Coastal Act

Describing seaside fireworks displays as wholesome and patriotic, an Orange County legislator wants to prevent the California Coastal Commission from snuffing them out. State Assemblywoman Diane Harkey (R-Dana Point) introduced a bill last month that would exempt municipal fireworks displays from regulation under the state Coastal Act by declaring they do not constitute "development. " The bill comes in response to increasing pressure from environmental groups to clamp down on fireworks.

A spectacular stretch of Northern California coastline that includes ocean-side bluffs, beaches, rolling hills and redwood groves will be permanently protected from development under a landmark deal approved by the state Coastal Commission. Nearly 10 square miles of untouched shoreline, wooded glens, streams and farmland in northern Santa Cruz County, extending several miles inland, will be transferred to the state and federal governments, which will operate it as open space and preserve portions for agriculture.

I find it odd that Tom Mathews is surprised by how critical the staff of the [California] Coastal Commission is to the proposed Bolsa Chica project ("Marsh Wars," Nov. 11). In their comments about the two environmental impact reports, Coastal Commission staff repeatedly pointed out numerous ways this development violates the Coastal Act. In comments to both drafts of the EIR, commission staff stressed that the building of houses on wetlands is not allowed under the Coastal Act. Staff also had many concerns about the restoration plan and impacts that building on the mesa would have on the wetlands and other environmentally sensitive habitat areas.

A good argument can be made that no one since Father Junipero Serra has had as much impact on coastal development in California as Peter Douglas. Douglas, who died a week ago, wrote and helped pass Proposition 20, the California Coastal Commission initiative, in 1972. He wrote the 1976 Coastal Act, worked for the commission from its early days and was its outspoken executive director for more than 25 years despite often fierce opposition, including a nearly successful attempt by then-Gov.

During 1989, many Orange County residents wrote about their thoughts and feelings in commentary pieces for Orange County opinion pages. As the year comes to a close, we look back on some of those thoughts. It is no accident that those who use Coast Highway have a glorious view of the Pacific Ocean for a three-mile stretch along the Irvine Coast. It is no accident that the public now has access to the beaches that hug the bluffs that line the water's edge.

Re "Dana Point Residents Have Waited Long Enough for Headlands Project," letter, Oct. 19: You failed to note that Carol O'Connell, who wrote the letter favoring the Headlands development, works for Headlands Reserve LLC, the developer of the Headlands, and is charged with marketing and communications for the company. This association puts some of the comments into context and is an important reference to make. I do agree with many of the comments O'Connell makes regarding project facilities that will have community benefits.

Once it was a vast and fertile estuary--2,000 acres of tranquil lagoons and salt marsh that bridged land and sea and held huge populations of bird and marine life. Today, the Ballona wetlands are nearly gone, swallowed up by the ever-expanding Los Angeles megalopolis. The ecological destruction began in the late 1920s, when the major lagoons were drained and much of the area was reclaimed for agriculture and oil drilling.

As a child crossing the English Channel with his family to immigrate to America, Peter M. Douglas was mesmerized by the churning seas and his first sighting of a whale, an experience that he said forged an "intangible, unbreakable, lifelong bond" with the ocean that deepened as he grew up in Southern California. That fondness for the ocean would later lead him to become one of the fiercest and most controversial guardians of the state's 1,100-mile-long coastline who battled to preserve its natural beauty and public access to its beaches.

The California Coastal Commission is taking aim at beach curfews established by cities up and down the coast, saying they are illegal without state approval and that people have a right to be on the sand whenever they want. The first major battle is brewing in Los Angeles, where the coastal agency has told the city that its longstanding midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew barring the public from beaches, piers and oceanfront parks from Will Rogers State Beach to Cabrillo Beach violates the state Coastal Act and must be relaxed.

A spectacular stretch of Northern California coastline that includes ocean-side bluffs, beaches, rolling hills and redwood groves will be permanently protected from development under a landmark deal approved by the state Coastal Commission. Nearly 10 square miles of untouched shoreline, wooded glens, streams and farmland in northern Santa Cruz County, extending several miles inland, will be transferred to the state and federal governments, which will operate it as open space and preserve portions for agriculture.

As a child crossing the English Channel with his family to immigrate to America, Peter M. Douglas was mesmerized by the churning seas and his first sighting of a whale, an experience that he said forged an "intangible, unbreakable, lifelong bond" with the ocean that deepened as he grew up in Southern California. That fondness for the ocean would later lead him to become one of the fiercest and most controversial guardians of the state's 1,100-mile-long coastline who battled to preserve its natural beauty and public access to its beaches.

The California Coastal Commission is losing the leader who has guided it for a generation, casting uncertainty over the direction of the powerful agency responsible for guarding the state's treasured coastline. Peter Douglas, 68, who has been fighting lung cancer since last spring, announced this week that he would go on sick leave Monday and will retire in November after 26 years as executive director. He said he planned to hand off leadership to Senior Deputy Director Charles Lester.

The state planning agency that oversees open space in the Santa Monica Mountains will drop its opposition to a controversial bid by U2 guitarist The Edge to build a compound of homes above Malibu in exchange for more than $1 million in funding, consulting services and trail easements from the musician and his partners. In a deal with the Irish rocker narrowly approved this week, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy agreed to take a neutral position on the high-profile project in exchange for a $750,000 payment, $250,000 worth of work by a consultant who works for the musician, conservation easements and development restrictions around the homes that would eventually allow a short length of trail to be built through a sliver of the property.

Describing seaside fireworks displays as wholesome and patriotic, an Orange County legislator wants to prevent the California Coastal Commission from snuffing them out. State Assemblywoman Diane Harkey (R-Dana Point) introduced a bill last month that would exempt municipal fireworks displays from regulation under the state Coastal Act by declaring they do not constitute "development. " The bill comes in response to increasing pressure from environmental groups to clamp down on fireworks.

The California Coastal Commission is taking aim at beach curfews established by cities up and down the coast, saying they are illegal without state approval and that people have a right to be on the sand whenever they want. The first major battle is brewing in Los Angeles, where the coastal agency has told the city that its longstanding midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew barring the public from beaches, piers and oceanfront parks from Will Rogers State Beach to Cabrillo Beach violates the state Coastal Act and must be relaxed.

The longtime executive director of the California Coastal Commission and an author of the state's landmark Coastal Act is fighting lung cancer and will step aside from most of his day-to-day duties overseeing the agency charged with protecting the state's coastline. Peter Douglas will begin chemotherapy this week, he confirmed in an interview Monday with The Times. He will no longer attend monthly public meetings but will remain executive director and continue to be involved in decisions on most important issues.

A public hearing is scheduled Aug. 3 on two city permits for Occidental Petroleum's controversial planned oil drilling along the shoreline at Pacific Palisades. The Los Angeles zoning administrator's office must decide whether to approve the specific technical aspects of Occidental's proposed operation and whether the drilling conforms to the state Coastal Act of 1976. The hearing will start at 9 a.m. at the Felicia Mahood Senior Citizen Center, 11338 Santa Monica Blvd.

A good argument can be made that no one since Father Junipero Serra has had as much impact on coastal development in California as Peter Douglas. Douglas, who died a week ago, wrote and helped pass Proposition 20, the California Coastal Commission initiative, in 1972. He wrote the 1976 Coastal Act, worked for the commission from its early days and was its outspoken executive director for more than 25 years despite often fierce opposition, including a nearly successful attempt by then-Gov.

Dana Point turned up the heat in its battle with the state over posted hours and locked gates at public access paths through a luxury bluff-top development by suing the California Coastal Commission. The city contends the state panel has overstepped its authority by pushing the south Orange County city to open the pathways through the compound, which is perched on a promontory above a secluded stretch of coastline. The city filed suit against the commission Monday, listing Headlands Reserve LLC, the developer of the gated community of 118 multimillion-dollar bluff-top homes, as a party of interest.

If you want to save money, there are easier ways to go about it than by closing scores of state parks. It's surprising that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger thought otherwise back when he announced that most of the state's 279 parks would close. Later, he amended that to 100. But the list of specific parks never materialized, and now the governor is saying the number will be far lower -- possibly zero. A leaked memo written by lawyers for the Department of Parks and Recreation makes the reasons clear, outlining dozens of ways California could actually lose money by closing parks.