ActCoastal is a campaign to protect California's coast and the public's right to access it by holding the California Coastal Commission accountable to its mission. Each month, we track and report on the Commission's most consequential votes on coastal conservation, environmental justice, and public access — rating each decision pro-coast or anti-coast — so Californians can judge whether their Commissioners are living up to the public trust and the promises of the Coastal Act. These monthly voting reports inform an annual report card that has been published continuously for over 20 years.
The Commission met from April 15-17 in Gonzales, a small city in the Salinas Valley, 32 miles inland from Monterey. With five Pro-Coast votes, the meeting was a big win from the ActCoastal perspective. The Commission supported drone shows as a less environmentally damaging alternative to fireworks over coastal waters, took a stance on key legislation affecting the Coastal Act, and approved a gold standard coastal hazards LCP Update from the City of Santa Cruz.