Del Mar v. California Coastal Commission

Maya Del Mar appeals from a judgment denying her petition for a writ of administrative mandamus. We affirm the judgment.

In 1972, W. R. Bailey, the owner of an undivided lot in the Point Reyes area, received approval for a division into two lots from the Marin County Planning Department, subject to dedication of street frontage and county approval of a septic system. Bailey successfully appealed the decision to the board of supervisors, and in July 1973, the planning department eliminated the road dedication condition and approved a preliminary land division map. A final map was recorded in November 1974.

In November 1972, however, the electorate had enacted the Coastal Zone Conservation Act, which required a permit for the land division. Bailey never obtained a coastal permit.

Bailey divided the lot into parcels of 14,159 square feet and 16,737 square feet and sold one of the parcels to appellant in 1977. In April 1981 she applied for a coastal permit for the lot division. The North Central Coast Regional Commission approved the application subject to certain conditions. A neighbor appealed the decision to the California Coastal Commission (the “state…