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California
Coastal Commission Found Unconstitutional
Marine Forest Society v. California Coastal Comm., No. 00AS00567
(Sacramento Super. Ct. 2001).
Craig Pake, 3L
In April, a Sacramento Superior Court judge ruled that the California
Coastal Commission is unconstitutional because it violates the
California State Constitution's separation of powers doctrine.
Even though the Commission is part of the executive branch,
two-thirds of its members are appointed by the State Legislature,
giving the Legislature the power to appoint and dismiss Coastal
Commission members at will.
The Coastal Commission was set up in 1972 to be an appeals board
for local coastal commissions, which were to be set up statewide.
It was intended that each local coastal commission would establish
a general development plan for their coastal zone and guidelines
on how each area would be managed. Their duties would include
granting permits for construction, planning environmentally
sound development, and protecting the California coastal areas
from misuse and destruction. However, many areas, including
Los Angeles and Malibu, have not completed local programs. This
has resulted in the Coastal Commission becoming a surrogate
local planning agency and instead of acting as an appeal board
for local disputes, the Commission now must manage over 100,000
permits statewide.
In a recent case, the Coastal Commission denied a permit to
the Marine Forests Society for the continued construction of
an experimental artificial reef off the coast of Newport Beach.
After the denial, the Commission tried to force the Marine Forests
Society to remove the half-built reef from the ocean floor.
The group filed a lawsuit in the Sacramento Superior Court,
arguing that the California Coastal Commission usurps local
government control because the Commission is not answerable
to the voters of California. Ronald Zumbrun, attorney for the
Marine Forests Society said the lawsuit does not seek to eliminate
the Coastal Commission, but rather force the Commission to restructure
itself to comply with the constitutional principle of checks
and balances.
California could restructure the Commission under the power
of the executive branch to comply with the California State
Constitution separation of powers doctrine, or the State Legislature
could put an initiative on the ballot to change the State Constitution
separation of powers doctrine. The citizens of California could
also force an initiative to change the state Constitution, which
would leave the Commission in place. The California Coastal
Commission plans to appeal this case within the year. Water
Log will monitor the appeal and report any new developments
in a future issue.
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