See also: Local Coastal Program: “Because the public is super-confused.“

Arcata’s Local Coastal Program Update
Environmental Scoping Meeting
California Coastal Commission Presentation

On December 18, 2023, the Community Development Department hosted a public workshop to learn about, discuss, and contribute comments to Arcata’s Local Coastal Program update. The workshop was held on a Monday from 4:30 – 6:00 PM, which is not an especially good time for regular working folks to be able to attend. The workshop was not recorded by the City and was not made available as a video.

In attendance that afternoon were about nine City and State staff members and about twelve citizen participants.

There were many interesting discussions between staff members and the public about the Local Coastal Plan contents and process. One of the public participants told Staff: “You don’t need to work with me, you just need to clarify to the public — because the public is super-confused.” More of this conversation is here on Arcata1.com.

Comments  on Arcata’s Local Coastal Program Update can be sent by e-mail to David Loya <[email protected]> with a CC  to Kiko Barr <[email protected]> by the end of the day on Friday, January 5th.

Below is the presentation, in text and slides, from Amber Leavitt — Coastal Resiliency Supervisor, North Coast District, California Coastal Commission.

The staff of the Community Development Department will be assembling the comments left by the workshop participants. When this is available, it will be included here as an article on Arcata1.com.

From the City of Arcata’s website Local Coastal Program Update page:

The City of Arcata is finalizing our comprehensive update to the Local Coastal Program and conducting environmental impact studies necessary for the Coastal Commission’s environmental review. We would like to invite the public to a workshop to provide input on which special studies should be included as part of the environmental review. The event will be on Monday, December 18, from 4:30 – 6pm in the City Council Chambers at City Hall (736 F St., Arcata). 

We will also be accepting written comments on which special studies should be included. These should be emailed to David Loya <[email protected]> cc Kiko Barr <[email protected]> by the end of the day on Friday, January 5th.

Stay tuned — we are planning a workshop in Spring 2024 to solicit feedback on the draft Local Coastal Element. Subscribe to the City’s Long-Range Planning Notify Me listserv to receive updates about this upcoming event.

.

The Presentation

by Amber Leavitt — Coastal Resiliency Supervisor, North Coast District, California Coastal Commission
December 18, 2023

[Note: Some of the images of the slides here have been modified from the originals — to allow you to read some of the smaller print. The full original slides are below.]

Good evening, everyone. My name is Amber Leavitt and I’m the Coastal Resiliency Supervisor for the North Coast District office of the California Coastal Commission. I’m going to give a brief overview of what the Coastal Commission, Coastal Act, and Local Coastal Programs (or LCPs) are, the topics areas generally covered by the Coastal Act and LCPs , and a bit about the process for certifying an update to an LCP.  

Slide 2To start, for those that may not be super familiar with us, the California Coastal Commission is an independent, quasi-judicial state agency responsible for regulating development in the Coastal Zone which runs the length of California, encompassing both land and water areas, anywhere from a few blocks to 5 miles inland of the shoreline and about three nautical miles out to sea (the outer limit of state waters). Our mission is to protect and enhance California’s coast and ocean for present and future generations.  

Slide 3

The Coastal Act provides a unique partnership with our 76 local coastal jurisdictions. • Each local government can assume regulatory authority over most of their jurisdiction (with a few exceptions where the Commission retains authority) if they develop a Local Coastal Program, or LCP, consistent with the Coastal Act. The Commission reviews these LCPs, and any amendments to the LCPs, for consistency through a formal certification process. Once the local government has a certified LCP – they take the lead in regulating coastal development within their jurisdiction. • If there is no certified LCP, then the Commission undertakes coastal permitting until an LCP is effectively certified. • Once the local government undertakes permit review, it is responsible for various reporting and noticing requirements to the Commission and the Commission has certain oversight responsibilities (including potential processing of permit appeals).  

Slide 4

The primary difference between the traditional General Plan/Zoning Code and an LCP is that EVERYTHING within the LCP is guided by, and builds off of, the Coastal Act. • Jurisdictions in the Coastal Zone must repackage the relevant documents from their General Plan and Zoning Code into Land Use Plan (LUP) and Implementation Plan (IP) components that are submitted to the Coastal Commission for certification. The standards of review for the LUP and IP are shown here. The Land Use Plan must be consistent with the Chapter 3 policies of the Coastal Act, and the Implementation Plan must be consistent with the certified LUP (which has been developed consistent with the Coastal Act). • There is overlap between the substantive topics of General Plans and the Coastal Act (such as open space, recreation, and scenic resources). But where Coastal Act requirements overlap with other general planning requirements, the Coastal Act generally refines and supplements how the land use topic should be addressed in the Coastal Zone. In other cases, the General Plan and Coastal Act provisions may not overlap (for example, there is no equivalent of the Noise Element required by the Coastal Act). In addition, the Coastal Act addresses new issues that are not addressed under the general planning laws of the state (such as shoreline development and coastal dependent uses). The next few slides will provide more details on typical topic areas and content included in LCPs.

Slide 5

As was mentioned in the last slide, Chapter 3 of the Coastal Act is the standard of review for LUPs. So what is in Chapter 3 of the Coastal Act? Chapter 3 includes policies that address the four general categories shown here- coastal resource protection, priority land use planning, hazards planning, and planning for new development- and all of these topics need to be integrated into LCPs as appropriate to local circumstances.  

Slide 6It’s important to note that there is no definition of coastal resources in the Coastal Act. This slide shows one interpretation. The intent, here, is just to give you a sense of how extensive coastal resources are and how much needs to be considered by an LCP. I’ll pause here for a moment so you can read some of these examples.  

Slide 7

So, as I mentioned, LCPs are divided into two components

the Land Use Plan and the Implementation Plan. LUPs generally include the components shown here. Land Use Planning includes anything that addresses the kinds, location, density & intensity of use of land and water in the Coastal Zone. This generally includes maps, land use designations, and land use policies.  

Coastal Resource Protection covers any local policies that address the types of use or level of protection of coastal resources in the Coastal Zone, such as policies that address preservation, protection, maintenance, enhancement or restoration of resources. Planning for new development covers any number of topics or issues that relate to the siting, design, evaluation, processing, or approval of development. Particularly, policies related to hazards planning, or capacity planning such as the availability of public works facilities or resources, or planning for new development in light of any constraints.  

Slide 8

Closer views of this slide:

LUPs are often grouped into chapters themed after the topics covered in Chapter 3 of the Coastal Act. The list shown here isn’t comprehensive, but these are common topics in an LUP. Not ALL topics are applicable in EVERY jurisdiction (for example, agriculture may not be relevant in urban areas).  

Slide 9

Implementation Plans generally include the components shown here. The Zoning Ordinance is comprised of the local written regulations that define how property in specific geographic zones can be used, including provisions that may regulate lot size, structure placement, bulk (or density), and/or the height of structures among other factors. The zoning ordinance identifies the “allowed uses” in each zone, which may be identified as permitted, principal permitted, or conditional uses of land. The Zoning Code is also the place where we find permit procedures for new development. The Zoning Map delineates the zone districts for every parcel in the local jurisdiction. The zones on the map link back to the corresponding zone district regulations in the zoning code. Implementing actions may include any number of other ordinances, regulations, procedures, local programs, or guidelines (other than the zoning ordinance) that serve to implement the LUP. For example, Development Agreements, Specific Plans, or Architectural Guidelines.  

Slide 10

Closer views of this slide:

Again, this is not a comprehensive list, but these are some common topics in an Implementation Plan. Every IP is different, but we will often see IPs grouped into chapters that discuss the administrative procedures, the zoning regulations for each zoning district, then the more topical regulations that apply to multiple zoning districts or the entire jurisdiction like non-conforming uses, hazard setbacks, and habitat buffers.  

Slide 11

When a local government wants to make a change to its certified LCP, it must formally “amend” its LCP through a specific Coastal Commission process. When Commission staff receive an LCP amendment application, we review the submittal to confirm it is consistent with Coastal Act requirements and whether it “contains materials sufficient for a thorough and complete review”. The filing review is a discretionary interpretation with no specific complete checklist. However, the Commission’s Regulations (Sections 13551-13553) describe the general requirements of an LCP amendment application. These general types of required information are shown here on the slide. Among the information requirements, the submittal must include various required consistency analyses and any necessary supporting background documents that were relied upon by the local decision- makers in their action or by the planning staff in developing the amendment, including technical studies, such as biological reports, traffic studies, hazard vulnerability reports, and alternatives analyses for portions of the project that may have adverse impacts on coastal resources. As necessary, Commission staff may request additional information or materials during the application review process for any clarifications, information, documents, diagrams, etc. needed to analyze the amendment. Once all information necessary to determine that the amendment is “in proper order and legally adequate” to comply with Commission requirements, then the amendment is considered “complete” and “deemed submitted” and the certification process continues from there.  

Slide 12

That concludes our presentation. We hope this helps provide some more clarity as to the scope of topics and issues that may be covered by an LCP and the types of background information and supporting documentation needed for an LCP amendment. We have a lot more information on our website about the Coastal Act and LCPs, but I just include one link here to our webpage about the LCP amendment process. I’ve also included links to where you can sign up for our email lists and where you can find the contact information for Commission staff. Feel free to reach out to us if anyone has any questions.

Thank you.

The slides of the presentation, a PDF viewer.
You can use the + and – key to enlarge and decrease the magnification of the image.
If there is some small print, use the + key to enlarge, and then used the horizontal and vertical slide bars to zoom in on what you want to read.