Panel kills Coastal Commission bill By Dave Downey North County Times April 8, 2008 Legislation that would have scaled back the California Coastal Commission's power to appeal decisions by cities and counties to issue coastal development permits was killed in the state Senate Tuesday. The Natural Resources and Water Committee voted 5-3 to stop the bill, introduced by Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny, D-San Diego. Senate Bill 1295 was written to address complaints by local officials, including some sitting on North County city councils, that the commission routinely delays or kills projects they spend many months reviewing prior to approving. The original version would have eliminated the procedure that allows the agency to appeal a coastal city or county development decision if two commissioners agree. The senator softened the language last week to preserve the appeal procedure, while adding a requirement to provide comments on projects upfront. "The amended version was much less troubling, but still unworkable," said Peter Douglas, commission executive director, saying it would have overwhelmed an overworked staff. In the end, Douglas said, committee members wanted to maintain a balance between local governments' right to make decisions against the commission's oversight role for coastal development. Under state law, the commission is charged with ensuring projects don't block public access to the beach or harm the ocean environment. Steve Aceti, executive director for the Encinitas-based California Coastal Coaltion, which represents 35 cities, five counties and several regional planning agencies, said the bill, with some work, could have improved the appeals process and the sometimes acrimonious relationship between cities and the commission. "I think by not passing SB 1295, the Legislature missed an opportunity to do something that would have benefited both the Coastal Commission and coastal cities and counties," Aceti said. "But no one was willing to compromise." The coalition was neutral on the bill because its members were divided. Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (760) 745-6611, Ext. 2623, or ddowney@nctimes.com Copyright 1999-2008, California Coastal Coalition Phone: (760) 944-3564