Friends, Artists & Neighbors of Elkhorn Slough v. Cal. Coastal Com.

I. INTRODUCTION

Respondents Heritage/Western Communities, Ltd and Heritage Development Corporation (collectively, Heritage) sought to develop property in Monterey County. Heritage obtained the requisite government approvals, including a coastal development permit, from Monterey County. Appellant Friends, Artists and Neighbors of Elkhorn Slough (FANS) filed an appeal with respondent California Coastal Commission (Coastal Commission) regarding Monterey County’s approval of the coastal development permit. Coastal Commission staff prepared a report recommending denial of Heritage’s coastal development permit application primarily due to the lack of adequate water supply. At a public hearing on November 8, 2017, the Coastal Commission expressed disagreement with staff’s recommendation and approved Heritage’s permit application. Commission staff thereafter prepared written revised findings to support the commission’s action, and those revised findings were later adopted by the commission on September 13, 2018. Appellants FANS and LandWatch Monterey County (LandWatch) filed a petition for writ of mandate in the trial court, contending that the Coastal Commission’s approval of the…