Gualala Festivals Committee v. California Coastal Commission

Plaintiff Gualala Festivals Committee (the Festivals Committee) appeals from a judgment denying its petition for a writ of mandate seeking to set aside a cease-and-desist order entered by the California Coastal Commission (the Commission). The Commission’s order prohibits the Festivals Committee from discharging fireworks over the Gualala River estuary without first obtaining a coastal development permit. The Festivals Committee contends the trial court erred in upholding the Commission’s determination that a permit is required because the fireworks display is a development within the meaning of the California Coastal Act of 1976 (Pub. Resources Code, § 30000 et seq.) (the Act). Although such a display may not be a “development” in the ordinary sense of the word, the Commission’s interpretation conforms both with the expansive statutory definition of the term and the purpose of the statute. Hence we shall affirm the trial court’s judgment upholding the Commission’s action.

Factual and Procedural History

The Festivals Committee is an association of business and property owners in Gualala that sponsors community events, including Gualala Patriot Days over the Fourth of…