In a move that paused a key environmental planning process, the Marin County Planning Commission has decided to suspend efforts to update a section of the County’s Local Coastal Program (LCP) that focuses on environmental hazards. The suspension, which took effect after deliberations on Monday, was propelled by friction with the California Coastal Commission over proposed changes to help residents protect their properties from natural calamities like flooding and sea level rise. The LCP, which has steered development and conservation along Marin’s coast for over four decades, is put on hold amid disputes on balancing local needs with regulatory guidelines.
The disagreement centers on proposed amendments by the Marin County Community Development Agency (CDA) to ease restrictions for property owners looking to raise their homes to safeguard against flood risks while adhering to federal insurance requirements. According to Marin County’s official news release, this approach ran afoul of the California Coastal Commission’s policies, which tightly regulate ‘coastal armoring’, techniques such as piers used to elevate structures, permissible only for buildings in existence as of 1977 when the California Coastal Act was enacted…