RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS

July 2005

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California Supreme Court Backs Coasal Commission Grant of Housing Development Permit
Sierra Club v. California Coastal Commission, ___Cal.4th___

On May 20, 2005, the California Supreme Court upheld a Court of Appeal decision siding with the California Coastal Commission (Commission) on that agency’s claim that its geographic jurisdiction is strictly limited to the coastal zone as determined by the California Legislature. (107 Cal.App.4th 1030; See 12 Cal. Land Use L. & Pol’y Rptr. 253 (June 2003)). The Court concluded that the Commission had properly granted a coastal development permit for a blufftop housing development, notwithstanding allegations that the development was inconsistent with the Coastal Act, because the houses themselves fell outside the coastal zone.