Two Supervisors met with Coastal Commission staff Friday to discuss LCP Update disagreement

Supervisor Rich Gordon, Supervisor Carole Groom and County Planning Interim Deputy Director Steve Monowitz met with Charles Lester, Senior Deputy Director at the California Coastal Commission on Friday, April 30, 2010 to discuss Local Coastal Program Update issues of disagreement.

Hopefully the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors will recognize the value of coastal resources and agree to the modifications as suggested by the California Coastal Commission. Stalling the process or attempting to rollback the California Coastal Act would be disastrous.

Link to CCC suggested modifications: http://documents.coastal.ca.gov/reports/2009/12/Th18a-12-2009.pdf

Information on why its important to Update the Local Coastal Program: http://www.coastal.ca.gov/la/lcpguide/lcpguide.pdf

The California Coastal Act of 1976 ushered in an era of significant new land use planning in California. Local governments prepared and implemented Local Coastal Programs (LCPs) to carry out the Coastal Act’s mandate to protect coastal resources and maximize public access to the shoreline. These LCPs established the allowable kinds, locations, and intensities of new development in the coastal zone, and set out other development limitations, to achieve the objectives of the Coastal Act. Once an LCP was certified by the Coastal Commission, local governments were given the responsibility of issuing coastal permits for most new development, subject to the standards of their LCPs.

In the last two decades LCPs have become an important part of California’s coastal zone management program. But the Commission and many local governments have also recognized that LCPs need to be updated to remain effective. Significant changes have occurred that directly impact our efforts to protect California’s coast. Population and development patterns have changed, leading to new pressures on resources and public access. New non-point source pollution laws are in place, and scientists have learned more about sensitive species, habitats and other coastal resources. Global warming and sea level rise are real concerns that must be considered in land use decisions.

Successfully providing for a community’s need to grow and thrive while protecting resources depends on our ability to address such changes in our planning documents. If an LCP is out of sync with current conditions, knowledge, and practices, the potential for land use conflicts is exacerbated, and we are less likely to achieve either appropriate development or coastal resource protection.