What is a Local Coastal Program?

In 1976 the California Legislature enacted the Coastal Act, which established a mandate for coastal cities and counties to manage the conservation and development of coastal resources through a comprehensive planning and regulatory program called the Local Coastal Program (LCP). An LCP identifies ground rules for future development in the coastal zone. Each LCP includes a land use plan and its implementing measures. These programs govern decisions that determine the short and long term conservation and use of coastal resources. While each LCP reflects unique characteristics of individual local coastal communities, regional and statewide interests and concerns must also be addressed in conformity with Coastal Act goals and policies. The Coastal Commission formally reviews LCPs for consistency with Coastal Act standards.

Since the LCP has been certified by the Coastal Commission, coastal permitting authority over most new development has been transferred to Los Angeles County. The Coastal Commission retains permanent coastal permit jurisdiction over development proposed in certain areas, including the immediate shoreline, tidelands, submerged lands, and public trust lands. It also hears appeals from certain local government coastal permit decisions, and reviews and approves any amendments to the LCP.

What is the Santa Monica Mountains Coastal Zone?

The Santa Monica Mountains Coastal Zone is the unincorporated portion of the Santa Monica Mountains west of the City of Los Angeles, east of Ventura County, and south of the coastal zone boundary, excluding the City of Malibu. The Coastal Zone extends inland from the shoreline approximately five miles and encompasses approximately 81 square miles.

What is the Santa Monica Mountains Local Coastal Program (LCP)?

The Santa Monica Mountains LCP consists of the Land Use Plan (LUP) and implementing actions including the Local Implementation Program (LIP), a series of ordinance sections added to the Zoning Ordinance, Title 22 of the County Code. Implementing actions also include a zoning consistency program. The LUP, which is a component of the Los Angeles County General Plan, replaced the Malibu Land Use Plan, which was certified by the Coastal Commission in 1986. The LUP includes some of the policies of the 1986 Land Use Plan, new policies, and many policies from the Santa Monica Mountains North Area Plan.

The LIP is the primary implementation mechanism for the LUP and a part of the County’s Zoning Ordinance. The LIP establishes district-wide, zone-specific, and area-specific regulations for new development and for the protection and management of the Coastal Zone’s unique resources. The zoning consistency program is also necessary to implement the LUP. Zoning changes, which include a new zone (Rural-Coastal), ensure that zoning designations for properties are consistent with the land use categories of the Plan. These changes were mandated by State law to eliminate potential conflicts between the Plan and zoning designations. Now that the Santa Monica Mountains LCP is certified by the Coastal Commission, the County has the authority to issue coastal development permits.

What are Coastal Act policies?

Coastal Act policies are the standards used by the Coastal Commission in its coastal permit decisions, and for the review of LCPs prepared by local governments and submitted to the Commission for approval. Coastal cities and counties must incorporate these policies into their individual LCPs. The policies applicable to the LCP are organized as follows:

• • Protection and expansion of public access to the shoreline and recreational opportunities and resources, including commercial visitor-serving facilities;

• • Protection, enhancement and restoration of environmentally sensitive habitats, including intertidal and nearshore waters, wetlands, bays and estuaries, riparian habitat, certain wood and grasslands, streams, lakes, and habitat for rare or endangered plants or animals;

• • Protection of productive agricultural lands, commercial fisheries and archaeological resources;

• • Protection of the scenic beauty of coastal landscapes and seascapes;

• • The establishment, to the extent possible, of urban-rural boundaries and directing new housing and other development into areas with adequate services to avoid wasteful urban sprawl and leapfrog development; and

• • Protection against loss of life and property from coastal hazards.