California's Coastal Program: Larger-than-Local Interests Built into Local Plans

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Abstract
Now twelve years old, the independent California Coastal Commission has developed effective, binding partnerships (in the form of certified local coastal programs) with many of the sixty-seven city and county governments along the state's 1,100-mile coastline. During that time, it has survived several hundred bills introduced in the state legislature to kill or cripple California's coastal program, has engaged in a pitched battle with the U.S. Department of the Interior over the federal offshore oil leasing program, and has scored planning successes in providing public access to the shoreline and creating transfer-of-development-credit programs in Big Sur and the Santa Monica Mountains. Two aspects of California's coastal program have proved to be critical: the nurturing of state/local relationships and the establishment of an independent coastal conservancy agency. Despite its successes, however, long-term questions remain about the ability of even a vigorous state/local regulatory program to protect the state's wetlands, shoreline, and scenic vistas.

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