Letter from our Legal Counsel and the California Coastal Commission Perspective
Letter from our Legal Counsel
Our legal team has sent a letter to Director Gustavo Velasquez of the California Department of Housing & Community Development.
Some key concerns included in the letter are that:
The Project Requests an Incentive for Purely Non-Residential Uses That Do Not Result in Identifiable Cost Reductions to Provide for Affordable Housing
The Project Utilizes An Incorrect Base Density That Must Be Corrected
Authorization of this Project’s Requested Incentives and Waivers Would Undermine the Intent of the State Density Bonus Law
In conclusion they state that we request that HCD clarify that the Proposed Project does not comply with the State Density Bonus Law, and require the Applicant to revise its application to conform with State and Municipal laws.
The California Coastal Commission Perspective
Many of us are confused by the proposal of a 238' building in the coastal zone. How could this happen? How could this ridiculous height abuse occur? Why would a developer even think this could be a possibility? Thanks to one of our coalition members, we have a description of a conversation with the Coastal Commission representative for our area.
Coalition Member
Hi, There is a big project planned for Pacific Beach that is causing a lot of distress. Are you already aware of this issue? Everyone says that of course they cannot build it that big because it is on the West side of Highway 5, so it must be under the 30 rule of the CCC (that's you guys). Well, I did the research on your website, and you can see from the attached picture that there appears to be a sliver of land that is NOT covered by CCC. So between that and some new state laws, they want to build a 238 foot building on Turquoise Street! That sounds crazy, but it appears that it is going to happen, no matter what any government office says. The Mayor is powerless. When I tell people that it is outside of the CCC control, nobody believes me. But the map shows something different. My question is, how did this ever happen? Why were the lines drawn in this fashion? Is there anything you can do to help our community? As bad as this building will be for Pacific Beach, people turn white when I tell them this is only the FIRST ONE. Miami Beach is coming to San Diego. Thanks for your time, and let's draw some new lines before things get out of control!
Response from CCC:
As the coastal planner assigned to Pacific Beach, I was forwarded your inquiry. There are few misunderstandings/misconceptions regarding the Coastal Act and coastal zone that I am often approached about, so I will try to clarify a few things. The Coastal Act was passed in the 1970s, which created the Coastal Zone along California’s coast from Mexico all the way up to Oregon and (to put it *very* simply) basically said that all development in the Coastal Zone requires a Coastal Development Permit (CDP), the purpose of which is to ensure that development in the Coastal Zone conforms to the policies of Chapter 3 of the Coastal Act about protecting public access to the coast, sensitive habitat, etc. https://www.coastal.ca.gov/laws/ The Coastal Zone was thus mapped out in the 1970s and has not changed since, and *that* is the boundary you are seeing, and *that* is the area which this proposed tower is outside of.
The Coastal Act also allows local governments, such as the City of San Diego, to draft a “Local Coastal Program” (LCP), which consists of a Land Use Plan (usually a community plan) and Implementation Plan (development regulations such as the Land Development Code), and then apply to the Coastal Commission to have the jurisdiction to process and issue CDPs transferred from the Coastal Commission to the local government. The City did this back in October 1988. Since then, the City of San Diego has handled CDPs for the majority of its coastal zone (the Commission still has CDP jurisdiction in parts of Mission Beach, Ocean Beach, Mission Bay Park, and pockets elsewhere).
With this regulatory context being explained, I will now explain that many people think that the 30-ft. Coastal Height Limit is a Coastal Commission regulation. It is not. The 30-ft. Coastal Height Limit was passed as Proposition D by the voters of San Diego in the 1970s (and thus is a local City of San Diego regulation), separate from and unrelated to the passage of the Coastal Act in the 1970s (which is a state regulation). Prop D placed a 30-ft. height limit on the majority of the city west of the I-5, an area that overlapped substantially with, but was larger than, the state-mapped Coastal Zone. To identify the area where this City 30-ft. height limit applied, the City created a Coastal Height Overlay Zone, which is separate from the state Coastal Zone (that is why there are two different map boundaries). Because of the name, people think we were the ones who created it. We were not. In short, the Coastal Act and its related permitting requirements and development requirements (including the City’s LCP), apply only in the Coastal Zone.
It is important to note that the 30-ft. height limit is part of the City’s LCP, so if this tower was south of Turquoise, it would need to get a CDP, which would need to conform to the LCP, which would include the 30-ft. height limit. However, it would be the City, not the Coastal Commission, who would be handling the CDP in that case. But again, this tower is outside of the Coastal Zone and its CDP requirements. Thus, for the reasons explained above, the tower is outside of the Coastal Zone, and thus outside of the oversight of the Coastal Commission and the Coastal Act, and by extension outside of the City’s LCP. However, because the LCP includes the Land Development Code, which applies city-wide, that does not mean the laws of the Land Development Code do not apply; it just means you would not pursue your perceived violations of the Land Development Code through the Coastal Commission or the CDP process.
Let me know if you have any questions regarding the above.
Alexander Llerandi
Coastal Program Analyst California Coastal Commission
San Diego District 7575 Metropolitan Dr #103
San Diego, CA 92108
(619) 767-2370