Pushing the CZMA Envelope: California: The First State to Litigate the New Federal Law

As noted often by the former California Coastal Commission Executive Director Peter Douglas, the history of how the California coast was saved is a great repository of untold stories. Although the Commission has had a dramatic and tangible impact on California's coastal geography, the public is largely unaware of many of its early accomplishments. This article begins to chronicle the rich stories of California's coastal legacy by telling the story of how the Commission utilized the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) to prevent Southern Pacific Railroad from developing a seven-mile stretch of the Monterey Bay shoreline. In so doing, the Commission helped make possible the creation of the Monterey Peninsula Recreational Trail, a public bicycle and pedestrian path that has grown to sixteen miles in length and runs through the heart of John Steinbeck's world-famous Cannery Row. The controversy also was the subject of the first judicial challenge of a state's federal authority under the CZMA and precluded private commercial and residential development that would have dramatically altered the urban form of the Monterey Peninsula. It is important to tell the story as the Coastal Commission's role in this remarkable accomplishment has been almost completely overlooked.     

The Coastal Barrier Resources Act: Has It Discouraged Coastal Development?

Despite an effort by Congress to design a market-based public policy to limit development on certain coastal barriers and protect the federal treasury from paying for recovery from expensive natural disasters, growth continued on these shifting sands. In enacting the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, federal policymakers may have overlooked the key role of state and local governments, as well as the role of local developers, landowners, and realtors in shaping development on coastal barriers. By itself, the act will not prevent development. In fact, it appears that development in areas designated under the act will occur if (1) development pressure is strong enough to overcome the disincentives posed by the act, and (2) state and local governments facilitate development. For example, a local government may substitute its own subsidies for those withdrawn by the federal government. Nothing in the act prevents this from occurring. This article examines the key forces affecting development in areas designated under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) and seeks to explain why development has occurred in some designated areas, despite the withdrawal of federal subsidies. Using case studies of selected coastal barriers designated by the act, as well as surveys of state coastal managers and key informants, the research shows that the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, by itself, will not prevent development from occurring in the designated coastal areas.     

A Local Transboundary Approach to the Governance of Mediterranean Coastal Borderlands

Abstract

Coastal borderlands are subjected to particular socioeconomic, political and environmental dynamics in Europe and worldwide. The presence of the international boundary in these areas poses challenges in the process of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). The aim of this paper is to explore the existence, characteristics and the role that local cross-border cooperation plays in transboundary coastal zone management as well as the resulting potentialities of local endogenous development for improving the management and governance of the tourism sector, coastal development, fisheries and marine protected areas in the Albera Marítima (Northwestern Mediterranean). The applied methods included document review, statistical information and semi-structured interviews. The research shows that local agents are not capable of developing a stable cross-border network due to persisting lack of trust, weak joint strategic vision and high competitiveness in sectors like fishery and tourism. Based on particularly interesting initiatives occurred in Albera Marítima and other successful experiences in Mediterranean coastal borderlands, a proposal has been made to implement several measures, including a transboundary integrated coastal plan, the joint observatory of fishery resources and a scientific network platform. For the aforementioned issues, the study contributes to the ICZM literature by providing a new perspective on local transboundary cooperation.     

CZARA of 1990: A Critical Time for Coastal Management

To appreciate the present, sometimes you need to reflect on the past and wonder “what if?” This is one of those times. In recognition of the 40th anniversary of the Coastal Zone Management Act and acknowledgment of the dedication of the program's practitioners, it is important to note that the successful implementation of the Nation's primary coastal law has depended, and will continue to depend, on its legitimacy and institutionalization in the political culture of the country. Today, the national coastal management program, while underfunded and, in recent years, subject to wavering political support, has nevertheless reached a certain level of stability to safeguard the country's coastal resources. It is fitting, therefore, in this special issue of Coastal Management to recall a time when the future of the CZMA was in serious doubt.     

Public access to the shoreline: The Rhode Island example

Abstract

Competition for the use of our nation's shoreline has produced a thorough analysis of means to accommodate the increased demands of the public for access to the shore. The issue of public access in Rhode Island is considered at three levels. First, Rhode Island cases involving common law doctrines, such as the public trust, dedication, and so forth, are examined for their relevance. Second, the effect of the federal government in Rhode Island through the Coastal Zone Management Act and its amendments is studied. Finally, two types of state management programs are considered—a Commission for the Discovery of Rights of Way and the Coastal Resources Management Council.     

Tragedy of the San Francisco bay commons

Abstract

Although the early efforts to save San Francisco Bay in the 1960's provided the role model for protection of California's 1100 mile ocean coastline, neither Proposition 20 of 1972 nor the California Coastal Act of 1976 provided any benefits to San Francisco Bay. One result is that the Bay is locked into its urban, shoreline‐use dominated plan of 1969 while every other estuary and coastal wetland in California receives much stronger protection of its resources. Furthermore, due to the complexity of California's water laws, there is no instream flow protection for receiving waters such as San Francisco Bay. This is particularly critical considering that 70% of the Bay's freshwater inflow has been diverted. The Bay's present decline as the largest and most important estuary on the West Coast, as well as its possible death as an estuary, may be irreversible. The problem requires the immediate attention of engineering, scientific, economic and legal disciplines if San Francisco Bay is to be saved.     

Affordable housing in California's Coastal Zone: A tale of state authority vs. local autonomy

Abstract

This article examines the efforts of the California Coastal Commission to pursue simultaneously goals of environmental quality and affordable housing in the same state‐imposed regulatory program. The authors conclude that the Commission made substantial progress toward realizing both ends. However, the coastal body fell victim to its own successes, and housing was removed from its jurisdiction. As the Coastal Commission exercised its authority, opposition grew in strength and numbers. Key opponents included local government, which lost land‐use regulatory power to the Commission, the building industry, whose relationships with coastal localities were disrupted, and local property owners, whose land was restricted to uses other than the most profitable one.     

Examining Local Coastal Zone Management Capacity in U.S. Pacific Coastal Counties

The coastal zone has critical natural, commercial, recreational, ecological, industrial, and esthetic values for current and future generations. Thus, there are increasing pressures from population growth and coastal land development. Local coastal land use planning plays an important role in implementing the U.S. Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) by establishing goals and performance policies for addressing critical coastal issues. This study extends the CZMA Performance Measurement System from the national level to the local land use level by measuring coastal zone land use plan quality and political context in fifty-three Pacific coastal counties. Plan quality is measured using an evaluation protocol defined by five components and sixty-eight indicators. The results indicate a reasonable correspondence between national goals and local coastal zone land use planning goals, but a slight gap might exist between the national/state versus local levels in the overall effectiveness of coastal zone management (CZM) efforts. The results show many U.S. Pacific coastal counties lack strong coastal zone land use plans because the average plan quality score was only 22.7 out of 50 points. Although these plans set relatively clear goals and objectives, they are somewhat weaker in their factual basis, identify a limited range of the available planning tools and techniques, and establish few coordination and implementation mechanisms. The regression analysis results indicate that CZM plan quality was not significantly related to any of the jurisdictional characteristics.     

Forty Years of the CZMA: Impacts and Innovations

This article addresses federal, state, and local regulatory regimes for controlling commercial advertising in coastal waters. It focuses on a new method of outdoor advertising that utilizes a billboard towed by a tug in coastal waters. Specifically, it explores the extent to which legal action to regulate advertising from floating billboards in U.S. waters could withstand constitutional scrutiny. The issue is examined within the contexts of commercial speech and navigational servitude. Additionally, the article discusses the preservation of viewscapes along the coast and the applicability of the public trust doctrine. Jurisdictional issues are examined along with the role of states' harbor management plans and local ordinances in regulating commerce and providing anchorage limitations. The article argues that regulation of floating billboards must not necessarily be based on aesthetics, but the public trust doctrine. The article concludes that the language of the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) and interpretations of its scope, as well as Supreme Court decisions in favor of aesthetic zoning, support the inclusion of such regulations in states' coastal zone management plans.     

Agricultural land preservation: The case of Carlsbad,California

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to describe a program of agricultural land preservation in Carlsbad, California. This program focuses on agricultural subsidies and has been adopted and certified by the California State Coastal Commission and is scheduled for implementation on January 1, 1982.

This subsidy program is a variation of development rights transfer. Although no property rights are actually transferred, owners of land designated for agricultural use are subsidized by fees imposed on land designated for potential conversion to residential use. The Carlsbad program is placed into context by means of a brief review of similar proposals which attempt to preserve agricultural land in a fair and equitable manner.

The importance of agricultural land preservation is emphasized through discussions of urban development pressure, the significance of agriculture in the Carlsbad coastal zone, and the work of the California State Coastal Commission.     

Evolution of coastal hazards policies in the United States

The ocean and Great Lakes coasts of the United States are experiencing widespread economic and environmental damage from coastal flooding and erosion. During this century, public response to such coastal hazards has evolved haphazardly in response to particular disasters. Over time, however, the range of response has broadened as research has helped to refine public understanding of physical coastal processes, and specific disasters have been studied before longer term forms of institutional response have been formulated. Earlier reliance on engineered shoreline protection has been supplemented by beach nourishment, flood insurance, building and land use regulations, coastal zone planning, and other approaches. This article interprets the evolution of such public policy innovations in terms of a model that depicts the interaction of spatially differentiated systems of physical, legal, and cultural phenomena in the coastal context.     

The California Coastal Act and Ports: The Unintended Environmental Justice Implications of Preserving California's Coastline

Consistent with the policies set forth in the Coastal Zone Management Act, the California Coastal Act seeks to balance the utilization and conservation of coastal resources, taking into account the social and economic needs of the citizens of California. One way the statute pursues this balance is through its provisions for ports. These provisions have functioned as a type of smart growth planning for ports, encouraging densification of existing port districts and possibly averting maritime commercial and industrial sprawl along the California coast. One unintended consequence of the encouraged consolidation of port activities, when combined with the rapid growth in international trade over the last four decades, has been disproportionally large environmental and health impacts on low-income and minority communities surrounding ports. This article examines how the Port of Long Beach's conformance with the California Coastal Act has resulted in ongoing environmental justice concerns. It discusses approaches employed by the Port of Long Beach to reduce environmental justice concerns resulting from significant and unavoidable environmental impacts and offers suggestions for how to address this issue.     

Response of coastal zone management programs to sea level rise in the United States

Abstract

State coastal zone management programs are responding to the potential impacts of accelerated sea level rise through a wide range of activities and policies. This article provides a brief overview of the Coastal Zone Management Act and other federal laws that provide the basis for coastal state regulatory activities. It surveys the level of response to sea level rise by state coastal management programs in 24 marines coastal states, from formal recognition to implementation of policies addressing the issue. Individual state CZMP responses and policies that have been implemented or proposed are categorized. The adaptation of sea level rise to ongoing institutional objectives is discussed and policy constraints and trends are summarized.     

Conservation and development in Oregon's coastal zone

Abstract

Coastal zone management in Oregon is based on the state's general land‐use law. This body of law is designed to deal with population increase, urbanization, and preservation of agricultural land, as well as with other problems throughout the state. Early planning and policy recommendations for the coast were in the hands of a commission having predominantly local membership. This commission produced an extensive series of studies, policies, and recommendations which were assembled as a proposed management tool for natural resources. Staff of the commission was then absorbed into the state land‐management agency, which developed final goals and guidelines for compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Act. Adoption of the coastal goals in December 1976 has triggered deadlines for local government compliance within the coastal zone. The management program is now undergoing federal review.     

Thermidor in land use control?

Abstract

In June 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court in Nollan v. California Coastal Commission held against the California Coastal Commission. Did this legal landmark signal the rise of a new, conservative jurisprudence of takings? And if yes, did that imply the demise of what had been accomplished by the so‐called quiet revolution in land use control that swept the country in the late 1960s and early 1970s? The complexities of this case cannot be understood apart from the historical evolution of the Coastal Commission's policies through the 1970s and 1980s, particularly its coastal access policies. Because of these policies the Coastal Commission, since its inception in 1972, has been subjected to all kinds of criticism, but at the same time has been widely praised for its balanced approach. These varying assessments of the role and record of the Commission also underly the conflicting viewpoints and arguments of Justices Scalia, who wrote for the majority in Nollan, and Brennan, who filed an extremely strong dissent. The resulting legal uncertainties, added to the political setbacks suffered from a lukewarm legislature and a hostile governor, forced the Commission to temper its assertive mission of maximizing coastal access, at least for the time being.     

Coastal Erosion in Ghana: Causes,Policies, and Management

Coastal erosion is a serious problem that affects the safety and livelihoods of many coastal dwellers along Ghana's coast. Despite the fact that coastal erosion is a natural phenomenon, erosion trends have been largely aggravated by human-induced factors. This study analyzed shoreline change rates for three neighbouring coastal communities in the Central region of Ghana; Elmina, Cape Coast and Moree. Two epochs were analyzed, 1974–2012 (medium-term) and 2005–2012 (short-term), using ArcGIS and Digital Shoreline Analysis System. Overall, the entire study area recorded average shoreline change rates of ?1.24 myear^?1 and ?0.85 myear^?1 in the medium-term and short-term period respectively. Less consolidated shoreline segments recorded higher erosion rates in both periods while cliffs and rocky segments experienced very little erosion or high stability. Because shorelines undergoing chronic erosion do not fully recover after short-term erosion events such as storms, facilities located close to such shorelines are threatened. Taking a proactive approach to coastal erosion management, such as coastal sand mining prevention, inter-sectoral land use management and adopting a construction setback approach may be prudent for the long-term management of the coast since this recognizes future shoreline changes and safeguards coastal landscape for other uses.     

An Assessment of Integrated Coastal Management Governance and Implementation Using the DPSIR Framework: KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa

Coastal areas are under increasing pressure driven by demands for coastal space, primarily though population growth, in migration and the need for space for socioeconomic activities. The pressures and associated changes to the coastal environment need to be managed to ensure long-term sustainability. South Africa has enacted an Integrated Coastal Management Act (ICM Act) to facilitate dedicated management of its coastal environment. The implementation has been met with a number of challenges, primarily relating to financial and human capacity constraints, particularly at the local government level. Given that the ICM Act devolves powers to local government, it is imperative that implementation challenges be addressed. This paper focuses on KwaZulu-Natal, one of four South African coastal regions, which is a renowned tourist destination and home to 11.1 million people (Statistics South Africa 2015 Statistics South Africa. 2015. Mid-Year Population Estimates. Statistical release P0302. Pretoria, South Africa: Statistics South Africa. [Google Scholar]). This paper considers the state of coastal management, as well as implementation challenges being experienced at a local governance level, and highlights ways to address these. Data were acquired through questionnaire surveys and semistructured interviews. The Drivers-Pressures-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework was used to identify relevant ICM issues and concerns and develop potential actions for improving the implementation of coastal management activities and the ICM Act. In the assessment of the ICM governance and implementation to date, a key concern identified was a general lack of coastal management knowledge among officials. It was specifically identified that knowledgeable management and capacity-building required championing from the provincial government in order to more efficiently and effectively implement the objectives of the ICM Act through an improved understanding of the coastal environment, its functioning and management.     

The status of coastal zone management in South Africa

Abstract

In this article, an overview of the status of coastal zone management (CZM) in South Africa is presented. Firstly, it provides background to the development of various initiatives to promote sustainable use of coastal resources within the context of sociopolitical changes in South Africa. Thereafter, it examines the progress made with respect to key attributes underpinning most CZM programs. Finally, it identifies obstacles to achieving effective CZM in South Africa and makes recommendations to address these shortcomings. The review reveals that whilst considerable progress has been made in certain areas of program development, such as resource conservation and pollution control, there are several gaps and inadequacies within existing efforts. These include the absence of a clear policy to guide efforts, lack of coordination amongst government departments involved in CZM, as well as inadequacies in our legal and administrative system. The promulgation of a Coastal Zone Management Act and the establishment of a Coastal Unit charged with the coordination and review of all activities impinging on coastal resources are amongst the recommendations made.     

Adapting without Retreating: Responses to Shoreline Change on an Inlet-Associated Coastal Beach

Coastal barrier systems around the world are experiencing higher rates of flooding and shoreline erosion. Property owners on barriers have made significant financial investments in physical protections that shield their nearby properties from these hazards, constituting a type of adaptation to shoreline change. Factors that contribute to adaptation on Plum Island, a developed beach and dune system on the North Shore of Massachusetts, are investigated here. Plum Island experiences patterns of shoreline change that may be representative of many inlet-associated beaches, encompassing an equivocal and dynamically shifting mix of erosion and accretion. In the face of episodic floods and fleeting erosive events, and driven by a combination of strong northeast storms and cycles of erosion and accretion, the value of the average Plum Island residence increases by 34% for properties on the oceanfront where protection comprises a publicly constructed soft structure. Even in the face of state policies that ostensibly discourage physical protection as a means of adaptation, coastal communities face significant political and financial pressures to maintain existing protective structures or to allow contiguous groups of property owners to build new ones through collective action. These factors mitigate against adapting to shoreline change by retreating from the coast, thereby potentially increasing the adverse effects of coastal hazards.