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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8734 - California Coastal Planf • • • RESOLUTION NO. 8734 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH EXPRESSING ITS OPPOSITION TO SENATE BILL 1579, THE CALIFORNIA COASTAL PLAN WHEREAS, Senate Bill 1579, if enacted, would prescribe goals, objectives and policies in connection with the management of the coastal resources as well as establish a California Coastal Conservation Commission and six regional commissions as the successor in interest to the Commissions established under the California Coastal Zone Conservation Act of 1972 (Proposition 20); and WHEREAS, SB 1579 provides for the preparation of local coastal programs by each city or county lying within the coastal resource management area and would require persons wishing to undertake any development within designated areas to obtain a permit from the regional commission until such time as a local coastal program has been certified and becomes effective; and WHEREAS, the City of Newport Beach is a coastal community encompassing recreational ocean shoreline, a protected recreational harbor, an estuarine area of recreational and environmental significance, as well as residential, industrial and commercial development; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Newport Beach has an intense interest in conserving the natural features of these unique coastal resources within the City's boundaries for present and future generations by regulating land use and development along the ocean and harbor shorelines; and WHEREAS, the California Coastal Plan, as implemented by SB 1579 would establish a permanent and costly new layer of government to control land use and development within the coastal zone; and is • • WHEREAS, the proposed California Coastal Conservation Commission is a non - elected assembly of politically appointed persons who will not be responsive or responsible to the people of the State of California through the electoral process; and WHEREAS, the California Coastal Zone Conservation Commission and the six regional commissions have established a record by their past actions which goes far beyond the original intent and purpose of the California Coastal Zone Conservation Act; and WHEREAS, the provisions of SB 1579 would perpetuate this authority to regulate in areas which have traditionally been better left to local control; and WHEREAS, SB 1579 in many respects is a duplication of existing requirements contained in the State's General Plan laws and Subdivision Map Act in which the conservation of natural resources and the guarantee of public access to the coastal areas as well as the preservation of open space are key elements; and WHEREAS, the existing California Coastal Zone Conservation Commission and the six regional commissions have demonstrated that the time for processing applications for development is unreasonably long and there is no provision in SB 1579 to eliminate some of the bureaucratic red tape and procedures promulgated by the California Coastal Zone Conservation Act; and WHEREAS, it appears that the adoption of SB 1579 will result in net higher real property taxes within the coastal resources management area proposed by said bill; and WHEREAS, SB 1579 would create a single purpose governmental entity charged with protecting only a limited public interest without taking into consideration the overall -2- 0 • i • financial and economic well being of the coastal communities as a whole; and WHEREAS, the attempted waiver of the SB 90 reimburse- ment provisions seems unfair in light of the obvious large local costs which will necessarily be imposed upon the cities and counties within the coastal zone as a result of the passage of SB 1579; and WHEREAS, the adoption of SB 1579 is the first permanent step to the erosion of local government and the ultimate elimination of local government as a land use and development control agency; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Newport Beach hereby expresses its extreme opposition to SB 1579 as an improper attempt to usurp the authority and right of local government to plan and control land use and development within its boundaries. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Clerk will cause this resolution to be circulated to all cities in Orange County. ADOPTED this 22nd day of March ATTEST: City Clerk 0 a? 0 « 1976. DDO /bc 3/22/76 3/23/76