City of Half Moon Bay v. Superior Court

This case comes to us on a petition for extraordinary relief. The issue is whether the California Coastal Commission has appellate jurisdiction to modify a local government’s permit approval that was issued solely to comply with a court order in a proceeding in which the commission was a party litigant. We conclude the commission does not have appellate jurisdiction under these circumstances. Accordingly, we deny the peremptory writ. .

I. Facts and Procedural History

This case has a long and complicated procedural history, stretching back to plans for development in the 1970’s. We will recite only those facts necessary to the understanding and resolution of the narrow issue we are deciding in this writ proceeding.

A. Half Moon Bay’s Review of the Beachwood Subdivision

Real party in interest Joyce Yamagiwa is the owner of approximately 24 acres of undeveloped property known as the Beachwood Subdivision. The property is located in the City of Half Moon Bay (the City), to the east of coastal State Highway 1. In 1990, the City approved a vesting tentative map for 85 residential lots on the site pursuant to the Subdivision Map Act (Gov. Code, § 66410 et seq.). However,…