lions.
This is particularly helpful because sea lions typically give birth underneath a lower ledge that you can't see from the sidewalk above.
And in January, the Seal Society worked with Microsoft for Good.
It's an organization within their group that does things for conservation for free.
And they helped us fine tune an AI model that's also used by NOAA to quickly count sea lions
and seals, which is not an easy task when you're trying to do it by hand and sea lions
are all on top of each other.
After teaching the model not to count rocks and large birds such as pelicans that look
like sea lions, we have reduced the time it takes to process a day's worth of photographs
from one volunteer hour to 15 minutes.
And we have offered this model to Park & Rec as well for their accounts.
The data is used to study how sea lions and seals use their breeding and surrounding areas
throughout the year as well as if the population is changing.
Next slide, please.
Looking ahead to continue to explore ways to strengthen our collaboration with the city,
The goal, again, is to maintain public access.
The City and Sierra Club Society docents are exploring a more formal relationship where
some docents maybe go through the City's volunteer program.
In the near term, and since we're in sea lion pumping season, docents are authorized
to move the cones under the direction of the park ranger.
I am available for questions after this presentation.
I now will turn it over to Andy Field for closing remarks.
Thank you.
Thank you, Robin.
And just to close us out, we want
to thank all of the commissioners here
for all of your support in getting us to this place.
We think that we owe you a debt of gratitude
to enable us to really collaborate closely
with the Sierra Club Seal Society
and build a better operation at La Jolla Cove.
And as Robin invited you, I hope you all get a chance to visit.
We are here and available for any questions
might have and the last slide contains our contact information. Thank you all very much.
Okay. Does that complete the presentation? Yes. Great. All right. Thank you. All right. I'll open
it for public comment at this time. Yes. We have two speakers, one in person and one on Zoom.
We'll start with in person, William Robbins. Mr. Robbins, you're getting your time now.
Thank you. I have a little credential. I've been in the Cove since 1959. I've been scuba diving
there since 1963. I was a little kid. A lot of good things just said by Andy and Robin.
I would just like to challenge everyone involved in this to go on record, public record, written
record that you have no desire to ever close La Jolla Cove, the stairs, the beach, or water
access.
We have to do something with the seals.
My opinion is the more comfortable you make them, the more of them they'll be there, but
that's his problem.
But I really would like to get a pledge from the Seal Society and all their social media
contacts that it's never going to be your goal to seek to close the Cove
because we watched this happen at the children's school cones and then tape
and now it's closed we watched it happen at La Jolla Point now it's closed year
around when will they be back to want to close the Cove for pumping season or
something. Thank you. Thank you. And our Zoom speaker is Aziz Sharif. Go ahead.
Good afternoon commissioners. Thank you so much for the opportunity. My name is Dr. Aziz Sharif,
Executive Director of Wildlife Jewels. Wildlife Jewels continues monitoring the La Jolla coastline
through our eyes program documenting wildlife activity, human-wildlife interaction, site
conditions and hazards to wildlife. While we've seen great progress a significant gap remains
during late evening and nighttime hours at La Jolla Cove. Recently our team documented visitors
disturbing a mother sea lion and her pup after hours causing the animals to separate and flee.
We continue to observe nighttime approaches flashlights directed at wildlife boundary violations
and disturbances that flush sea lions and sea birds.
We encourage evaluation of a nighttime management strategy
including after hours monitoring cameras and other effective measures.
I also want to briefly follow up on children's pool.
Wildlife jewels documented repeated disturbance of federally protected
western gall nests and chicks last season
and we continue to observe disturbance this season
including visitors approaching chasing and flushing galls.
We've also observed visitors running across unstable cliffs to chase chicks creating risks to both wildlife and public safety.
We thank the City of San Diego Parks and Recreation Department for their responsiveness and continued efforts to improve wildlife education and protection in the area.
Wildlife Jewels has proposed seasonal protection measures for nesting calls at children's school
And we respectfully ask the permission to support appropriate measures for the current nesting season and a clear collaborative process
Before next season so they can be put in place or actively. Thank you for your time and consideration
Thank you. No more speakers. Thank you. All right. Um, I just wanted to express my appreciation
Specifically for the collaboration between parks and the seal society and everything that the city has been doing. I know it's a very challenging
Situation I'd like to turn it to Commissioner O'Malley for some
Thank you chair. Um, I'll be very brief
I want to thank you mr. Field for for your work and step it off for your
Continued advocacy. I also want to thank
The on the scenes our local staff in San Diego here
I know that you have a lot to do and are busy and have been engaged in this
And I think we're at a place where a lot of us who have struggled with this issue
I think I mentioned on record where I used to always bring people to the Cove
And then I stopped bringing to the Cove because I would get too mad just being there
Now I've been back a few times and seen the improvements and it's really good to see and I know that me and my fellow
Commissioners are gonna go take a look in the next couple days. So appreciate all the work and keep it up. Thanks
Thank you.
Any other comments?
All right, I just want to reiterate,
I visited the cove a couple of years ago
when we were down here.
And it is.
It's really disturbing the way things were going.
And it sounds like there's still an issue, though, at night.
And I was wondering if staff could comment on,
or potentially parks could comment on, what is happening?
When does the ranger supervision stop?
What happens at night there?
Is anything locked?
Are there cameras?
Yes.
Thank you for the question, Chair Hart.
As it relates to the time in which we're present on the COVE,
it's from around 7 AM to 7 PM.
It varies a little bit by day.
And the 7 PM is sort of a hard end
because that's the end of the Ranger shift.
So if we were to go into overnight operations,
we would need to figure out how that would look
and how we would create something like that.
Thus far, we haven't created a program like that.
In fact, today was some of the first
I've heard of nighttime issues.
So we need to look into that a bit more
and see what options we have.
I appreciate you bringing that up.
Thank you.
Thanks so much.
Are there gates?
I think I recall, are there gates
that are open at the top of the cove?
I'm not recalling a gate, but I'm looking back at my staff.
Yes, no.
No.
No, that's what I thought.
And is the cove open 24 hours?
Sure.
Mr. Schwinn, sorry.
So there are some gates on both access ways down to the cove.
But those were installed through a permit granted
to the city a few years ago with the intent of preventing
sea lions from climbing the stairs
and settling in the area where the lifeguard tower is.
And so that's the purpose of those gates.
they aren't ever closing coastal access to the cove.
So is the cove open 24 hours currently?
Yes.
Okay, I mean, that might be something to consider
down the road, if this turns out to be a significant problem
and that would be a new CDP application from the city
or an LCP, how would that be approached?
Yes, that would be something the city would have to
apply to do.
Thanks.
Or perhaps issue their own permit for it.
All right.
I'm not seeing any other commissioners asking
to speak on this, so I'll close the hearing on this
and again express our appreciation.
And at this point, we'll take a break.
It's 12.30.
We're all going to be going out to find some place
to eat in this incredible area.
We'll be back at 1.30 to continue the hearing.
2 o'clock you're thinking?
That's a full hour.
Okay.
Well, let's try for 130 and if that doesn't happen, wait until everybody gets back per
normal.
All right, folks.
We're going to resume the meeting once we get everybody sitting down.
And I've got to pull up the calendar.
Okay.
One sec.
All right.
So at this point, yep, we have a quorum.
We're going to move to the administrative calendar.
Mr. Schwing.
Thank you, Vice Chair Hart.
So item seven is the administrative permits
for all districts on the agenda today.
Staff is not aware of any opposition
to these permits being reported for the removal and replacement
of a dock and gangway in Huntington Beach.
We're therefore asking whether four or more commissioners
object to the approval of the administrative permit being
today thank you any expertise on this item this is item 7a all right seeing
none any public comment I know we just have one available for questions okay to
four more commissioners object to the adoption of the administrative calendar
seeing no objection administrative calendars adopted we'll move on to item
a the consent calendar these are items that are on consent madam chair madam
chair. Who's talking? Hi. Oh, I forgot. Mr. Kelman. I'm recusing myself from this item
specifically number W 8 a consent to potential conflict of interest under
government code section 87 1 0 0. Okay great so will you be stepping out for
this item? All right thank you very much. We'll just give them a minute one second
Now we have to determine.
Yes, ma'am.
Oh.
OK.
We just have a quorum, folks, so no one move.
No.
OK.
All right.
All right.
Mr. Kelmick has departed, so we'll move forward.
Thank you.
So we have four items, agenda is for the consent calendar.
Two involves new residences, one in Seal Beach
and the other in Laguna Beach.
And then there are two additional projects
that involve upgrades to existing bulkheads in Newport
Bay as well as one dock replacement. I do want to note on item 8b the DeMaio
application to improve an on-site bulkhead. Staff did receive comments by
phone from Mr. Paul Ash who generally expressed concern about construction
phase impacts. The staff recommendation does include a special condition
requiring the applicant to prevent impacts to coastal water quality by
implementing debris and erosion control measures in the construction phase so
staff believes that coastal resource issue there has been addressed so with
that the applicants are in agreement with staff recommendations and we're not
aware of any other opposition on these items. All right is there are there any
ex partes on item 8a through d seeing none public comment Chris? For all items
8 a through D. We only have those available for questions. So all right. Thank you
I'll bring it back to the Commission for any comments questions or a motion and this will be on item 8 the consent calendar. I
Move to approve. Okay motion by Commissioner Kelly second by Commissioner Lee
Is there any opposition to unanimous?
Support of the motion seeing none. The motion is adopted move on now to item 9 consent calendar removed from
regular calendar and given the number of those,
I know you'll run through those.
Thank you, Mr. Schwing.
Yes, so there are five items we're recommending.
We moved to consent.
First is item 11A, the CDP application by San Diego County
for the extension of the Tijuana River culverts
at Saturn Boulevard.
The second item is we're adding item 14A.
This is CDP amendment 5190971A1, the Dana Point Harbor partners.
Third, item 16A, this is an extension of time to continue work on the City of San Diego's
LCP amendment to update the University community plan.
Fourth is item 17B that has been moved to consent.
This is a CDP application by Caltrans to install suicide deterrent barriers on the San Diego
Coronado Bay Bridge and then last item 17C and this is a CDP application for
the City of San Diego for closure hours and gates on certain public parking lots
in the city and you have some comments to give on that but I'll start with
Cassidy who has a few initial comments. Thank You Mr. Schwing. I just wanted to
note on that Tijuana River culverts item at Saturn Boulevard that we posted an
addendum yesterday to summarize correspondence we received in support of
the project and provide additions to the staff report. One of those additions is
in response to a request from the Navy to address the location of the project
on federal property. I want to convey my appreciation of the Navy and County for
the close coordination on this project and we're very glad we were able to
to process the application so quickly
and bring it forward to you all today on the consent calendar.
We fully expect the project to help
address the source of harmful air emissions
from polluted river water while the county works
towards a longer term solution at Saturn Boulevard.
I believe we have a number of speakers signed up on this item
as well when it gets to that point.
And with that, I'll hand it back to you, Mr. Schwig.
Thank you, Mr. Toyful.
So and then on item 14A, staff did
received comments in favor of the project and a few with concerns. Mostly seeking verification
that the project changes are made as proposed. And there are conditions in the staff recommendation
to address that issue including some refinements to tighten up the requirements including confirmation
of the individual dock projects through as built plans for each phase of that project.
On item 17B, which is the Caltrans proposal to install visually permeable barriers on
top of the bridge's outer railings in order to deter suicide attempts from the San Diego
Coronado Bay Bridge, the project benefited from very early coordination efforts between
commission and Caltrans staff to identify a highly effective deterrent system that also
addresses visual concerns to the maximum extent feasible.
We also worked extensively together to identify additional measures to help offset visual
impacts by funding visual improvements along the Bayshore bikeway in Coronado and within
the Barrio Logan community.
So we'd like to thank our Caltrans partners for working diligently with us through the
coastal resource issues that are raised by that project.
Staff is also recommending on items that item 17C be moved to consent, which is the City
of San Diego's proposal to revise existing and implement new parking restrictions, including
hours of operation, time limits, and installation of gates at various coastal public parks in
the city.
Staff did receive comments both in favor and opposed to the proposal.
Proponents favored the project as a means of addressing crime that is well documented
in some of these parking lots.
That's generally raised concerns about the potential for the proposal to displace community
members who camp in vehicles overnight in some of the parking lots.
Staff notes that these pre-coastal parking lots already had limits prohibiting overnight
parking at least from 2 to 4 a.m. and further the city's municipal code long prohibited
vehicle habitation on public parking lots and streets.
That prohibition is not proposed to be changed as part of this permit.
The city does offer several resources, including designated parking lots where people can legally
camp or park.
Your vehicle overnight social services are also made available at these sites.
In order to help ensure these resources are made known, staff has included in the addendum
a requirement the city post informational signage along with signs regarding the parking
a lot of hours.
So it's our understanding the city
is in agreement with this requirement,
as well as the overall staff recommendation on that item.
So in regard to all these matters,
the applicants are in agreement.
We're not aware of any further opposition,
and we're recommending that the commission vote and approve
these items on consent.
Thank you so much.
Turning to the commission, are there any ex partes
on any of these items, which include 11A, 14A, 16A, 17B,
be in 17c all right in that case I'll open the public hearing and ask how many
speakers we have here in the room and on zoom all right I was starting with 11a
we have about eight speakers or so starting in the room we had supervisor
Paloma Aguirre signed up to speak in person if only they represent no we're
I'm so glad that you're here.
Thank you so much.
No, don't do that.
Is that on now?
Okay, perfect.
Yes, hello.
Thank you.
I'm Stephanie Seekich.
I'm here representing Supervisor Agari.
She sends her hello to her former commissioners that she used to work with.
She really wishes she could be here.
I've been texting with our chief of staff all morning and we're like literally afraid
she's going to like abscond her job and run down here to see you all.
So she does send her best wishes.
And so we would like to convey on behalf of District 1, thank you to this Commission
and staff for continuing to lead with courage on this issue.
This has been a long-standing environmental justice issue that's really faced generations.
It's not only an environmental justice issue, it's a public health issue now.
As Cassidy had mentioned, Saturn Boulevard is essentially creating this aerosolization
of pollution that our constituents have been breathing in.
We've had 40,000 air purifiers that we put out to mitigate this, but this pipe extension
is going to fundamentally change the lives of tens of thousands of people.
So we really wanted to thank you on that behalf.
Literally for decades, they've burdened this environmental justice.
They have medical bills.
They have economies.
It's absolutely crazy, Commissioner.
The county right now, no, I appreciate your editorializing.
doing an economic study right now that shows literally that, you know, the
constituents of IB have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars with their
businesses and again a lot of it is not only just the pollution in the river but
it is this air quality problem that Saturn Boulevard aims to solve and you
know passing this is not just infrastructure improvement it is that
one of the first steps into a very long-term solution for this chronic
problem. Again, supervisor Gary wants to thank you for leading with such courage and clarity.
She particularly wanted to thank the chair and vice chair and Ms. Nodoff and Mr. O'Malley for
previous working relationships. Finally, I just wanted to thank the staff, particularly Cassidy
and Annie. Your expertise not only helped elevate this in terms of its permitting and you helped
shepherd that, but it really kind of raised the urgency of this issue. Again, on behalf of
Supervisor Gary and her district one we're very grateful for your your
leadership and support on this so thank you again thank you so much we
definitely miss her she's such a incredible leader thank you thank you
next we have sayon the hall the hall of leap of on followed by Isabel Rochi and
then Danielle Elizabeth Mensaba thank you can you hear me basically what she
said. But thank you again for having me in. Good afternoon, Coastal Commission. My name
is Sayant the Huloli Pavan. I'm the public health officer of the County of San Diego
and I just wanted to also just express strong support for this 11A. I'm here supporting
you know that support for 11A to permit extension of the two culvert pipes at Saturn Boulevard
that we just talked about. The Tijuana River Valley sewage and pollution crisis is the
only proclaimed emergency at the county of San Diego right now, and it continues to be.
No one should have to be exposed to untreated wastewater or industrial waste that's coming
over and routinely be exposed, and because of that, any immediate relief that we can
provide is essential for the residents' health and safety, and especially for these communities
which overall are lower socioeconomic status and more disproportionately impacted.
Thank you to Supervisor Geary, our Public Works and Parks and Rec departments for leading
the effort from the county perspective.
While me and the Health Department, we are not directly implementing this project, we
are fully committed to the community's health and strongly support this action.
Hydrogen sulfide monitoring by our air pollution control district and our research community
He shows the highest detections of hydrogen sulfide at the Barry Elementary School location,
which is closest to the hotspot.
And this is the only monitoring location that actually has exceeded on several occasions
now the US EPA's Acute Exposure Guideline Level 1 threshold, something no community
again should have to experience.
So today, two federally partnered health surveys with both the CDC and ATSDR at the federal
level showed significant physical and mental health impacts to the community
and residents in both surveys were asking for immediate and urgent action
on this issue. And this is a great example of something that we can
collectively do that is immediate action. So thank you again and we gladly
appreciate you taking up this topic. Thank you. We also had a few more people
with the County here available for questions. Moving on to our other speakers
We have Isabel Rohe, Daniel Elizabeth Mensaba, and then Carmen Pinalosa Valdez. Isabel Rohe.
Alright, so I'm not seeing anyone approach. Daniel Elizabeth Mensaba.
Good afternoon, California Coastal Commission. My name is Daniel Elizabeth Mensaba and I am an
incoming sophomore at Coronado High School. It is a privilege to speak here on behalf of the students,
a part of the Stop the Sewage Club. As deputy executive of our club, our mission is to empower
and educate our community by advocating for sustainable solutions to the Tijuana sewage
crisis.
We are also partnered with the Tijuana River Coalition to achieve this.
As a student involved in this issue, I have learned firsthand how deeply this crisis affects
the communities along our coastline.
Coronado is home to an estimated of 20,000 residents and roughly 30% are active duty
military, retired service members, and veterans.
It is a home base to Navy SEALs whose training on the beach requires extensive ocean and
airborne exposure to an abundant amount of hydrogen sulfide, which levels continue to
increase.
Within our community, we have reflected and have taken action by taking trips to the capital
in Sacramento to advocate for change in bills and policies, petitioning, demonstration,
and peaceful protests.
However, our impact in our community can only reach so far, and we are in support of this
permit application and thank you for your involvement. Thank you California
Coastal Commission for your attention to this public health and environmental
issue. We appreciate your leadership and commitment to addressing this critical
public health and environmental challenge. Thank you for your time. Thank
you. And now to our Zoom speaker we have Carmen Penalosa Valdez. Can you hear me?
I guess we can hear you. Go ahead. Okay. Hello my name is Carmen. I'm speaking on
behalf of the nonprofit organization Youth Will, which is dedicated to empowering youth
of San Diego through activism, governmental advocacy, and leadership, and we are also
partners with the Tijuana River Coalition. I'm also here to thank the Coastal Commission
for your support with the permit application, as this would help with addressing the Tijuana
River pollution crisis in a short-term manner, allowing our community to continue working
are more sustainable solutions. As someone who has trans-frontalisa and has grown up between
San Diego and Tijuana, I'm constantly interacting with these communities alongside the Tijuana
border and I've seen the impacts that the high levels of hydrogen sulfide from the hotspot have
on folks and these symptoms. A variety of the symptoms have been reported in the South San
Diego County and disproportionately affect vulnerable and environmentally overburdened
communities including children, low-income households, immigrant communities, and our
Latino tribal populations. So yeah, communities in the Tijuana River Valley have the right to
breathe clean air and enjoy safe outdoor coastal spaces, and we thank you for your support. Thank
you. Thank you. We had a few other people signed up for this item and we aren't able to find them.
Again, I'll call those names Joshua Beidler, Isabel Rohe, Charles Realy, and Adriana Salas.
If any of you are on Zoom or in person you can approach or raise your hand. Again that's Joshua
Beidler, Isabel Rowey, Charles Realy, Adriana Salas. Oh you did? Okay, I didn't have you on
our list. Once again, I'm not sure. Go ahead. I know I'm missing you all the time.
Not at all. Good afternoon commissioners. Mitch Silverstein with Surfighter Foundation. I'll be
brief because this is a consent item and that's a good thing. Our clean border
water now campaign manager Sarah Davidson couldn't be here today but she
didn't want us to say it want me to say a few words for her. The Saturn Boulevard
Crossing has been ground zero for one of the most serious environmental justice
crises in the United States. The communities just downwind that include
low-income families, children, immigrant, and Latino and tribal populations have
been breathing hydrogen sulfate sulfide at concentrations several times higher
than the state standard and in some cases for years. Through our coalition
work we hear from these neighbors regularly and our message is always the
same that we need relief and we need it now. This project is an interim fix and
we do want to be clear-eyed about that but it's very meaningful one and we're
grateful the county brought it forward and that the staff recommended approval
with conditions that take habitat water quality and coastal access seriously. We
wanted to flag that special condition one does require the county to work
through a fairly complex multi-agency approval process before construction
can actually begin.
So we'd encourage commission staff to assist where they can
to keep that moving, giving the urgency on the ground.
Thank you to the commission staff
for your thorough work on this project
and thank you for your support.
Thank you.
I swear I'm not doing that on purpose.
We have no more speakers for item 11A.
We'll move to item 14A, move to consent.
We have two speakers, Joe Ubebroth and then Adam Leverans.
Give us a moment as we move in as panelists.
And then, Joe, I see that you're moving in.
When you're able to, please unmute and begin.
Go ahead.
Hello.
Hello, I'm Joe Yubaroff.
I'm a partner in Dana Point Harbor Partners.
We are revitalizing Dana Point.
And we strongly support the recommendation of staff.
And we would like to acknowledge the staff for all their efforts.
And we're very supportive of the project that we're doing.
And this amendment just makes it better for the public.
All right, thank you.
I'm moving to Adam Leverins.
Good afternoon, is my audio coming in?
Yes, we can hear you great.
Great, great, thanks.
And again, thank you folks for all you do.
Dana Point Harbor Partners material or amendment
that is this item uses the terms slips
and side ties kind of interchangeably.
While a slip, the lower green arrows here
is kind of limited by its design,
the length of vessel that can be there,
a side tie necessarily isn't.
Side ties are along the long side of a dock generally.
And as far as I can tell,
they indicate that there'll be at least
15 or 82 15 foot side ties, which is great.
does create a lot of access for those with smaller vessels and lesser means.
However, in a scytie situation, there's technically no length restriction in
some of these places. Without some sort of condition, these actually be
reserved for the most possible that displacement will occur because there's
more many running to longer vessel. And it's just uh you've heard from me over and over again about
access for for those of us who are barely hanging on to access here. And some of the terminology
I've seen you know in different codes the term side tie shall mean a berth where the dock is
alongside only one side of the boat. The term slip shall mean a berth where the boat has a
finger on one side and either another finger or adjacent boat on the other side. The staff
materials indicate that enforcement had an issue with smaller vessel berth not being provided there
and and I would hope that these 82 designated sides in these cans that are not for construction
and not to fail can somehow be conditioned to protect that access so much. Thank you.
And then also for that item, we had Sherman Stacey available for questions.
We had no other speakers for 14a. For item 16a move to consent, we have no speaker signed up.
And then for item 17c move to consent, we had one speaker,
David Stebbins. And then we also had Cherylin Cack and her team
here in person available for questions as well. But David Stebbins.
How clever. My name is David Stavins and I live right next to the Dog Beach parking lot in Ocean Beach.
My history in Ocean Beach goes back to where I used to fish on the Ocean Beach pier with my grandfather in the 60s.
And I have the privilege of living near there now.
I submitted, along with the package to Park and Rec, 40 some odd letters from my neighbors
that they all wrote letters about supporting the lot closures and the new hours.
Right now the lot next to my house is closed for two hours.
That really doesn't give the police the time to come and deal with the people who have
been trying to turn the parking lot into a kind of an overnight campground, which is
there's just no facilities there and it's become a crime problem and there's plenty
of statistics that was mentioned in the staff report, the support that confirmed that that
has been an ongoing problem in our community.
So all of the local organizations like the Ocean Beach Planning Board, the Ocean Beach
Town Council, the Pacific Town Council, all support the new closure hours, not
just for Ocean Beach but for many of the other ones that are listed. We know this
is a big package and since this is a consent item I'm going to keep it short.
But I've never seen more of a broad cross section of the community
that all support this and so what we're looking forward to getting the gates and
everything and we believe it will really help the access to the beach because
people will still the beaches are still gonna be open it's just that after it's
my grandfather used to tell me nothing good happens after midnight so so so
from midnight to 5 a.m. there's really no reason for vehicles to be coming in
and leaving especially since we have bike lanes we have all of the buses and
everything that that and the dump right there next to the beach and so the access
will be preserved and that's it thank you thank you so much all right any
other speakers I know other speakers for any of the items move to consent thank
you bring back to stuff any comments thank you sure heart um so just to
address the issue raised by mr. lever anse with regard to the slip lengths in
Dana Point Harbor the condition does have a requirement on it that the 15 foot
slips, not slips, but side ties be maintained for that use.
And so if ultimately in their use they don't conform to that, that would be considered
a violation of the permit conditions and we'd be able to remedy that through unpermitted
development and enforcement action.
So we think that issue is adequately addressed.
Okay.
Thank you.
to the commission for any questions or a motion on the items removed from the
regular calendar okay Commissioner yeah just a brief comment on 11a and 17b
first on 11a want to express appreciation and acknowledge that we
heard in the comments from the supervisor staff that this is not a
permanent solution and in that I'm hoping that we can continue to monitor
for the hydrogen sulfide and ask for reports back I know that this is going
help and mitigate but long term this is a community that has been vocal and many times not hurt.
So this progress is much appreciated. I want to thank those who championed getting it to this
point and as we move forward just look forward to continuing to get updates knowing that this isn't
a permanent fix but it is a great step forward and on 17B same mental health is a really severe
challenge especially coming out of COVID for our communities. So these changes, it's hard to see
items like this on an agenda, but at the same time we want to call it out and appreciate
the investments being made to protect our friends and neighbors.
Thank you.
Anyone else on any of these items?
Yes.
Thank you, Chair.
I just wanted to call out the great collaboration on the Suicide Brayer Project, important project
for transportation, and we're really happy to see this move forward and just want to
acknowledge all the work to especially mitigate the visual impacts, making some good improvements
for the area of Barrio Logan and also for pedestrian and bicycle visual impacts there
along the bridge.
So just want to acknowledge that and say thanks to the team that worked on that both at the
Caltrans and Coastal Commission.
Thanks so much and thanks for all your collaboration, Kelton's.
Commissioner Morin.
Thank you.
I'm happy to second the motion on the floor.
I don't have a motion, but would you like to make one?
Oh, I thought Commissioner Lopez made the motion.
Not quite.
make the motion on the floor being that a few of these items are in the district
that I have the honor to represent. Starting off with 11A, this item is
significant to me since the Tijuana River Valley sewage crisis severely
affects the communities that I represent, included in the neighborhoods of
San Ysidro, Edgar, Highland, Nestor and also Otay Mesa. In addition to losing
access to the beach in the South Bay for several years straight. Let me repeat that
again. Losing access to the beach for several years straight. The communities I represent
are facing an even greater challenge and that's hydrogen sulfide that is in the air and also
the foul smell of sewage day in and day out. One of my first actions as a new council member
in 2019 was to sue the International Boundary and Water Commission, also known as the IBWC,
the plant that handles over 25 million gallons of sewage per year.
We settled that with $200 million in upgrades.
This culvert does not address any of the sewage that goes through the plant.
This culvert addresses the sewage that is coming down through the Tijuana River, which
is channelized in the Mexican section of this watershed.
On a personal level, I lived for 10 years
very close to this crisis, about a mile away from the border.
And I vividly remember being home with my newborn
during maternity leave and closing
the windows and the doors.
My baby and I were marinating in this sewage
and what the sewage had, or what the smell had,
we didn't know.
So the proposed culvert on Saturn Boulevard
and Sunset Avenue are a strong step
towards addressing long-standing issues.
And as was represented, while this doesn't fix the issue,
it does absolutely represent progress.
And I remain cautiously optimistic
that all levels of government will act with urgency
and resources on this issue.
The IBWC plant has proceeded with upgrades
to address capacity
at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant
and there's ongoing work in the Mexican side
of in Tijuana, Mexico.
So at peaks, 50 million gallons per day flow
through the Tijuana River Valley,
reaching this culvert without actually being captured
by the plant, so two separate sections.
So very happy that this is coming forward.
there is still a lot of work in the area, in the region.
And obviously we're gonna seek the Coastal Commission's help
on addressing this issue.
Also moving on to item 17B,
it's a tough conversation to have since mental health.
And let me, for the record state,
this is the Caltrans San Diego Coronado Bay Bridge,
suicide deterrent barriers.
Mental health and self-harm are not topics
that we often speak about here at the Coastal Commission,
and they're especially heavy topics,
but since 1996, approximately 400 people
have died by suicide from the Coronado Bay Bridge.
These numbers speak to the urgency behind the effort.
The installation of metal mesh suicide deterrent barriers
are needed as an intervention to prevent injury
and potential harm.
The Coronado Bridge has a very complicated history
in the city of San Diego, in particular from my district,
the district date that I represent.
It basically sliced up Barrio Logan, Logan Heights community.
In the 70s, the Chicano community in Barrio Logan
reclaimed the land directly beneath the Coronado Bridge
in a community takeover to bring to fruition a park.
Now Chicano Park is the largest collection
of outdoor murals in the United States
and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
And I highly encourage my colleagues to visit
while you're here or maybe next time
the Coastal Commission is here,
I could organize something for you guys.
And I do want to make note of this
since the Barrio Logan community
has had a very complicated history with the bridge.
But I am pleased to see a special condition number two
the visual improvement plans on both sides of the bridge. I do see an emphasis in how Caltrans
will work with Barrio Logan to engage them in the improvement plan, bringing more murals and more
enhancement to a historically underserved community. Obviously installing the barriers
at its core is going to save lives, supporting first responders who have the difficult job
of leading rescues and also ensuring ongoing access to the coast. The report stated that
this is the second most utilized bridge in the state of California for people seeking to commit
suicide. So it's in my district. So obviously it impacts my district and the city of San Diego
and the whole region as a whole. So very happy to see this come forward. And I did make a motion,
Right no you didn't make a motion yet, but if you'd like to make a motion that would be great
I am happy to make a motion to move consent, and I will second it. All right
We have a motion in a second is there any opposition to unanimous approval of the motion?
Seeing none the consent calendar removed from regular calendar is adopted and we'll move on now to energy ocean resources and federal consistency
Mr. Teufel item 10
Thank you
Vice Chair Hart
We only have two negative determinations
Concurrences to report this month and staff is not aware of any opposition to these items
I also wanted to take a moment to provide a brief
Update on the Tijuana River situation that we've been discussing
Our main focus as you can imagine in recent months has been working closely with San Diego County and a range of state and federal
agency staff on this on the Saturn Boulevard project
Much of this effort has been
focused on strategies for expediting and streamlining the project and its authorizations and
we feel it's been a successful model for collaboration that's helped move this important project forward.
Outside of those efforts, we've also been tracking a variety of other projects on both sides of the border.
I'm happy to report that just last week repairs were completed on a key sewage transport pipeline in Baja
That has recently resulted in reductions in sewage flows to the Tijuana River and increased use of the treatment plant in Mexico
On the US side of the border the International Boundary and Water Commission reports that it's international treatment plant has expanded capacity
And is now treating an estimated up to 35 million gallons of waste per day. So that's a positive improvement
And finally I wanted to note that Sandia County recently began moving forward with two major research efforts
To document the health and economic impacts of the Tijuana River Valley pollution crisis
It will be partnering partnering with UCC in Diego on an air quality study
While while simultaneously launching a public survey to measure the crisis is financial toll on South Bay communities
The results of that survey are anticipated to be released later this fall and per Commissioner Lopez's request earlier
Will also to look to bring forward the results of the air quality study when they're available
While significant issues remain with the broader situation
These are nevertheless positive developments that I'm happy to be able to report today and with that. I'll conclude my deputy director report
Thanks, mr. Toyf all however in spite of this movement forward
We still have a closed beach down at Imperial Beach with any estimate as to when it could be safe to use that beach
No, there's absolutely vice-chair Hart the the situation remains quite dire the beach remains closed
There's no timeline for reopening.
And as we move into the summer season with swell action
coming from the southern hemisphere
and current moving from south to north,
it's expected that unfortunately the situation,
as we saw last summer, to kind of expand
outside of that Imperial Beach area up towards Quaranato.
So that's something that will be very closely tracked.
There's extensive water quality monitoring
and noticing to provide the public with that information.
But yeah, it's just a devastating situation broadly.
And while these individual projects and efforts
help nudge the needle, the crux of the issue
remains unaddressed and unsolved.
Well, I know that we all appreciate the amount of work
that you've put in our staff.
And it's just going to be a lot of work
to where we need to go to get those beaches open again.
And I really have to say how much I appreciate
Supervisor Paloma Aguirre's just incredible effort,
nonstop effort on this, it's been great.
So with regard to that, is that,
I'm sorry, I can't remember if,
are we in, is this like a DDR?
Well, we have three or more.
All right, so did three or more commissioners object
to the adoption of the Energy Ocean Resources
and Consistency item?
All right, seeing no objection, item 10 is adopted.
And item 11 was adopted through consent,
so there is no enforcement report, I understand.
So now we're on a South Coast District DDR item 13.
Madam Chair.
Thank you, Vice Chair.
I'm sorry, Madam Chair.
No.
Hi, we're on item 13 at this point?
Yes.
All right.
Because for some reason, there was
two properties within 500 feet of a property I
own on the agenda of all things.
So I have to recuse myself from item 13
due to a potential conflict of interest under government code
section 87100.
Thank you.
Thank you, Commissioner.
I'll give you a minute.
It's going to probably be a quick minute.
All right, please on the DDR.
Thank you.
So in this report, we have four waivers
for projects in Seal Beach and Laguna Beach, one
immaterial amendment, and one CDP time extension.
Staff's also reporting on a follow-up to the emergency
action reported last month by the city of Laguna Beach to remove several trees
along Lower Forest Avenue in the city's downtown area that the city deemed to be
hazardous to public safety. After the initial report the city identified one
additional tree that required removal. This additional action was reported
under section 30611 of the Coastal Act as an emergency action without a CDP. I
I do want to note that the city has planted a like for like 48 inch box replacement tree
To offset the remove tree and this item is just a report out
There's no action for the Commission to take on the emergency report, but we do need
Whether three or more commissioners object to any of the waivers the amendment or the time extension
Thank you, mr. Shwang. Do we have any public comment on the DDR?
We have one person available for questions. No speakers
OK, thank you.
I'll bring it back to the commission.
Ask if three or more commissioners object
to the adoption of the South Coast District Deputy
Director's Report.
Seeing no objection, the Deputy Director's Report is adopted.
Item 14A was adopted on consent.
So we're on to item 15, Deputy Director's Report
for San Diego Coast.
Thank you.
And in this report, we have one waiver
for an addition to Terminal 2 East at the San Diego
International Airport.
No known opposition on that, and we're
asking whether three or more commissioners
object to that waiver.
All right.
Do three or more commissioners object to the waiver?
Seeing no objection, item 15 is adopted.
Item 16A also adopted on consent.
17A postponed.
17B adopted on consent, as was 17C.
And that concludes the calendar for today,
unless I've missed something, which it looks like I might have.
Yeah, the statewide items.
Oh, of course, I was going to turn to that after.
Thanks so much.
All right, so we do have the statewide items.
Are there any reports on any of those?
Do we have approval of any minutes before us, or?
Any reports, conservancy, anything?
All right, not seeing anyone.
I apologize, yes, I would like to make a brief report.
I'm pleased to announce that the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeal
issued an unpublished opinion yesterday in the Ruby Falls Fund versus California Coastal
Commission action.
The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court judgment in favor of the Commission and rejected
Ruby Falls arguments.
This case involved a very large development project on Cannery Row in Monterey.
The Commission had approved a, conditionally approved the project in 2008 when it was proposed
by a previous owner. Ruby Falls purchased the property and then there was a protracted
property dispute about the ownership which was eventually resolved. Ruby Falls had requested
that the Coastal Commission issue it the permit and the Coastal Commission refused based on
the property dispute. In addition, the Coastal Commission directed Ruby Falls to apply for
an extension. The Coastal Commission after a public hearing denied the extension due
to changed circumstances and Ruby Falls challenged those decisions. The trial court denied all
of Ruby Falls claims with the exception of a due process notice claim. The Ruby Falls
appealed. The Coastal Commission did not. And this decision resolved all of Ruby Falls
claims, with the exception of the due process, which
will be addressed at a later time.
That's so great to hear.
Such a complicated case.
And I was on the commission on the times
that that came before us, as was Commissioner Altmanzata,
I believe, during that period.
So congratulations on that, and thank you
for your representation of the commission.
All right, are there any other statewide reports?
I don't see any from the commission.
Anything else from the Attorney General's office?
All right, so in that case, that now
concludes this day's meeting of the Coastal Commission.
We're going to move to closed session.
So I believe we'll have to stay in this room.
OK.
So we'll ask everyone to please leave this room.
And thank you all so much for attending the meeting today.