| Tweet |
Custom Search
|
|
|
||
 City of Solana Beach
Section 2
Shoreline and Coastal Bluff Management Strategies Draft MEIR
Project Description
continued wave action, therefore allowing the landward boundary of the beach to occur naturally
as well. For instance (see Figures 2-1 through 2-7), this policy would establish setback lines,
including a "no new development" setback line that would be the estimated bluff retreat line in
50 years, plus a margin of error. A second setback line would be the estimated bluff retreat line
in 100 years, plus a margin of error. No new development, including additions to existing
structures, would be allowed beyond these setback lines during the 50- and 100-year periods.
This alternative would require the purchase of the land and/or properties seaward of the
planned retreat lines through purchase or eminent domain over a 50- and 100-year period,
respectively, as the property became increasingly dangerous to inhabit. Funding for the
acquisition of the properties could come from multiple sources including, but not limited to, city,
state, federal, and private sources.
2.4.1.1 Legal Background of Implementation of the Planned Retreat Alternative
In order to allow City decisionmakers and the public to properly evaluate the feasibility of the
Planned Retreat Alternative, a summary of the existing legal framework regarding coastal
development is provided below. Issues that arise in examining this alternative include the City's
ability to implement such an alternative by itself in light of existing state law, and whether or not
implementation of such a policy would result in a taking of private property requiring just
compensation.
A.
Limits on the City's Authority to Implement the Planned Retreat Alternative in the
Absence of Changes to State Law
While the City has authority to amend those provisions of its General Plan and Municipal Code
that address the construction of shoreline protection devices, the practical effect of any such
changes must be assessed in light of how they would relate to provisions of the California
Coastal Act (Pub. Resources Code, 30000 et seq.) addressing the same subject matter.
Absent changes in state law, the City, by itself, cannot implement the Planned Retreat
Alternative. Public Resources Code 30235 allows a property owner, upon a proper showing,
to obtain a permit for a shoreline protection device directly from the California Coastal
Commission. Thus, even if the City repealed or modified its existing local scheme in favor of
one that intended to implement a "planned retreat" strategy, state law as currently written would
not permit the California Coastal Commission to cooperate in such an effort, and in fact would
require the California Coastal Commission to continue to approve structures inconsistent with a
local "planned retreat" policy.
Enacted in 1976, the California Coastal Act established state policies for public access,
recreation, the marine environment, land resources and development within the Coastal Zone.
The Coastal Act was enacted by the Legislature "as a comprehensive scheme to govern land
use planning for the entire coastal zone of California. . . . `[T]he basic goals of the state for the
coastal zone' are to: `Protect, maintain, and, where feasible, enhance and restore the overall
quality of the coastal zone environment and its natural and manmade resources.'" (Yost v.
Project No. 323530000
Page 2-30
|
 
|
|
|
||
