Denied Reconsideration Request in Laguna Beach

The Commission denied a request to reconsider its bluff edge determination for two adjacent properties in Laguna Beach. Commission staff previously determined the bluff edge is located at the 150-foot elevation contour based on historical topographic maps and aerial photographs from the 1930s-40s. A reconsideration can only be granted if there is new evidence, or if an error or law of fact occurred. Despite creative legal machinations by the applicant’s agent, the request failed to qualify on both counts. 

First, no new evidence was presented that wasn’t already in the record at the time of the original hearing. The applicant argued that Commission staff erroneously testified that the bluff is made up of marine terrace deposits, rather than non-marine terrace deposits as well. However this distinction is immaterial because Laguna Beach’s LUE makes no distinction between, or mention of, the underlying sediments of a coastal bluff in determining the bluff edge. 

For the 'error of law' qualifier, the applicant argued that the Coastal Act and Laguna Beach's LUE only regulate development on 'natural landforms,' and since this bluff has been altered, no bluff edge can be determined. But the City’s LUE explicitly states that bluff edges change due to erosion, landslides, gullies, and grading – clearly anticipating altered bluffs. The applicants' argument that altered bluffs cannot have bluff edges contradicts the LUE definition and the Coastal Act’s protective intent. Accepting this logic would undermine California's entire coastal bluff protection framework, as any modification would exempt a bluff from protection policies.

See Surfrider's comments in support of denial below, along with comments from Commissioners Escalante and Hart.

This reconsideration request aimed to move the bluff edge from 150 feet to 89 feet, which would provide substantially more buildable area for the applicants. However, the Commission already established the 150-foot determination in 2019 for the adjacent property, meaning this determination has been on record for six years. The denial protects a critical precedent: if altered bluffs had no enforceable bluff edges, Coast Highway itself could constitute a "bluff edge," and every graded building pad in coastal Laguna Beach would create new bluff edges seaward of their actual location—an absurd result contrary to the Coastal Act's protective intent. Proper bluff edge determinations protect sensitive coastal resources and help avoid future shoreline armoring that would sacrifice public beaches to private development interests. The Commission's decision to deny reconsideration earns a Pro-Coast vote.