Beach & Bluff Conservancy v. City of Solana Beach

*252 INTRODUCTION

The California Coastal Act of 1976 ( Pub. Resources Code, 1 § 30000 et seq.) (the Coastal Act) requires local governments like defendant City of Solana Beach (the City) to develop a local coastal program (LCP). The LCP, consisting of a land use plan (LUP) and implementing ordinances, is designed to further the objectives of the Coastal Act. (§ 30001.5, subd. (c); Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Estates, LLC v. City of Los Angeles (2012) 55 Cal.4th 783 , 794, 149 Cal.Rptr.3d 383 , 288 P.3d 717 .) The Coastal Act provides that a local government must submit its LUP to the California Coastal Commission (the *92 Commission) for certification that the LUP is consistent with the policies and requirements of the Coastal Act. (§§ 30512; 30512.2.) After the Commission certifies a local government's LUP, it delegates authority over coastal development permits to the local government. ( Pacific Palisades , at p. 794, 149 Cal.Rptr.3d 383 , 288 P.3d 717 , citing §§ 30519, subd. (a), 30600.5, subds. (a), (b), (c).)

In the present case, the City submitted an amended LUP (ALUP) to the Commission. The Commission approved the ALUP with suggested modifications and the City accepted…