Venice Beach Plan Would Avoid Coastal Commission Controls

The California Coastal Commission (CCC), empowered by the California Coastal Act of 1976, has permitting power over all forms of development, and even parking, along the Pacific coast in California. Many communities along the coast, however, have opted out of CCC jurisdiction by producing a local coastal program, which, when certified by the CCC, removes the state authority from the approval process.

Although it came close to passing a local coastal program over a decade ago, Venice has not approved such a program, and as a result developers and residents are subject to two notoriously byzantine approval processes.

As reported by Martha Groves, the neighborhood’s new City Council representative, Mike Bonin, has set the program as a priority, and is seeking funding to move ahead in developing the program. More than that, the CCC would love to get Venice off its hands: “It's a long time coming…The city should take that responsibility on. The commission should not be in the permitting business,” says said Jack Ainsworth, Coastal Commission senior deputy director.