Gordon

Since 1973 plaintiff South Coast Regional Commission (commission) has had an action pending against defendant Harold Gordon for violation of building permit requirements in a coastal conservation zone. In the phase of the cause now before us, the commission appeals the trial court’s denial of civil penalties against Gordon and its refusal to award attorneys fees to the commission as the prevailing party in an earlier phase of the cause. The sole question on appeal is the effect on the pending action of the 1 January 1977 repeal of the California Coastal Zone Conservation Act of 1972 (Pub. Resources Code, § 27000 et seq., the 1972 Act) and the simultaneous enactment of the California Coastal Act of 1976 (Pub. Resources Code, § 30000 et seq., the 1976 Act).

In May 1973 the commission filed an action against Gordon for failure to obtain a permit to construct a house and ancillary buildings within the coastal conservation zone, an asserted violation of the 1972 Act. The trial court ruled in Gordon’s favor, finding that by reason of construction completed prior to the effective date of the 1972 Act he had acquired a vested right to proceed with further construction and…