Casa Mira Homeowners Assn. v. Cal. Coastal Com.

BACKGROUND

In 2018 Casa Mira applied for a coastal development permit to construct a 257-foot seawall that would protect several structures along a coastal bluff in Half Moon Bay in danger from erosion— a four-building condominium complex and sewer line built in 1984, a four-unit apartment building built in 1972 located seaward of the condominiums, and a segment of the Coastal Trail. The proposed seawall would completely armor and protect the bluff downcoast of the apartments. A few years prior, approximately 20 feet of the bluff eroded and collapsed during heavy rains. At the time, the Commission issued two emergency coastal development permits allowing the temporary placement of 4,000 tons of rock, known as riprap, to prevent further erosion. There is currently no formal vertical beach access available from the blufftop to the sandy beach level. The

2 seawall would replace the emergency riprap revetment and would include a beach access stairway with a connection to the inland Coastal Trail. Commission staff recommended approving the 257-foot seawall. Section 30235, staff explained, permits the construction of protective shoreline works when necessary to serve coastal-dependent…