More housing on the California coast? Changes at this powerful agency signal a pro-building shift

Bone-colored bluffs and jagged cliffs line the Monterey shoreline where chalky sand meets redwoods Its rugged coastline including beloved destinations such as Big Sur is well-known California iconography protected by the California Coastal Act for nearly years In a push to address the state s gripping housing predicament the California Coastal Commission last week approved a rule change to make it easier to build affordable housing in Monterey and elsewhere along the hundreds of miles of the Pacific coast It was the latest effort by the powerful state agency to combat its poor reputation among housing advocates and Democratic leaders who see it as an obstacle to drastic housing improvement in California s coveted coastal regions While minor and uncontroversial the amendment was one of a minimal shifts the commission has made in latest months in an effort to be viewed as playing a part in addressing the state s crippling housing predicament It published a record for the first time in that evidenced local governments were responsible for approving the vast majority of permits in coastal regions and this year the agency worked with housing activists to make it easier to build attendee housing in coastal cities Nor did the coastal commission oppose a landmark housing reorganization law that excludes bulk new developments from environmental review I think it s going to have a real-life change Susan Jordan a longtime conservation activist and founder of the California Coastal Protection Grid noted of the regulatory amendment at the meeting Reputation rehab Measures toward more housing Twelve people six local elected authorities and six members of the masses vote on the independent quasi-judicial state agency tasked with conserving more than miles of the California coast and keeping it open to the inhabitants Its authority spans about yards inland from where the land meets the water at high tide The commission has faced relentless scrutiny in contemporary years for not permitting enough affordable housing in coastal cities or doing so too slowly as state lawmakers have stripped numerous housing regulations to make it easier to build more apartments RELATED New ballot measure push aims to overhaul California s landmark environmental law Gov Gavin Newsom a critic of the commission and other top Democrats have appointed three pro-development local officers this year to help get more housing and other developments approved along the Pacific coast In October Newsom appointed wealthy real estate developer Jaime Lee to replace Effie Turnbull Sanders An attorney appointed by former Gov Jerry Brown Sanders was lauded by environmentalists for heralding environmental justice policies to the agency Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas a Salinas Democrat named two pro-development appointees to the commission in May Chris Lopez a Monterey County supervisor and Chula Vista councilmember Jose Preciado Ray Jackson a Hermosa Beach councilmember was appointed earlier this year by Democratic Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire of Santa Rosa and is largely a skeptic of big developers In a unanimous vote last week Peciado Lopez and Jackson each approved changing the commission s rules to give affordable housing projects in coastal areas more time to be built from two to five years after permits are issued Lee was not at the Nov meeting Staff and commissioners hailed the change as a step in the right direction for affordable housing developments that cannot be financed rapidly enough under the previous two-year deadline I think next year would be a good opportunity to roll out an mentoring campaign in the Legislature to highlight particular of the movements we made toward this Commissioner Linda Escalante mentioned I don t know if we can have a white paper that we can walk around with and figure out particular of the reputation issues that we have A history of protecting the coastline Critics of the agency point to the exorbitant coastal housing prices selected of the highest in the country and the disproportionate number of white residents as exacerbating the housing shortage To specific the commission s priorities have not matched the urgency of lawmakers and local functionaries to help solve the cost complication Two-thirds of coastal residents are white about twice as several as in the state as a whole according to an analysis by Nicholas Depsky at the United Nations Growth Programme Fewer than of California residents live in coastal cities or coastal zones which comprise less than of land in the state but are home to selected of the most of valuable real estate in the world from Malibu to Marin Waves break near beach homes in Malibu on Dec Photo by Damian Dovarganes AP Photo The Coastal Commission began as a ballot initiative in the shadow of the Santa Barbara oil spill one of the worst environmental disasters in the country at the time Amid a broader national environmental movement there was greater concern about how to protect California s coveted shoreline in the midst of unregulated offshore drilling and fears of relentless growth that would mirror Miami s coastline Four years later the state Legislature made the commission permanent with the Coastal Act to protect its natural habitats and keep beaches open to the constituents Early tensions between then-Gov Jerry Brown and the commission brewed when he slammed its members as bureaucratic thugs in just years after championing its creation Brown would spend his final years in office nearly years later roiled by criticism from environmentalists who accused him of appointing commissioners who were too pro-development Those fears were heightened with the ousting of executive director Charles Lester in a strong advocate for coastal protection Scrutiny of the commission has accelerated in the Newsom administration as the governor has publicly chided the agency for its broad powers After the Los Angeles fires he swiftly moved to suspend all of its authority over rebuilding efforts in the Pacific Palisades which abut the coastline Last year the commission rejected billionaire Elon Musk s proposal to increase the number of SpaceX rocket launches off the Santa Barbara coast while criticizing his backing of President Donald Trump Newsom disclosed he was with Elon after the company filed a lawsuit claiming political discrimination The affair is still pending Lee the newest commissioner hails from Los Angeles and has built a reputation as a prolific builder known for revitalizing Koreatown Her real estate company Jamison properties has built multifamily units and is one of the largest private landowners in Los Angeles according to its website Lee did not return emails and phone calls seeking comment from CalMatters The new appointments have made various pro-housing advocates hopeful We now have three out of voting members who are appointed to the commission in this period when various legislators and the governor want adjustment at the commission to design more affordable housing noted Louis Mirante a lobbyist with the business coalition Bay Area Council That tells me that these members will supposedly move that vision forward Lopez who has emphasized his help for affordable housing on the coast since joining the commission declared the optimism is warranted I think that that excitement is well placed given where we re sitting at right now and given the voice that the speaker and the governor are giving at this issue and wanting to see a remedy to it Lopez explained And I do feel it s the reason I was put here was to have that conversation at the forefront Environmental advocates watch Environmentalists have mostly been quiet about the new appointments Instead they are waiting to see how they vote before raising the alarm While there have been concerns expressed within the environmental movement at this point we have no idea how this commissioner Lee will be noted Jennifer Savage associate director of Surfrider Foundation a coastal protection advocacy group Lee was not an obvious choice for various but Savage is optimistic that she ll advocacy coastal protection It s truly not that surprising that the governor would appoint someone with housing expertise given the political context she continued A longtime local water authority official and current administrator at San Diego State University Preciado reported part of his pitch for the role to Democratic leaders was that he yearned to see more of the coast developed to help create jobs and homes for working-class families We have a keen interest in growing the California coast in such a way where underrepresented communities that live on the coast have more access Preciado explained of himself and Lopez Wealthy coastal residents have long sparred with the commission over violations for blocking constituents access such as Silicon Valley billionaire Vinod Khosla who has been entangled in a slew of legal fights with regulators and coastal groups for years over access to Martins Beach near Half Moon Bay An empty road leading to Martins Beach near Half Moon Bay on Aug Photo by Karl Mondon Bay Area News Group Various commissioners and staff view protecting masses access and conservation as their primary purpose rather than housing protocol Conservationism is out of style even among Democrats which has led sponsorship for the commission to dramatically shift in newest years according to legislative director Sarah Christie To chosen commissioners lawmakers push to rip away more and more of its housing authority is a misguided attempt to simplify a complex issue They point out that about of coastal cities and counties have their own coastal laws and are not subject to the commission It s creating a lot of chaos and dysfunction at the local level and is making it harder Christie announced of the movement toward slashing housing regulations In the Legislature s enthusiasm and zeal in order to effectuate housing more fleetly they re kind of stepping on themselves Jackson a commissioner who represents the South Bay revealed lawmakers need to focus more on affordable housing rather than increasing supply more broadly Special environmental considerations and its highly sought after nature are what make the coastal zone uniquely expensive Preciado stated I think that a broader view a more objective view is that emerging on the coast is different than progressing in urban areas