The California Coastal Act, co-authored by Douglas, is celebrating a milestone 50 years since it was signed into law in 1976. It is hailed as the blueprint for shaping the future and identity of California\u2019s 1,200-mile coastline, the third largest in the United States.<\/p>\n
During those first five decades, the Coastal Act and the California Coastal Commission \u2014 formed to navigate the line in the sand between overdevelopment and public access and maintaining natural landscapes \u2014 have largely kept massive high rises off the shoreline, negotiated large-scale projects to include public access and, in some cases, turned down proposals that would compromise sensitive habitats or public recreation.<\/p>\n
\u201dWe have this powerful law and we find ways to improve and protect our resources, which includes views, access, a beautiful restorative place people can enjoy,\u201d Coastal Commission Executive Director Kate Huckelbridge said. \u201cI think that one of the most beautiful gifts we\u2019ve given to the state is the Coastal Act. It has withstood the test of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Environmentalism spawns Prop. 20<\/p>\n
In the late 1960s, high-rise beachfront buildings in Long Beach started popping up, a vibe more like Miami Beach than Southern California, with plans for more. Up north, contamination concerns were swelling in the San Francisco Bay.<\/p>\n
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The Galaxy Towers Condominiums in Long Beach, CA, on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. The 260-foot tall, 20-story building opened in 1967 along Ocean Boulevard in the Bluff Park neighborhood galaxy. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)<\/p>\n
A massive oil spill in Santa Barbara in 1969<\/a> spurred worries about the health of the Pacific Ocean, and more plans for gated communities with private beaches along the coast drew concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cLarge swaths of property, especially coastal properties, were being bought up by private developers \u2014 proposals that would result in closing off large sections of coast to the public,\u201d said Huckelbridge. \u201cI think the public, who was used to having access to its land, started to see this as a threat to enjoying their own coastline.\u201d<\/p>\n Environmentalists were successful in getting the McAteer-Petris Act passed to try to protect the San Francisco Bay from contaminants. But creating similar statewide legislation was proving no easy task.<\/p>\n \u201cThey said, \u2018Let\u2019s parlay this into statewide, let\u2019s protect the whole coast,\u2019\u201d Sarah Christie, legislative director for the commission, said. \u201cThat bill got defeated every year in the legislative process. The opponents were very well funded and connected politically.\u201d<\/p>\n So advocates went to the public<\/a>, creating Prop. 20 for the voters decide. Needing a simple majority to pass, it earned a 55% vote of approval.<\/p>\n \u201cI think of Prop. 20 as a David and Goliath story. You have everyday working residents, families in California, who were seeing their access to a clean and healthy coastline being cut off. It sort of galvanized the interest of these ordinary folks and pitted them against corporate interests,\u201d said Huckelbridge. \u201cIt was up and down the coast, and it was really a bunch of dedicated and scrappy activists who really worked tirelessly to make sure that everybody in California knew what was at risk, and make them understand that everybody had skin in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Its passage created a temporary Coastal Commission and regional commissions, requiring all new development within the coastal zone to first gain approvals from those bodies.<\/p>\n \u201cIn order to get a coastal development permit, a project could not fill wetlands, could not harm coastal views, it could not disrupt sensitive habitat, it could not block public access. It could not convert agricultural land,\u201d\u00a0 Christie said. \u201cSo it set a pretty high bar for creating new development in the coastal zone \u2014 but only for four years.\u201d<\/p>\n During that period \u2014 1972 to 1976 \u2014 the Coastal Commission held a series of public hearings on what should go into a bill to make permanent coastal planning, which Prop 20 said had to be passed by the legislature by the end of 1976.<\/p>\n Opponents of Prop 20 figured that planning requirement would be a \u201cpoison pill,\u201d Christie said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey thought there was no way a brand new state agency would be able to do all of the permit workload and be able to accomplish this gargantuan statewide planning task,\u201d Christie said. \u201cThey thought it would be a flash in the pan, it would be over in four years and they could get back to business as usual.\u201d<\/p>\n Homes at Strands Beach at Salt Creek in Dana Point, CA, on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n Homes at Strands Beach at Salt Creek in Dana Point, CA, on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n Homes at Strands Beach at Salt Creek in Dana Point, CA, on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n Homes at Strands Beach at Salt Creek in Dana Point, CA, on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n Show Caption<\/p>\n 1 of 4<\/p>\n Homes at Strands Beach at Salt Creek in Dana Point, CA, on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n Expand<\/a> But the commission delivered a coastal plan with just enough time for the legislature to translate it into the California Coastal Act of 1976, just as Prop. 20 sunsetted.<\/p>\n The Coastal Act and the Coastal Commission became permanent.<\/p>\n And early permits that were approved were significant, said Huckelbridge, citing a Sea Ranch development in Sonoma County that ended up calling for public access not in the original plan.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was kind of an indicator of how the Coastal Act was going to be implemented in a way that did allow for development, but in a way that was responsible for public access and protected the coastal resources,\u201d she said. \u201cI think there\u2019s examples like that up and down the coastline, where there was development planned that eliminated or impeded access or trampled on coastal resources that were reinvisioned.\u201d<\/p>\n Mel Nutter, a lawyer in Long Beach in the late \u201960s, became one of the first regional commissioners and later, in 1977, one of the first state commissioners.<\/p>\n In his town, two tall buildings had popped up along Ocean Boulevard after Long Beach leaders changed zoning so proposed structures there had to be at least five stories tall.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was one of the reasons people were in favor of Prop 20, they thought it was a pretty bad planning situation,\u201d Nutter, now 86, said. \u201cThe people who lived on 2nd Street figured they would be in a continual shadow with those high-rise structures.\u201d<\/p>\n Nutter and the rest of the Coastal Commission took issue with Long Beach\u2019s plans for beachfront development, requiring the city to get rid of the zoning if it wanted more local control of its coastal planning and development.<\/p>\n Once it was all worked out, Nutter handed Long Beach Mayor Eunice Sato the keys to the city and a \u201cCoastal Bureaucratic Thugs\u201d T-shirt \u2014 a joke after a politician at the time called the commission the insult.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything has a challenge,\u201d Nutter said. \u201cBut there\u2019s an awful lot of things up and down the coast that have been saved, preserved or protected, or didn\u2019t happen, thanks to the commission.\u201d<\/p>\n Tanks sit between the AES Huntington Beach power plant and Huntington Beach Channel in Huntington Beach, CA, on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. The area was slated to become Poseidon Water\u2019s saltwater desalination plant, but California Costal Commissioners voted unanimously against the plan in 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n Tanks sit behind the AES Huntington Beach power plant in Huntington Beach, CA, on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. The area was slated to become Poseidon Water\u2019s saltwater desalination plant, but California Costal Commissioners voted unanimously against the plan in 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n Tanks sit between the AES Huntington Beach power plant and Huntington Beach Channel in Huntington Beach, CA, on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. The area was slated to become Poseidon Water\u2019s saltwater desalination plant, but California Costal Commissioners voted unanimously against the plan in 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n The Brightwater neighborhood near the Bolsa Chica Wetlands in Huntington Beach, CA, on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. The project, on 105 acres of the upper bench portion of the Bolsa Chica mesa, was approved by the California Coastal Commission and the Orange county board of Supervisors and subsequently was annexed to the City of Huntington Beach. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n The Brightwater neighborhood near the Bolsa Chica Wetlands in Huntington Beach, CA, on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. The project, on 105 acres of the upper bench portion of the Bolsa Chica mesa, was approved by the California Coastal Commission and the Orange county board of Supervisors and subsequently was annexed to the City of Huntington Beach. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n The Brightwater neighborhood near the Bolsa Chica Wetlands in Huntington Beach, CA, on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. The project, on 105 acres of the upper bench portion of the Bolsa Chica mesa, was approved by the California Coastal Commission and the Orange county board of Supervisors and subsequently was annexed to the City of Huntington Beach. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n The Brightwater neighborhood near the Bolsa Chica Wetlands in Huntington Beach, CA, on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. The project, on 105 acres of the upper bench portion of the Bolsa Chica mesa, was approved by the California Coastal Commission and the Orange county board of Supervisors and subsequently was annexed to the City of Huntington Beach. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n The Brightwater neighborhood near the Bolsa Chica Wetlands in Huntington Beach, CA, on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. The project, on 105 acres of the upper bench portion of the Bolsa Chica mesa, was approved by the California Coastal Commission and the Orange county board of Supervisors and subsequently was annexed to the City of Huntington Beach. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n Show Caption<\/p>\n 1 of 8<\/p>\n Tanks sit between the AES Huntington Beach power plant and Huntington Beach Channel in Huntington Beach, CA, on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. The area was slated to become Poseidon Water\u2019s saltwater desalination plant, but California Costal Commissioners voted unanimously against the plan in 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n Expand<\/a> Regulating the use of the most valuable land in the state means there will inevitably be controversy, Huckelbridge said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ve been successful in working through that conflict; while there are outliers, the numbers speak for themselves, \u201d she said.<\/p>\n Of projects that go before the commission, 99% are approved, she said; and while they may look different once the process is completed, it\u2019s rare the commission will give a flat-out denial, she added.<\/p>\n The projects that go before the commission can be as small as a private property owner wanting to expand a deck in the coastal zone or large-scale developments that would have massive impacts on the coast. If a city wants to change the rules for short-term rentals or an agency needs to make an emergency fix, the commission weighs in.<\/p>\n Many proposals, especially larger ones, reach compromise, with developers scaling down their project or giving back to the environment as \u201cmitigation\u201d to get the go-ahead to move forward.<\/p>\n The Bolsa Chica wetlands, for example, were created with funds in return for projects approved at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. A widening of the I-5 freeway also required the creation of a pedestrian and bicycle path in San Diego.<\/p>\n Some projects turn out much differently than originally envisioned, such as Crystal Cove State Park, once planned to be a luxury hotel, but today a rustic and beloved set of cottages.<\/p>\n Under then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, there was a deal with the developer of Post Ranch Inn, located in Big Sur, to redevelop what\u2019s now known as the Crystal Cove Historic District into a luxury resort,\u00a0 Christie said.<\/p>\n Douglas, at the commission\u2019s helm at the time, was friends with the developer, but warned: \u201cYou\u2019re never going to get approval, it will not meet the requirements of the Coastal Act.\u201d<\/p>\n The public also rallied against the proposal.<\/p>\n \u201cHe could see the writing on the wall, and he walked away,\u201d Christie said, adding that the state bought the property so the developer didn\u2019t lose financially. \u201cThat cleared the way for the historic preservation.\u201d<\/p>\n What followed is one of the most in-demand State Park \u201ccampgrounds\u201d<\/a> that offered low-cost visitor access to the coast.<\/p>\n But some projects simply have too much impact on the environment to find any kind of compromise, officials said.<\/p>\n Plans for a 241 toll road extension through south Orange County toward the San Diego border was a project that would have had significant negative impacts on the region\u2019s environmental resources, Huckelbridge said.<\/p>\n The \u201cSave Trestles\u201d campaign galvanized surfers, environmentalists and others who protested the plan<\/a>, filling Coastal Commission\u2019s meetings to voice their concerns.<\/p>\n When the project\u2019s coastal development permit came to a vote in 2016, the commission denied the application using the Coastal Act.<\/p>\n Another, more recent commission denial was for a proposed desalination project in Huntington Beach<\/a>.<\/p>\n The commission has approved desalination plants for converting ocean water into drinking water before and after \u2013 the same group had gained approval for one in Carlsbad \u2013 but the system proposed in Huntington Beach, commissioned feared would have had an \u201cenormous adverse impact on marine life, it would suck in ocean water and obliterate all life in every gallon of water taken into the plant,\u201d Huckelbridge said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we know is that there are other ways, and better ways, that have been developed to bring in brackish sea water and create drinking water,\u201d she said. \u201cThe commission denied that project, in part, because of the impacts. It was too big to mitigate; the impact was too large.\u201d<\/p>\n Everyone\u2019s beach<\/p>\n There are few places along the California coastline where the public is shut out \u2013 not necessarily something that can be said in coastal states around the country.<\/p>\n California owns land seaward of the mean high tide line, and the Coastal Act makes sure the public maintains the right to use that area of beach.<\/p>\n The exceptions out there are remnants from the days before the Coastal Act\u2019s inception, including the Emerald Bay development in Laguna Beach, which is why it\u2019s still a gated, private beach today.<\/p>\n Hollister Ranch, a private 14,500-acre gated community up near Santa Barbara, is a 10-mile stretch of coastline where, historically, the only access was a private road \u2013 the development was approved just weeks before the Coastal Act became law.<\/p>\n In 2019, new legislation required a public access plan for Hollister Ranch<\/a>, \u201cso the public can enjoy its own space,\u201d Huckelbridge said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just about giving physical access to a beach, officials said, it is also about who is allowed to enjoy the coast in an equitable way.<\/p>\n A decade ago, the commission took issue with the Maverick\u2019s big wave surf contest in Northern California<\/a>, which wasn\u2019t allowing women to compete. Commissioners denied the contest a permit until women were included, citing the Coastal Act.<\/p>\n In the \u201880s, the private membership Jonathan Club in Santa Monica wanted to expand its footprint. The Coastal Commission granted the necessary permit, but with one condition: open the club to women and minorities.<\/p>\n \u201cThey sued and it went to the Supreme Court, we prevailed,\u201d Huckelbridge said. \u201cThat\u2019s how the Jonathan Club became open to women and people of color.\u201d<\/p>\n In Palos Verdes, a citizen group used the Coastal Act to sue the Lunada Bay Boys<\/a>, local surfers known to harass visitors to prevent outsiders from accessing the waves.<\/p>\n \u201cThe judge found that what they were doing was not only unpermitted development,\u201d Christie said, \u201cbut the activities themselves \u2013 harassment, vandalism, threats \u2013 was in violation of the Coastal Act because it was keeping people off the beach.\u201d<\/p>\n Criticisms of delays and overreach<\/p>\n Cities and counties have now incorporated coastal protections into their local planning so the commission \u2013 once intended to be temporary \u2013 has outlived its usefulness, argues developer Sanford Edward, behind The Strand at Headlands project built two decades ago in Dana Point<\/a>. In his opinion, the commission now holds too much control over what happens along the coast.<\/p>\n Years before he purchased property in Dana Point near the headlands, the city had said it could be developed with 370 homes and a 400-room hotel. When he came in to actually develop the property, he points out, he and the city came up with a plan for a maximum of 125 homes, a smaller hotel and 62 acres of open space, approved by the city in 2002.<\/p>\n But it still took two years for the proposal to get through the Coastal Commission \u2014 the staff was recommending denial.<\/p>\n \u201cThe original mandate was to provide coastal access, and to make sure that beaches remained in the public domain, which was a good and worthy goal,\u201d but instead the Coastal Act created a way for \u201cradical environmental groups to thwart any kind of development on the coast,\u201d Edward argues.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether it is a desal plant that would provide water or someone building a home, the knee-jerk reaction is that they are opposed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Huckelbridge said the commission always tries to work with applicants. And while there is also criticism that it does not work fast enough, it is a small agency with a big territory.<\/p>\n \u201cBut honestly, I think a lot of the criticism comes from the fact that it\u2019s just our role, we\u2019re going to have people who bump up against us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n![\"Homes](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772220607_296_OCR-L-COASTALACT50-0217-JG-16.jpg\"\/)
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\nCoastal Act becomes law<\/p>\n![\"Coastal](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772220608_187_OCR-L-COASTALACT50-20-0217-01.jpg\")
Coastal Commissioner Mel Nutter hands Long Beach Mayor Eunice Sato the keys to the city and a t-shirt that reads \u201cCoastal Bureaucratic Thugs\u201d following the city earning its Local Coastal Program certification. (Photo courtesy of Nutter)<\/p>\n![\"Tanks](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772220609_460_OCR-L-COASTALACT50-0217-JG-11.jpg\"\/)
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\nCoastal planning<\/p>\n![\"Workers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772220613_9_OCR-L-COASTALACT50-20-0217-02.jpg\")
Workers remove bamboo and trash from Lunada Bay, the location where the \u201cBay Boys\u201d would keep outsiders from entering the beach and surf in Palos Verdes, a violation of the Coastal Act. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)<\/p>\n