GRANT RECIPIENT: California Coastal Zone Conservation Commission 1540 Market St., San Francisco CA 94102. (415) 557-1001. OTHER MAJOR PARTICIPATING AGENCIES: Delta Advisory Planning Council; Dept. of Navigation & Ocean Development; Dept. of Fish & Game; Dept. of Parks & Recreation; San Francisco Bay Conservation & Development Commission. Total Plan Development Allocation (through June 1976): $4,241,946 AUTHORITY: Prior to the passage of the California Coastal Zone Conservation Act of 1972 (Proposition 20), and with the exception of the San Francisco Bay Conservation & Development Commission, California's de facto coastal management system consisted of a network of federal, state, and local laws and ordinances and judicial and administrative decisions. State interest and concern for the coastal zone did, however, predate the 1972 election. A 1931 State Assembly report on seacoast conservation declared a need for proper management of the coastline and called for the creation of a state agency to supervise and control activities affecting the seacoast. In 1963, California contracted with the Institute of Marine Resources for a study that culminated in 1965 in a report, "California and Use of the Ocean." In late 1964, a governor's Advisory Commission on Ocean Resources ("GACOR-I") was created. In early 1967, GACOR-II was asked to advise Gov. Ronald Regan on matters relating to ocean resources. A common conclusion reached by both GACOR-I and GACOR-II was a recommendation for the development of a comprehensive plan for the California coast. In September 1967, the Marine Resources Conservation & Development Act was passed requiring that the governor develop a California Comprehensive Ocean Area Plan (COAP). The act also established the Californaia Advisory Commission on Marine Coastal Resources (CMC) and the Interagency Council on Ocean Resources (ICOR). In 1968-69, funds were budgeted for staff to produce the COAP under the direction of ICOR. In 1970, the COAP project was assigned to the Dept. of Navigation & Ocean Development. In November 1972, Proposition 20 was approved. Coastal management jurisdiction falls under two entities: the California Coastal Zone Conservation Commission and six Regional Commissions have jurisdiction over all of the coastal zone except for San Francisco Bay and Delta; and the San Francisco Bay Conservation & Development Commission has jurisdiction over San Francisco Bay and adjoining San Pablo and Suisan The San Francisco Bay Conservation & Development Commission (BCDC) is the most advanced, having been established in 1965 as a temporary agency to prepare a plan for San Francisco Bay. Because BCDC already is carrying out a coastal management program based on an adopted plan, no federal assistance for coastal zone planning under Section 305 of the Coastal Zone Management Act was being requested for this agency. However, a request is being made for federal funds under Section 306 of the Coastal Zone Management Act to assist in carrying out the BCDC management program. Proposition 20, the California Coastal Zone Conservation Act of 1972 required one state and six regional coastal zone conservation commissions to prepare, after public hearings and in full consultation with all affected governmental agencies, the California Coastal Zone Conservation Plan for the long-range conservation and use of California's coastal resources. The final responsibility for its implementation rests with the state Legislature, which in July 1976, as this report went to press, approved legislation aimed at accomplishing the major policy recommendations of the coastal plan. While the Coastal Plan was being prepared, the commissions exercised interim permit controls over virtually every type of activity that constituted a new commitment of or had a significant impact on coastal zone resources. These interim permit controls applied in a geographic area extending from 3 miles at sea to 1,000 yards inland from the mean high tide line. On April 1, 1974, the first federal Section 305 program development grant was awarded under the Coastal Zone Management Act. The state will submit a draft of its application for Section 306 funding late in 1976. PRIORITY ISSUES: California identifies the following major problems related to its coastal area: land use; transportation; preservation and management of scenic and natural resources; public access; recreation; public services and facilities; ocean mineral and living resources; population; educational and scientific use of the coastal zone; and government powers and policies that will be necessary to carry out the evolving California Coastal Program after it is adopted by the state Legislature. OBJECTIVES OF COASTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM: California's coastal management objectives are as follows: *To protect coastal property and wildlife, ocean resources, and the natural evnironment. *To preserve the ecological balance necessary to prevent further deterioration and destruction of valuable coastal resources. *To restore, maintain and if possible to enhance the overall quality of the coastal zone environment. *To ensure the continued existence of optimum populations of all species of living organisms. *To achieve the orderly and balanced utilization of resource consistent with long-term conservation principles. To avoid irreversible or irretrievable commitments of coastal resources. CURRENT STATUS: to Proposition 20 and in accordance with the federal Coastal Zone Management Act, is under review by the federal government. In a separate application, approval is being requested for funds to be allocated to the San Francisco Bay Conservation & Development Commission to implement the coastal management program for the bay area. Operating under its third Section 305 coastal program planning grant, California is helping to prepare local implementation programs as well as subregional plans for areas where cumulative impact over time could adversely affect coastal resources and public access. Meanwhile, at the state level, legislation that would establish authorities to carry out the plan was being considered (and, as this report was published, the legislature approved the California Coastal Conservation Act of 1976). Some of the plan's 162 policy recommendations would be enacted immediately by the legislation; others will receive further study. The following status report doesn't take into account the provisions of the July 1976 law. OCS oil and gas development study With funds allocated as part of the basic planning grant, the state is expediting its planning program to deal with potential onshore impacts of oil and gas production off the southern California coast. An OCS task force is analyzing the onshore facilities required to develop, process and distribute California OCS oil and gas; investigating the social, economic and environmental impacts of such development; and formulating strategies to minimize adverse effects of these and related activities. Boundary identification California's coastal plan states that "Coastal Zone means the land and water area of the State of California from the border of the State of Oregon to the border of the Republic of Mexico, extending seaward to the outer limit of the State jurisdiction including all islands within the jurisdiction of the State, and extending inland to the highest elevation of the nearest coastal mountain range, except that in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego Counties, the inland boundary of the coastal zone shall be the highest elevation of the nearest coastal mountain range or five miles from the mean high tide line, whichever is the shorter distance". Included within the boundaries is a permit area which encompasses "that portion of the coastal zone lying between the seaward limit of the jurisdiction of the state and 1,000 yards landward from the mean high tide line of the sea," excluding certain urban land areas and "the area of jurisdiction of the San Francisco Bay Conservation & Development Commission, together with all continuous areas 2,900 feet landward thereof, and any river, stream, tributary, creek, or flood control or drainage channel which flows into such area." Definition of permissible land and water uses California's coastal management plan proposes restrictive controls over the dredging and filling of coastal wetlands, protection of areas of unusual natural or historic value and regulation of activities that involve substantial environmental risk or the loss of productive agri For purposes of determining the regulatory system covering land and water uses, California prepared basic goals and specific policies for various categorical elements: marine environment (covering resources management and water quality control); coastal land environment (covering coastal streams and watersheds, natural habitat areas, agriculture, forestry, soil and mineral resources and air quality); coastal appearance and design; coastal development (encompassing urban areas, special communities and hazardous areas); energy (including energy conservation, alternative energy sources and energy facility siting and design); transportation (land, air and water); public access; recreation; educational and scientific use; restoration of coastal resources; and public acquisition of coastal land. Identification of geographic areas of particular concern While local implementation plans are prepared to meet the requirements of the coastal plan, specific plans will be prepared for sensitive coastal resource areas where the impact of a development on the resource would be immediate and direct. Such areas include wetlands, highly scenic areas, lands appropriate for public recreation and the immediate shoreline area. Such designations would be made in consultation with the local government. The plan cites numerous areas that are proposed for immediate acquisition by the state. Public and governmental involvement Development of California's coastal plan has been one of the most well-publicized and documented processes of planning and coordination with local, state, federal, public and private interests remains a key component of the state's program. The coastal plan recommends that local governments have the major responsibilities for the coast and that they, the city and county government, are the most accessible and accountable to their constitutents. The state maintains a mailing list of over 10,000 names and there has been a plethora of public meetings of local and state-wide scope as each element of the coastal plan was developed by the regional commissions and as the regional findings were synthesized into a state policy and program. A subregional planning function just getting underway in seven areas and the pilot local coastal programs will yield insights into the local-regional-state integrated planning process. The state also is deliberating how best to assure state and regional commission coordination, so as not to inadvertently give participating local governments two different interpretations of coastal plan policies. State-federal interaction and consideration of the national interest in facility siting Upon approval of its management program, the Coastal Zone Conservation Commission would interact with the federal government, for purposes of consistency and national interest requirements, as follows. The commission will monitor all federal activities that may affect the coastal area and review federal development undertaken in the area. This monitoring will take place through existing procedures |