SECTIONS 30620-30627 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 30620-30627

30620. (a) By January 30, 1977, the commission shall, consistent
with this chapter, prepare interim procedures for the submission,
review, and appeal of coastal development permit applications and of
claims of exemption. These procedures shall include, but are not
limited to, all of the following:
(1) Application and appeal forms.
(2) Reasonable provisions for notification to the commission and
other interested persons of any action taken by a local government
pursuant to this chapter, in sufficient detail to ensure that a
preliminary review of that action for conformity with this chapter
can be made.
(3) Interpretive guidelines designed to assist local governments,
the commission, and persons subject to this chapter in determining
how the policies of this division shall be applied in the coastal
zone prior to the certification of local coastal programs. However,
the guidelines shall not supersede, enlarge, or diminish the powers
or authority of the commission or any other public agency.
(b) Not later than May 1, 1977, the commission shall, after public
hearing, adopt permanent procedures that include the components
specified in subdivision (a) and shall transmit a copy of those
procedures to each local government within the coastal zone and make
them readily available to the public. The commission may thereafter,
from time to time, and, except in cases of emergency, after public
hearing, modify or adopt additional procedures or guidelines that the
commission determines to be necessary to better carry out the
purposes of this division.
(c) (1) The commission may require a reasonable filing fee and the
reimbursement of expenses for the processing by the commission of
any application for a coastal development permit under this division
and, except for local coastal program submittals, for any other
filing, including, but not limited to, a request for revocation,
categorical exclusion, or boundary adjustment, submitted for review
by the commission.
(2) Any coastal development permit fees collected by the
commission under paragraph (1) shall be deposited in the Coastal Act
Services Fund established pursuant to Section 30620.1. This paragraph
does not authorize an increase in fees or create any new authority
on the part of the commission.
(d) With respect to an appeal of an action taken by a local
government pursuant to Section 30602 or 30603, the executive director
shall, within five working days of receipt of an appeal from a
person other than a member of the commission or a public agency,
determine whether the appeal is patently frivolous. If the executive
director determines that an appeal is patently frivolous, the appeal
shall not be filed unless a filing fee in the amount of three hundred
dollars ($300) is deposited with the commission within five working
days of the receipt of the executive director's determination. If the
commission subsequently finds that the appeal raises a substantial
issue, the filing fee shall be refunded.

30620.1. (a) The Coastal Act Services Fund is hereby created in the
State Treasury, to be administered by the commission. The moneys in
the fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget
Act, shall be expended by the commission in accordance with this
chapter to enforce the California Coastal Act and to provide services
to local government, permit applicants, public agencies, and the
public participating in the implementation of this division.
(b) Five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), adjusted annually by
the application of the California Consumer Price Index for Urban
Consumers as determined by the Department of Industrial Relations
pursuant to Section 2212 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, shall be
transferred annually from the Coastal Act Services Fund to the
Coastal Access Account established pursuant to Section 30620.2.

30620.2. The Coastal Access Account is hereby created in the State
Coastal Conservancy Fund. The money in the account shall be
available, upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget
Act, to the State Coastal Conservancy for grants to public agencies
and private nonprofit entities or organizations for the development,
maintenance, and operation of new or existing facilities that provide
public access to the shoreline of the sea, as defined in Section
30115. Any grant funds that are not expended for those purposes shall
revert to the account.

30620.5. (a) A local government may exercise the option provided in
subdivision (b) of Section 30600, if it does so for the entire area
of its jurisdiction within the coastal zone and after it establishes
procedures for the issuance of coastal development permits. Such
procedures shall incorporate, where applicable, the interpretive
guidelines issued by the commission pursuant to Section 30620.
(b) If a local government elects to exercise the option provided
in subdivision (b) of Section 30600, the local government shall, by
resolution adopted by the governing body of such local government,
notify the commission and shall take appropriate steps to assure that
the public is properly notified of such action. The provisions of
subdivision (b) of Section 30600 shall take effect and shall be
exercised by the local government on the 10th working day after the
date on which the resolution required by this subdivision is adopted.
(c) Every local government exercising the option provided in
subdivision (b) of Section 30600 or acting on coastal development
permits prior to certification of its local coastal program pursuant
to Sections 30520, 30600.5, and 30624, shall within five working days
notify the commission and any person who, in writing, has requested
such notification, in the manner prescribed by the commission
pursuant to Section 30600.5 or 30620, of any coastal development
permit it issues.
(d) Within five working days of receipt of the notice required by
subdivision (c), the executive director of the commission shall post,
at a conspicuous location in the commission's office, a description
of the coastal development permit issued by the local government.
Within 15 working days of receipt of such notice, the executive
director shall, in the manner prescribed by the commission pursuant
to subdivision (a) of Section 30620, provide notice of the locally
issued coastal development permit to members of the commission.

30620.6. The commission shall, not later than August 1, 1978, and
after public hearing, adopt public notice and appeal procedures for
the review of development projects appealable pursuant to Sections
30603 and 30715. The commission shall send copies of such procedures
to every local government within the coastal zone and shall make them
readily available to the public.

30621. (a) The commission shall provide for a de novo public
hearing on applications for coastal development permits and any
appeals brought pursuant to this division and shall give to any
affected person a written public notice of the nature of the
proceeding and of the time and place of the public hearing. Notice
shall also be given to any person who requests, in writing, such
notification. A hearing on any coastal development permit application
or an appeal shall be set no later than 49 days after the date on
which the application or appeal is filed with the commission.
(b) An appeal that is properly submitted shall be considered to be
filed when any of the following occurs:
(1) The executive director determines that the appeal is not
patently frivolous pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 30620.
(2) The five-day period for the executive director to determine
whether an appeal is patently frivolous pursuant to subdivision (d)
of Section 30620 expires without that determination.
(3) The appellant pays the filing fee within the five-day period
set forth in subdivision (d) of Section 30620.

30622. The commission shall act upon the coastal development permit
application or an appeal within 21 days after the conclusion of the
hearing pursuant to Section 30621.

30623. If an appeal of any action on any development by any local
government or port governing body is filed with the commission, the
operation and effect of that action shall be stayed pending a
decision on appeal.

30624. (a) The commission shall provide, by regulation, for the
issuance of coastal development permits by the executive director of
the commission or, where the coastal development permit authority has
been delegated to a local government pursuant to Section 30600.5, by
an appropriate local official designated by resolution of the local
government without compliance with the procedures specified in this
chapter in cases of emergency, other than an emergency provided for
under Section 30611, and for the following nonemergency developments:
improvements to any existing structure; any single-family dwelling;
any development of four dwelling units or less within any
incorporated area that does not require demolition; any other
developments not in excess of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000)
other than any division of land; and any development specifically
authorized as a principal permitted use and proposed in an area for
which the land use portion of the applicable local coastal program
has been certified. Such permit for nonemergency development shall
not be effective until after reasonable public notice and adequate
time for the review of such issuance has been provided.
(b) If one-third of the appointed members of the commission so
request at the first meeting following the issuance of such permit by
the executive director, such issuance shall not be effective, and,
instead, the application shall be processed in accordance with the
commission's procedures for permits and pursuant to the provisions of
this chapter.
(c) Any permit issued by a local official pursuant to the
provisions of this section shall be scheduled on the agenda of the
governing body of the local agency at its first scheduled meeting
after that permit has been issued. If, at that meeting, one-third of
the members of that governing body so request, the permit issued by
the local official shall not go into effect and the application for a
coastal development permit shall be processed by the local
government pursuant to Section 30600.5.
(d) No monetary limitations shall be required for emergencies
covered by the provisions of this section.

30624.7. The commission may, after a public hearing, by regulation,
adopt procedures for the issuance by the executive director of
waivers from coastal development permit requirements for any
development that is de minimis. A proposed development is de minimis
if the executive director determines that it involves no potential
for any adverse effect, either individually or cumulatively, on
coastal resources and that it will be consistent with the policies of
Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 30200).
A waiver shall not take effect until it has been reported to the
commission at the regularly scheduled meeting following its issuance
by the executive director. If one-third of the appointed membership
of the commission so request, at this meeting, such issuance shall
not be effective and, instead, an application for a coastal
development permit shall be required and processed in accordance with
the provisions of this chapter.

30624.9. (a) For purposes of this section, "minor development"
means a development which a local government determines satisfies all
of the following requirements:
(1) Is consistent with the certified local coastal program, as
defined in Section 30108.6.
(2) Requires no discretionary approvals other than a coastal
development permit.
(3) Has no adverse effect either individually or cumulatively on
coastal resources or public access to the shoreline or along the
coast.
(b) After certification of its local coastal program, a local
government may waive the requirement for a public hearing on a
coastal development permit application for a minor development only
if both of the following occur:
(1) Notice that a public hearing shall be held upon request by any
person is provided to all persons who would otherwise be required to
be notified of a public hearing as well as any other persons known
to be interested in receiving notice.
(2) No request for public hearing is received by the local
government within 15 working days from the date of sending the notice
pursuant to paragraph (1).
(c) The notice provided pursuant to subdivision (b) shall include
a statement that failure by a person to request a public hearing may
result in the loss of that person's ability to appeal to the
commission any action taken by a local government on a coastal
development permit application.

30625. (a) Except as otherwise specifically provided in subdivision
(a) of Section 30602, any appealable action on a coastal development
permit or claim of exemption for any development by a local
government or port governing body may be appealed to the commission
by an applicant, any aggrieved person, or any two members of the
commission. The commission may approve, modify, or deny such proposed
development, and if no action is taken within the time limit
specified in Sections 30621 and 30622, the decision of the local
government or port governing body, as the case may be, shall become
final, unless the time limit in Section 30621 or 30622 is waived by
the applicant.
(b) The commission shall hear an appeal unless it determines the
following:
(1) With respect to appeals pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section
30602, that no substantial issue exists as to conformity with
Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 30200).
(2) With respect to appeals to the commission after certification
of a local coastal program, that no substantial issue exists with
respect to the grounds on which an appeal has been filed pursuant to
Section 30603.
(3) With respect to appeals to the commission after certification
of a port master plan, that no substantial issue exists as to
conformity with the certified port master plan.
(c) Decisions of the commission, where applicable, shall guide
local governments or port governing bodies in their future actions
under this division.

30626. The commission may, by regulation, provide for the
reconsideration of the terms and conditions of any coastal
development permit granted by the commission solely for the purpose
of correcting any information contained in those terms and
conditions.

30627. (a) The commission shall, by regulation, provide procedures
which the commission shall use in deciding whether to grant
reconsideration of any of the following:
(1) Any decision to deny an application for a coastal development
permit.
(2) Any term or condition of a coastal development permit which
has been granted.
(b) The procedures required by subdivision (a) shall include at
least the following provisions:
(1) Only an applicant for a coastal development permit shall be
eligible to request reconsideration.
(2) The request for reconsideration shall be made within 30 days
of the decision on the application for a coastal development permit.
(3) The basis of the request for reconsideration shall be either
that there is relevant new evidence which, in the exercise of
reasonable diligence, could not have been presented at the hearing on
the matter or that an error of fact or law has occurred which has
the potential of altering the initial decision.
(4) The commission shall have the discretion to grant or deny
requests for reconsideration.
(c) A decision to deny a request for reconsideration is not
subject to appeal.
(d) This section shall not alter any right otherwise provided by
this division to appeal an action ; provided, that a request for
reconsideration shall be made only once for any one development
application, and shall, for purposes of any time limits specified in
Sections 30621 and 30622, be considered a new application.