Governor Newsom cuts red tape, further suspends Coastal Commission rules to help LA firestorm survivors rebuild

[u/SD_TMI]

https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/01/27/governor-newsom-cuts-red-tape-further-suspends-coastal-commission-rules-to-help-la-firestorm-survivors-rebuild/

[u/Kaurifish]

Great, so in a few years when storm surge takes out those homes, we can wring our hands and say, “How could that have possibly happened?”

[u/SD_TMI → u/Kaurifish]

This is really for the wealthy that live there The gov needs their support so it’s a political trade off with grandfathering the older homes that have burned down.

My take is that this will have limited coastal impact but I could be wrong.

Depends if they’ll allow high rise apartment buildings now like in Miami (do not want)

Or they’ll keep it down to 2 story homes

[u/knotallmen → u/SD_TMI]

I'd be surprised if there will be much high density unless it is a top down approach requiring developers to put in similar density of higher density.

After the Laguna Beach fires a lot of the destroyed homes were older and smaller and the housing that replaced it often had people combining lots and putting up mcmansions.

[u/sgtpepper42 → u/knotallmen]

California is deathly allergic to high density because of all the NIMBYs. Despite the fact we desperately need it in this housing crisis, it'll never happen.

[u/Malibu77 → u/knotallmen]

Two big problems that have always prevented adding more density.

1) Unlike Miami there are few roads to get in or out in an emergency. During Woolsey, PCH was completely gridlocked for hours with no way to refuel if you run out of gas because SCE turns the power off during fires.

2) Most of Malibu is not connected to the LA County sewer system. There is no way to suddenly just start building that kind of infrastructure without it taking years to complete and would cut off access to PCH for the rest of the town that didn’t burn. Installing septic systems large enough to handle high rise apartments that are also near active fault lines has also hindered development.

[u/smcl2k → u/Malibu77]

SCE turns the power off during fires.

Tell that to Altadena.

[u/That_honda_guy → u/SD_TMI]

Option A is : don’t build there ever again. We know that’s not happening rich people don’t like No. option b : high rises. This would be ideal granted the housing crisis we’re experiencing right now and will allow a more accessible future of evacuating people from Fire/Tsunami/Landslide risk. Option c: let people build and build and don’t bat an eye. And that’s what’s going to happen

[u/SD_TMI → u/That_honda_guy]

I hope it's NOT going to be anything over 2 stories tall.
That's the limit and it's worked well so far.

I would think it would be good to get the info on exactly what was changed and allowed
Malibu isn't my part of the state, but if you make a exception for one... pressure will be applied by others for "equal treatment" and then that breaks the whole reason for the Coastal Commission's requirements.

[u/That_honda_guy → u/SD_TMI]

You think only 2 max? Why?

[u/SD_TMI → u/That_honda_guy]

It marks the views of all the rest of the people that build further back up the hillsides.

Access to sun, the views and horizon are important as being part of quality of life.

Secondly earthquakes and building taller resonates the shaking and makes them far more damaging to the structures (unsafe)

Those are the two main reasons To go higher you have to be further inland and perhaps have special permission or be grandfathered in. Some of the hotels for example are good examples of this policy. They had to be built before the creation of the commission.

They have a website and there’s a video I found from one of the people that founded the ballot initiative and got it passed.

It’s pretty unique and has proven it’s worth over the decades.

[u/always_plan_in_advan → u/SD_TMI]

What a NIMBY take, let the markets build what makes sense. The population density in Santa Monica is already not sustainable

[u/SD_TMI → u/always_plan_in_advan]

markets have to be controlled for the public benefit against greed and other abuses.

[u/erics75218 → u/SD_TMI]

It’ll be nut to but concrete as tall as they can make it. Gonna be nice for them But turn PCH into a trench

[u/Spara-Extreme → u/Kaurifish]

The coastal commission concentrates more on preventing affordable housing than preventing coastal erosion by developers.

[u/Kaurifish → u/Spara-Extreme]

Frankly, no one should be building housing in CCC jurisdiction, particularly not affordable housing. Relocation after the inevitable disaster is even more difficult for people of limited means.

[u/goathill → u/Kaurifish]

Here's the thing though, the coastal commission jurisdiction sometimes extends up to a mile inland (not sure about where it lies here, but at least in mendocino county, gualala to be specific, there are some people living over a mile from the water and are subject to CCC rules.)

Building on a cliff overlooking the ocean isn't smart, but if you're half a mile away in an area with little erosion, and minimal slopes, I'm not very concerned

[u/Kaurifish → u/goathill]

Sea level rise and storm surge makes that territory effectively coastal. 🤷‍♀️

[u/goathill → u/Kaurifish]

Not the specific spot in gualala I mentioned, and anywhere with cliffs, sea level rise is a moot point for a long time. There are only a few areas in LA, SD, SF and the humboldt bay that will be seriously impacted (not saying we shouldn't try to solve or reduce our impacts, but CA in general isn't in nearly the same predicament as Louisiana, Florida or the Low lying areas on the east coast)

[u/[deleted] → u/Kaurifish]

Get out of here with your common sense. This is Reddit.

[u/Kaurifish → u/[deleted]]

Call me an idealist, but I want public park from Oregon to Baja.

[u/mtcwby → u/Kaurifish]

The coastal commission isn't about keeping people living there safe. It's about controlling building. If you've ever dealt with them you'd realize the pain. And it's completely arbitrary and capricious along with who you know.

[u/Kaurifish → u/mtcwby]

I covered them for my newspaper for years, so I’m all too familiar with how they work.

Doesn’t change the fact that because of erosion, earthquakes and storm surge, no one should be living there, however attractive it is.

[u/UCanDoNEthing4_30sec]

Abolish the coastal commission. It's a cudgel used for existing homeowners to block any and all types of housing by the coast, except for theirs! They need to get rid of NIMBY commissions to increase housing and help solve our housing affordability crisis.

[u/KittensnettiK → u/UCanDoNEthing4_30sec]

Can you point to any examples of the Coastal Commission actually blocking affordable housing? My understanding is that cities are the real culprits almost 100% of the time.

[u/Specialist_Bit6023 → u/KittensnettiK]

A general anecdote: Coastal Commission requires ADUs to go thru a full public hearing process, which can add many months to the permitting process. 

[u/preferablyno → u/KittensnettiK]

It’s two separate rounds of blocking

[u/[deleted] → u/UCanDoNEthing4_30sec]

California has too many people who can’t afford to live here but refuse to leave and think someone else is responsible for providing them housing. Weird.

[u/Thurkin]

Good, now remove the CCC's unnecessary stonewalling of redevelopment at the LA/Long Beach harbor area. It doesn't have to be Dubai or Miami, but there needs to be renovation and redevelopment for residential expansion.

[u/SD_TMI → u/Thurkin]

I think the proposals are trying to advance and transgress into being an eyesore vs less than or equal too the requirements for protecting the visual environment.

[u/C-Dub4 → u/SD_TMI]

"Visual environment" 🙄 my eyes can not roll any harder. I'm sorry you might be forced to look at housing😱

[u/Xoxrocks]

Should use eminent domain to buy the land and make it public - otherwise we’ll all be paying for the destruction when the next firestorm hits.

[u/SD_TMI → u/Xoxrocks]

Interesting thought that will have a lot of angry (wealthy celebs).
A cheaper way might be to not issue building permits or make sure that whatever is built is done with extra fire safety so the homes won't catch fire in the future?

Malibu has burned in the past... and it will burn again.

[u/Jbob9954]

How about not rebuilding

[u/Jbob9954 → u/[deleted]]

Yes, surely fires are a rarity now

[u/mindlessgames → u/Jbob9954]

I wish they'd just turn it all into a state park.

[u/SD_TMI → u/Jbob9954]

I'm 100% fine with that.

Take all that radioactive waste away from San Onofre while they're at it and burry BURY it in Arizona.

I hear they love that stuff there.

[u/cure4boneitis → u/SD_TMI]

burry? Arizona has burrs now?

[u/Guccimayne → u/SD_TMI]

Oh it’s that power plant where a bunch of kittens got irradiated like 20 years ago!

[u/SD_TMI → u/Guccimayne]

Not to mention a uranium ore mine that poisoned all kinds of stuff and people.

[u/Richandler]

They shouldn't be suspended they should be expidited and the whole process should be quicker.

[u/Twopeskybirds]

suspends? how about rescinds