Coastal Commission Rebuffed In Laguna Beach

I missed this story while doing the News Roundup this morning, but seeing as it reports on a heart-warming instance of a judge telling California Coastal Commission to butt out, I thought it deserved its own post:

An Orange County Superior Court judge has ruled that the California Coastal Commission does not have the authority to prevent a Catholic school's expansion in Laguna Beach.

The decision by Judge Ronald L. Bauer on Monday restarts the St. Catherine of Siena Catholic School's effort to expand at its current Coast Highway location, nearly two years after it applied to the city for a coastal development permit. 

Viva Judge Bauer! Call me old fashioned, but I believe jurisdiction over the coastlines should be in the hands of county governments, not some unelected statewide bureaucracy that functions as judge, jury and executioner. So any time the Coastal Commissariat has its ears slapped back is a good day for liberty.

The article continues:

 

In January, the school sued the Coastal Commission arguing that it had no authority over the project because it was limited by the California Coastal Act to intervene when streams, estuaries or wetlands were within 100 feet of a project, the school's attorney said.

 

The "school wanted to preempt any (Coastal Commission) assertion of power over this project," said Paul Beard, senior staff attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation in Sacramento, which represented St. Catherine of Siena.

 

The Coastal Commission had determined that two drainage courses on or near the property constituted "streams."

 

"Problem with this claim is that the Coastal Act does not list drainage course as grounds for appeal," Beard said.

 

The Coastal Commission has not made a decision on whether it will appeal the court's ruling.

       

I'm surprised Peter Douglas and his apparatchiks haven't tried to extend their jurisdiction to the Nevada border by declaring the gutters in front of people's houses an "intermittent stream."

In these days of property rights under siege, one has to savor these small victories as they occur.

Comments

[skeptic]

Yea, leave in county hands, like the beach in Malibu that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors hasn't quite gotten around to making public yet ... sure, they agreed to make it public when they bought the land with public money, then later again when they got state money to put in a stairway ... but those movie stars and Michael Eisner are worried the public will mess up the beach or hurt themselves, so it still remains nice and secluded.

[Zulu]

Alert - Property Tax Adjusters Inc. is a Scam

TO California Property Owners:

There is a company called Property Tax Adjusters, Inc. based in San Diego County has been sending out scam letters regarding property tax reduction for a fee of $125.00 in the Silicon Valley (depends on where your property is). The company is NOT affiliated with the county assessor's office, or ANY government agency.

The key thing to note is that as a property owner, there is NO COST for you to directly contact your county assessor regarding a reassessment of your property taxes.

In fact, many counties such as Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano, and San Joaquin are currently doing large-scale evaluation of properties to see whether property taxes will be reduced at no cost to the homeowner.

The Alameda County District Attorney is investigating Property Tax Adjusters, Inc. as well as another company called Connection Plus Inc. of Foster City. While their solicitations may not be illegal.

It is interesting to note that the return envelope provided with Property Tax Adjuster's mailing is addressed not to a physical headquarters location, but a rented personal mailbox at a UPS Store in the same city as the homeowner to whom the mailing was sent.

Homeowners are best advised to toss this Property Tax Adjusters, Inc. mailing in the trash. There is no need to pay for a service that you can get from the county directly for free.

For more information:

http://www.kcra.com/call3/16042954/detail.html