Coastal Commission director says HMB never wanted to appeal

The County Times has a good summary of the points made by Half Moon Bay’s attorneys attacking the Coastal Commission’s letter on AB1991 at Thursday’s press conference. It’s still mostly hand-waving, but it is clear that the Commission’s executive director Peter Douglas is not backing down from the Commission’s letter to the state assembly.

Coastal Commission Executive Director Pete Douglas said he was sticking with his facts. He said the Coastal Commission voted to oppose the bill based on the public settlement between the parties, and called AB1991 a "sweetheart deal" that would "carve a hole" in the Coastal Act.

As for helping Half Moon Bay with a Beachwood appeal, Douglas said the city never took his lawyers up on their offer.

"It was clear to us that they didn’t want to appeal this at all. They were just looking to structure a deal," he said.