The KUSP Land Use Report #4: "The Coastal Commission"

"Listen Live"

This is Gary Patton, Executive Director of LandWatch Monterey County, with a Land Use Report for KUSP.

It’s a political truism that all politics is local. The land use policies that guide our future are largely the result of political choices made at the local level. In the "Coastal Zone," however, a different rule applies. Thanks to a statewide initiative passed in 1972, local governments have to meet some pretty strict statewide standards whenever development is proposed along the coast.

New development on the coast has to provide coastal access. Coastal agricultural lands and wetlands simply must be protected. Highway One, in the coastal zone, has to be maintained as a scenic, two-lane road. No freeways in Big Sur, or along Elkhorn Slough. These tough standards for coastal development are not the result of local choice—and that fact has some practical effects. In San Luis Obispo County, the Hearst Corporation has proposed to build a new resort, close to Hearst Castle—and the County Board of Supervisors might approve that. The final decision, however, won’t be with them. The Coastal Commission will have the final word.

Local governments really do respond to local residents when they get involved. Local involvement really does make a difference. Let’s not forget it. Sometimes, though, it’s nice to have those strong, statewide protections in place, to help preserve and protect the priceless treasures of the California coast.

For KUSP, this is Gary Patton.

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