As climate change causes sea levels to rise, cities and towns across the Bay Area are planning for its inevitable consequences. But in Half Moon Bay, a group of homeowners’ attempt to protect their properties from rising waters was rejected by the state.
And now a court has issued a ruling that could impact thousands of properties along the coast, from San Diego to the Oregon border.
In 2016, a storm collapsed about twenty feet of rock wall along Mirada Road in Half Moon Bay. After the storm, homeowners brought in large boulders to slow the erosion. And then they applied to the California Coastal Commission to build a permanent 70-foot concrete seawall.
The Coastal Act of 1977 requires the commission to grant permits for permanent seawalls to protect “existing structures.” But Jeremy Talcott, a property rights attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation, said the wording of that law is now being redefined.
“For decades, it was consistently interpreted that ‘existing structures’ meant they existed at the time of the application,” he said. “And in recent years, the commission has reversed that interpretation and changed it to mean existing as of January 1, 1977, or the date the Coastal Act became law. So essentially that would take away these legal protections from hundreds or more people. perhaps thousands of houses along the coast.”
The homes on Mirada Road were built in the 1980s, so the commission declined to grant the permit. The homeowners sued and won, but now an appeals court in San Francisco has said it plans to overturn that ruling. In doing so, they side with the commission and, in Talcott’s opinion, leave thousands of people who have built seaside homes over the past 47 years defenseless. advancing ocean.
“Previously, those homeowners knew they had the right to take steps to protect that investment. Now they may not be able to do that anymore,” he said.
The problem with sea walls is that they stop the natural inland movement of the beach. Since there is nowhere for the sand to go, the water simply catches up and covers it. And dr. Charles Lester of the UC Santa Barbara Ocean and Coastal Policy Center said there is a growing realization that as oceans rise, beaches are disappearing in areas with sturdy seawalls.
“We’re already seeing this in many places where we’ve built seawalls,” he said. “We’ve seen the decrease in beach space. Ultimately, you’re going to see the loss of that beach in front of that seawall. So if we end up building a long line of seawalls, that beach will eventually disappear.”
Lester helps create a statewide plan to save California’s beaches. A study by the U.S. Geological Survey predicts that as many as two-thirds of Southern California’s beaches could be lost as the sea approaches land that is already highly developed.
“Most people realize how important that is for California,” Lester said. “It’s really part of our culture, our way of life, the opportunity to go and enjoy the natural coastline, the sandy beach. If the choice we make is to build sea walls everywhere, then we risk losing that .”
It’s a battle between public and private rights, and ironically it works in favor of the homeowners of Half Moon Bay. After all, because there is a sidewalk along the coastline between their homes and the beach, they are allowed to build their sea walls to protect that public infrastructure. But for those who aren’t so lucky, attorney Talcott said the tide could be turning against their right to protect their homes.
“It reflects a policy of sacrifice on the part of private landowners,” he said.
So far, the court has only issued a preliminary opinion in which it agrees with the committee. Another hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, December 11, after which a final ruling will be made.
Talcott said that because of its broad impact on private property rights, this policy will likely be challenged in the Supreme Court.
